New Barclaycard boss wants shut of sub-prime customers

For the first time the number of people in the UK seeking insolvency in 2006 broke the 100,000 barrier, illustrating the high consumer debt level problems that have emerged, with nearly one and a half trillion pounds worth of consumer debt in total.

Banks have taken the hit pretty hard, with many major banks complaining about the high levels of bad debt that they have been left with as a result of consumers seeking protection through bankruptcies and IVAs because they cannot afford to keep up with repayments on financial commitments such as loans and credit cards.

And it seems that some major banks are now intending to take a stance against these bad debts. One of the UK's major banks, Barclays, is planning to revamp its credit card services to focus on mainstream borrowers, and it is looking to do this through getting rid of its sub-prime credit card division according to recent reports.

Monument is part of Barclaycard and focuses on providing credit to those with a poor credit rating. But as bad debt levels rise it looks as though Barclays want to get shut of this division, which it acquired in 2002.

The move comes after a Citibank expert was hired to take charge of Barclaycard. Mr Anthony Jenkins was hired to take over and streamline Barclaycard, and as part of his strategy is said to be looking into getting rid of the sub-prime section.

This is a move that aims to get rid of some of the bank's bad debts, many of which are made up of credit card debts where consumers are struggling to make repayments. Barclays is just one of a large number of banks that has seen a huge rise in bad debt levels over recent years. Experts predict that many other banks will also be taking a firmer stance against bad debts in the future.

Tom Smith
17th March 2007

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