Mobile Micro Loans, Pay day Loans - Ferratum UK

Economic times are particularly tough for anyone living in the UK at the moment with high levels of inflation, which has not been matched by increases in average salaries, coupled with wage cuts and job losses. Due to these problems many individuals are turning to personal loans and credit cards in order to make ends meet.

Whilst taking out a personal loan may seem like the solution to short term financial problems for some, many individuals could end up in a difficult position with their finances in the long term, as when they have spent the money from the loan, they are then left with unaffordable monthly interest repayments.

It may seem like a quick fix to use credit cards or take out pay day loans for everyday expenses, and by doing so a potential borrower ensures that they are fully aware of all the implications of the loan. Thus allowing the borrower to arrange their finances and allow a budget to manage interest repayments in the future.

If a borrower who is struggling has to take out a new loan, they should research various options by browsing through several loan companies for the best loan deal available to them. Whilst it may seem easier to just go down to their local bank for a loan, you may be able to get a more affordable loan from another provider over the internet.

A person should work out how much they need to borrow on their short term loan and stick to that amount. Do not borrow more than you need to, or more importantly, more than they can afford to pay back. Most loan providers offer cheaper rates for larger loan amounts and whilst this can be advantageous in certain circumstances, someone should not borrow an amount larger than they need just to get a low loan rate.

A debt consolidation loan can be a particularly good way of reducing a person's outgoings, by consolidating several small debts with large interest repayments into one more manageable debt. However, a borrower should be careful not to extend the term of the now consolidated loan too far beyond the deadline of the original debts, as this will cost more over the long term.

Ferratum UK offer short term loans of between £50 to £300 repayable over 7 to 45 days. Terms available do differ based on the amount you need. First Time Customers are limited to a maximum loan of £100

For peace of mind, Ferratum will tell you upfront what the full cost of your short term loan will be so there are no hidden charges.

A short-term loan also known as a micro loan can help with occasional cash flow problems. It can help to tide you over for a few days or weeks.

Using a micro loan can avoid nasty overdraft charges or returned item fees on your bank account.

A micro loan is often better than using your credit card. You can't fall in to the trap of just paying the minimum repayment which would keep you in debt for longer.

A mobile micro loan is ideal when faced with an unexpected bill or an amazing bargain that you don't want to miss out on.

A micro loan can be used as a pay day loan which means that your life doesn't have to stop while you count down the days or weeks until pay day.

A micro loan displays a higher APR than what you may typically see elsewhere. Please don't let this confuse or alarm you. APR is a measure of the annual percentage rate. As the micro loan is only a short term product (max 45 days) the APR is not always the best measure to use. Your total charges/fees are displayed upfront so you can see the real cost for yourself.

Recently, I unfortunately stumbled across a website named badbiz.co.uk. Looking through the totally biased complaints, I found a post about Ferratum UK - YOU CAN SEE THE POST IN ITS FULL GLORY HERE: http://badbiz.co.uk/tag/ferratum-uk/

So you know where I am coming from: I have no affiliation with Ferratum, but have done business with them (amongst many other companies) and know them to be a reputable, sound business. In fact, they are a long established brand with business interests in several countries with the UK branch being one of the most recent to open.

In 2005, the Group was the first company to launch the Mobile Micro loan product in Europe and are present in 16 countries serving more than 700,000 clients.They are also a member of the CCTA (Consumer Credit Trade Association).

Now after reading the post above I felt obliged to respond and leave a comment on it, the comment I made can be read below. the reason I felt the need to do this was that it seemed to be more of a rant on behalf of the writers friend, which in my view is totally unfair and potentially damaging. Its made all the more unfair when the writer is seemingly unwilling to post a response on his unsubstantiated rant.

Now sites like bad biz can offer a consumer some good advice, from time to time, on genuine bad experiences online, agreed. However in some of the cases, and certainly in this one, the ability for a response to be made and published must be allowed in the interests of clarity and fairness. After all, why should the gripes of one person be allowed to potentially ruin the reputation of a company that has served now well over 700,000 clients!!

If there is a complaint to be made, make it though the correct channels, with correct information by the person that has had the bad experience and then allow the company to respond and rectify the situation. By doing this legitimate consumers will 99.9% of the time find their complaint or comment is dealt with in the correct manner, negating the need for generally unhelpful and biased sites like bad biz (badbiz.co.uk).

