This guidance applies in the exceptional circumstances arising out of the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) and its impact on the financial situation of overdraft users.
Read Draft Guidance – Overdrafts and Coronavirus: Additional Guidance for Firms[1]
Today we have announced proposals to ensure that firms provide tailored support to consumers of arranged overdrafts who continue to face payment difficulties due to coronavirus.
We originally published Overdrafts and Coronavirus guidance[2] on 9 April 2020 and it was updated on 1 July 2020. The current guidance will continue to provide support for those impacted by coronavirus until at least 31 October 2020 – with impacted consumers able to request support with the cost of overdraft borrowing.
We expect the 1 July guidance to expire on 31 October 2020, but will keep this under review depending on how the wider situation develops.
How to respond
We want to act quickly to continue to protect consumers in these difficult times. We consider that the delay involved in publishing a formal consultation accompanied by a cost benefit analysis would be prejudicial to consumers’ interests. We are therefore not doing so. This is not a statutory consultation. There is no statutory requirement to prepare a cost benefit analysis for guidance.
We would welcome comments from stakeholders on this draft guidance by 10am on Monday 21 September 2020.
Please send your comments to: [email protected]