Reference Case Number: FOI2026_01319
Freedom of Information: Right to know request:
Please provide the data for High-Cost Short-Term Credit (HCSTC) loans issued in the UK for each calendar month of 2024 and 2025.
Specifically, please provide the following details for each month:
1. Total Loan Volumes: The total number and total value (in GBP) of loans agreed across the entire market.
2. Market Share (Anonymised): The total number of individual lenders that issued loans, alongside the number of loans issued by each lender, with the lender identity anonymised (e.g., Lender A, Lender B, Lender C).
3. Arrears and Defaults: The average delinquency rate and the average default rate for these loans.
4. Interest Rates: The average Annual Percentage Rate (APR) charged to borrowers.
5. Loan Terms: The average length or duration of the loans agreed.
FCA response:
We do not hold information on arrears or defaults requested in question 3, and we are therefore unable to provide the average delinquency rate or default rate for these loans.
In relation to question 2 of your request, we hold the requested information, but we are unable to disclose it to you, as it constitutes 'confidential information' for the purposes of section 348 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), which the FCA has received in the discharge of its public functions. We are therefore exempted from the duty to disclose this information under section 44 of FOIA.
We note that you have asked for the information on the market share of relevant firms to be anonymised; however, this is not possible, as we are of the view that, even if their names were not disclosed, some of the firms could be identified through the relevant data.
For more information on why this exemption applies, please see Annex A