As promised, for fairness and clarity, here is my response to the post on bad biz. Shame I had to post it here after several attempts.

"I have to disagree with your post on this one, it seems to me that your 'friend' took out a loan in good faith from the lender, agreed to the whatever repayment he/she agreed to then tried to change this agreement, frankly that's tough isn't it?

If the lender upheld their part of the deal, then so should the other party. I see it as being a little unfair spitting out your dummy, then calling on a friend who just happens to run a complaints website in an attempt to get his/her own way, I'd call that a little unethical in itself.

And on the address/locations you mention in the post - I am a regular reader of this blog and usually have no bones on the stories I read however a few things on this one are clearly wrong, for instance I remember a while back a post about the social media people where you stated:

"Why does The Social Media People wish to deceive? Well there is nothing wrong with having a registered address at all which is different from your operational address"

- so I don't really understand your issue in this post with regards to having an alternative trading address all of a sudden - a little contradiction IMHO.

I've also checked the website of ferratum and can clearly see the interest rate, which they make no effort to hide, which explains that APR (Annual Percentage rate) is not really applicable as the loan is taken out over a short period of time i.e. not annual!

I'd suggest you withhold your judgement on a company until you have more than just your 'friend' complaining as you could well be damaging the reputation of a company with hundreds of customers on behalf of your 'mate'".

If you feel the need to respond - please use the comment box on this page, I'll be glad to share your views!.

If you do any banking whatsoever - and at some point we all do - then we have all heard about APRs. Annual Percentage Rates - or APRs - are components of credit loans of all types whether they are mortgage loans, personal loans, credit cards, or other types of credit agreements. When you take out a loan you are charged interest on it that is paid over the life of the loan. APR actually describes what the true cost of borrowing money is over the course of a year. It includes the interest rate you pay on your loan as well as how you pay back the loan, how much the repayments are, the length of repayment, additional charges and fees and PPI premiums.

In its most basic definition, APR measures how much a loan or other line of credit costs you in interest over one year, and it is expressed as a percentage of the total amount of money that you borrow. How do you figure out the APR? Take the amount of your loan and how much interest you will be charged over one year and divide that interest amount by the amount of your loan. Multiply the number by 100 and you get your APR. For example, you borrow £1,000 and are charged £80 in interest for that year. The APR is calculated like this:

80/1000 x 100 = 0.08 x 100 = 8%

Normally you know what the APR is before you know how much the interest you will be charged is, so you can determine how much your interest over the course of a year is by using this formula:

1000 x 8% = 80

Thanks to the Consumer Credit Act 1974, lenders are required to include the APR in all credit agreements. They must display their 'typical' APR in their advertisements and the APR can vary from lender to lender as well as across the different products they offer. Credit card companies, banks, and other lending institutions are required by United Kingdom law to clearly illustrate their own APR rates. From there, you can compare one APR to another to get the best rate. Remember, however, that there are additional charges that may not be included in the APR that the lenders advertise, so shopping around for the best and most competitive deal is advisable if you are going for a line of credit.

You also need to remember that lenders can advertise their current APR in monthly terms instead of in annual terms. This is why you see APRs for as low as 2% per month. When you apply for a line of credit, the lender must tell you what the actual APR is. So if the monthly APR is 2%, the annual APR equals 24%. Not everyone will qualify for the 'typical' APR that lenders advertise. The actual APR you are charged is determined by your credit history, income, and other criteria the lender applies.

When you are going for a line of credit you should always ask your potential lender what fees or other charges are included in the APR. Once you have this information, you will be able to make competitive comparisons on all of the offers that are available and choose the best line of credit for your needs.

THE festive period could send more Scots spiralling into debt as they turn to borrowing to fund their Christmas spending, insolvency experts have warned.

One in six Scots is borrowing on credit cards, from family and friends or taking out loans to pay for Christmas this year, compared with one in ten across the UK as a whole, according to new research from insolvency trade body R3. Its Christmas debt survey is published as new figures point to a surge in the number of people taking out expensive pay-day loans in recent weeks.

While 80 per cent of those borrowing to finance Christmas are confident of paying it back within a month, 7 per cent admit they could still be clearing the bill in June next year, according to the R3 poll. It also found that one in ten people in Scotland fear they won't have enough money left over after Christmas to pay their bills at the end of this month.

