Navigating Rising Interest Rates: FCA Rules for Lenders and Borrowers.

The Financial Conduct Authority has implemented changes in its rulebook to support lenders fulfilling commitments made during the Chancellor's mortgage summit. These changes include allowing borrowers to make temporary changes to their contracts without undergoing an affordability check, though this will likely result in higher payments in the future. Companies have been encouraged to provide clear information about how this could impact those taking these options, and other commitments regarding credit scores are still being discussed. Lenders have proactively reached out to customers around 16.5 million times to discuss support options, and over 2 million customers have already received active assistance from lenders to manage their finances. Additionally, there is a Consumer Duty coming into effect at the end of July that requires companies to offer specific support to meet individual needs, communicate clearly with customers, and provide decent customer service.