Professor Philip Lane:

There can be a step forward on affordability. It is currently on the legislative calendar as part of the Markets in Financial Instruments Bill 2018. It is a fix for the consumer credit register in order to include information on these hire purchase providers. That also means that, when credit firms are making a loan agreement, they will know if the individual has other outstanding debts. That can help the firm make a decision about whether a car loan is appropriate, given that they would be able to see the debts which would be on the register. There will be extra information. The firm selling the personal contract plan, PCP, will have extra information about the credit situation of the individual and that will help in the future.