John Hall, R3 Scottish council member, said he was not surprised by the results.

"What is of greater concern is that Scotland is among the highest percentage in the UK. Given that Scotland is much more reliant on the public sector for employment, it is surely not sensible to borrow at a time of such economic difficulties and job insecurity."

That 7 per cent of Scots are taking three to six months to repay Christmas debts is "extremely alarming", Hall added. "This means that one in 14 Scots is still paying for festive celebrations at the start of summer."

He warned that many could turn to more expensive debt to cover their festive season costs, including pay-day loans and costly credit cards.

"They should be wary of the high interest rates that often accompany these products, as this will also leave them lumbered with Christmas debt long into next year. I would advise anyone struggling with their finances around the Christmas period to seek the advice of a professional as soon as they can"

Young people are especially vulnerable to debt problems arising from Christmas borrowing. One in five Scots aged 18 to 24 is already in debt because of festive spending, compared with just 4 per cent of over 65s. And with youth unemployment continuing to rise, those debts could prove difficult for some to repay.

"Fewer people than last year, across the board, have borrowed money but there are still some weeks until Christmas. With unemployment figures up, we can only expect to see more people saying they are struggling to afford the demands of the festive season," said Hall.

His concerns appear to be borne out by online pay day lender Ferratum, which yesterday reported a significant increase in applications for its "microloans" as Christmas nears.

Ian Porter, UK sales and marketing Manager at Ferratum said:

"We are already seeing a significant increase in applications for our microloans and we still have three weeks to go until Christmas Day."

After a difficult year of living through the financial crisis that has meant brutal job cuts for people across the nation, this Christmas saw a great leap in short term loans borrowings. There has been a remarkable increase in demand for pay day loan companies as they bridge the gap between banks and people with low incomes in need of money without the required creditworthiness. Ferratum's new venture in the UK also saw a distinct boost as they gained several thousand new customers over Christmas season between November and December.

While Ferratum is still new to the UK as a pay day loan company, they expect to see a rapid growth over the next year. "People want to take on a small loan, they don't want to go to the bank for a bigger loan," CEO Jorma Jokela said in an interview to Reuters.

Fast cash loans aim to provide small sums of money to tide people over when money is tight until they receive their next pay check. The high interest rates that instant pay day loans are notorious for cover the quick rollout of money and are charged as these loans are considered more risky than conventional loans. Ferratum is among the league of companies that do have a credit check system and do not lend to people unless they are certain of their capability to return. Furthermore, other companies in the industry charge over 4000 percent annual interest rates, but Jokela stated that Ferratum's rates started under a 100 percent to a maximum of around 3000 percent.

Despite the industry coming under fire from politicians for worsening the debt situation for individuals due the high interest rates, Jokela said he didn't believe micro loans companies were at fault. "The main problems for over-indebtedness come from bigger loans rather than the smaller loans, such as having too many credit card loans. It is all too easy to say that microloans are dangerous but we are not the main problem."

Looking at things prima facie, it appears as though with the exclusion from the new treaty, the UK will remain for the most part, directly unaffected by the Eurozone's new agreement.

With the aims to set up the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and later, a more permanent European Stabilisation Mechanism (ESM), the UK will not have to pay for the bailout this time or in the future. Similarly, the proposed rules on government borrowings won't be imposed on the UK, nor will the "Robin Hood Tax" be imposed on financial transactions. These are all changes that are directed primarily at the Eurozone.

Taking a closer look at the crisis and understanding it proves that the UK might not be as unaffected.

The Eurozone crisis is twofold: a banking crisis and a government debt crisis. The former is that European banks have been finding it increasingly difficult to borrow in foreign currencies like the dollar. The latter is that government spending has increased sharply, resulting in a sharp increase of government borrowing. Both these problems could also become problems that the UK faces.

The English banks have a limited exposure to European banks, with the exception of the Republic of Ireland and France. The French banks however, own a great percentage of Italian and Spanish debt. This means that if one of these banks went bust, it would make borrowing in the financial markets very difficult for the UK banks.

However, it is at times like these that the Bank of England offers support in the form of crisis facilities, like the one it just implemented to cover the risk of banks unable to or facing difficulties in borrowing in sterling.

There is also the issue of foreign currency investments which incurs foreign currency debts. If foreign currency borrowing becomes difficult then the investments will have to be sold quickly and possibly at a huge loss. Again the Bank of England does have agreements with their banks to provide emergency loans in their required currencies.

Despite the crisis, the UK has been able to borrow at very low rates. Chancellor George Osborne claims this is because the UK is considered a "safe haven" as Germany is, due to its austerity measures. Other economists suggest that this is because the UK's economy is severely depressed, not unlike Japan's.

So the real risk that the UK faces is that of inflation, not debt. This could happen if the banking crisis in the Eurozone spilled over to the UK, which is heavily dependent on foreign money to close the trade deficit. However, since the government only borrows in sterling, it could lead to a lot of the investors losing confidence in the UK and exiting the pound, which would in turn cause the value of the currency to fall. This would mean an increase in prices of imported goods and government borrowings.

But the UK has an option that the Eurozone doesn't. In the worst case, to finance expenses, the Treasury can order the Bank of England to print more currency.

If you are struggling with a small debt and need a Micro Loan to see you through to pay day, Contact Ferratum UK for a Mobile Micro Loan or Pay day Loan.

For quite some time now, the Greek Debt Crisis has been a looming threat, with the clock constantly ticking as national leaders across Europe have yet to agree on a course of action. The first bailout helped ease some of the tension. There also appeared to be some progress as Greece was in talks with bondholders to settle on a deal in hopes that it would secure them the second bailout before %u20AC14.5bn worth of bonds are due to fall in March. However, there is now fear that the talks will not be settled in time as the EU finance ministers intervened insisting that the banks and lenders should agree to a lower interest rate on the new bonds that they will receive as part of the restructured debt.

The all important questions are: What would happen if Greece were to default on its debts in a disorganised manner? What would be the wider impact if Greece quit the Euro? Which countries hold stakes in the Greek Debt Crisis?
Disorganised default on debts
During the early years of the EU, while core countries like France and Germany were careful with spending, the PIIGS countries (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain) enjoyed the benefits of the Euro and spent freely, as banks were happy to lend them money. When the financial crisis hit, the debts became unmanageable in most of these countries, especially Greece.

The troika of the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the temporary European Financial Stability Facility provided billions in aid to Ireland, Greece and Portugal.

Allowing Greece to default on debts in a disorganised manner would cause widespread economic and political repercussions. Citigroup's Willem Buiter also pointed out that most of Greece's lenders would accept the 65-80% haircuts on interest loans as over 90% of the bonds were issued under Greek law. Though Greece won't, it could, in effect, simply pass a law and do away from the debts leaving the creditors no alternative.

Quitting the Euro

In the short term, Greece exiting the Euro would cause an economic disaster, even if it may prove to be beneficial in the long run. The first and most important implication it would have is that exiting the EU was possible and allowed. Next, the focus of the international markets would be on the rest of the PIIGS countries, who would likely follow in Greece's footsteps. Furthermore, Greece would have to issue a new currency, which would mean certain collapse of its banking sector, plunging Greece into a deep, lasting depression.

EU depression and wider impact
While it is clear that the Euro area would suffer the ensuing financial crisis directly, with Bulgarian and Romanian banks at high risk due to their exposure to Greek banking, the scope of damage extends as far as USA and Japan. Japanese banks hold $432mn in Greek debts, while the US banks hold $1.5bn. The UK holds $3.4bn, and nations at risk of a crisis similar to Greece's like Spain ($540mn) and Italy ($2.13bn) also hold substantial stakes in the Greek debt.

Some of the other likely effects of this would be a greater demand on the US treasuries. Christine Lagarde, the head of the IMF called for the ECB to lower its interest rates further to try and curb inflation and for $500bn to be contributed to the IMF to help distressed countries in debt. She also acknowledged that the steps taken were in the direction of a resolution, even if they weren't yet quite there.

While it's clear that talks have hit another hurdle, Greece needs a sustainable solution that will help its economy get back on its feet and function in the market alongside other nations. With tax revenues down and investors wary due to the current climate, it certainly looks like Greece will have to endeavour to become self-sufficient if it hopes to recover.

If you are struggling with a small debt and need a Micro Loan to see you through to pay day, Contact Ferratum UK for a Mobile Micro Loan or Pay day Loan.

Looking at things prima facie, it appears as though with the exclusion from the new treaty, the UK will remain for the most part, directly unaffected by the Eurozone's new agreement.

With the aims to set up the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and later, a more permanent European Stabilisation Mechanism (ESM), the UK will not have to pay for the bailout this time or in the future. Similarly, the proposed rules on government borrowings won't be imposed on the UK, nor will the "Robin Hood Tax" be imposed on financial transactions. These are all changes that are directed primarily at the Eurozone.
Taking a closer look at the crisis and understanding it proves that the UK might not be as unaffected.

The Eurozone crisis is twofold: a banking crisis and a government debt crisis. The former is that European banks have been finding it increasingly difficult to borrow in foreign currencies like the dollar. The latter is that government spending has increased sharply, resulting in a sharp increase of government borrowing. Both these problems could also become problems that the UK faces.

The English banks have a limited exposure to European banks, with the exception of the Republic of Ireland and France. The French banks however, own a great percentage of Italian and Spanish debt. This means that if one of these banks went bust, it would make borrowing in the financial markets very difficult for the UK banks.
However, it is at times like these that the Bank of England offers support in the form of crisis facilities, like the one it just implemented to cover the risk of banks unable to or facing difficulties in borrowing in sterling.

There is also the issue of foreign currency investments which incurs foreign currency debts. If foreign currency borrowing becomes difficult then the investments will have to be sold quickly and possibly at a huge loss. Again the Bank of England does have agreements with their banks to provide emergency loans in their required currencies.
Despite the crisis, the UK has been able to borrow at very low rates. Chancellor George Osborne claims this is because the UK is considered a "safe haven" as Germany is, due to its austerity measures. Other economists suggest that this is because the UK's economy is severely depressed, not unlike Japan's.
So the real risk that the UK faces is that of inflation, not debt. This could happen if the banking crisis in the Eurozone spilled over to the UK, which is heavily dependent on foreign money to close the trade deficit. However, since the government only borrows in sterling, it could lead to a lot of the investors losing confidence in the UK and exiting the pound, which would in turn cause the value of the currency to fall. This would mean an increase in prices of imported goods and government borrowings.

But the UK has an option that the Eurozone doesn't. In the worst case, to finance expenses, the Treasury can order the Bank of England to print more currency.

By Ben Salisbury

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is to launch an investigation into the pay day loans industry.

Lenders who charge hogh interest rates for short-term credit could have their licences revoked if they are found to be treating customers unfairly or taking advantage of customers in financial difficulty.

The number of pay day loans issued has quadrupled since the credit crunch as individuals have struggled to access credit from traditional means and levels of disposable income have dropped sharply. Wages have not grown at the same rate as inflation and unemployment has also increased, resulting in an increase in demand for pay day loans.

The OFT will visit 50 lenders to check that they are lending money to appropriate people who can afford to repay the loans and to make sure that they are not offering loans to customers who already have an outstanding pay day loan that has not been repaid.

The OFT's investigation will look at whether pay day loan firms are complying with the Consumer Credit Act and whether they are trying to take advantage of people in financial difficulty.

The review will involve individual visits to 50 leading pay day loan companies and surveys of industry and consumer organisations. The OFT has already conducted a sweep of the websites of the companies and has written to trade bodies outlining areas where it believes advertising standards could be improved.

David Fisher, OFT Director of Consumer Credit, said: "We are concerned that some pay day lenders are taking advantage of people in financial difficulty, in breach of the Consumer Credit Act. This is unacceptable. We will work with the trade bodies to drive up standards but will also not hesitate to take enforcement action, including revoking firms' licences to operate where necessary. "

An earlier investigation by the OFT in 2010 concluded that pay day loan lending firms offered a useful service to some people who may not be able to access credit in any other way.

However, the recession and pressure on household finances has seen an increase in the number of people using such firms and has pushed the issue back into the spotlight, as has the problems identified by consumer groups such as Which? and Consumer Focus.

"The pay day sector has grown considerably since the OFT's high cost credit review in 2010. This, combined with the current tough economic conditions makes it the right time for us to review the industry and improve protection for consumers," added Mr Fisher.

Personal loans: Six of the cheapest

Which? Chief Executive, Peter Vicary-Smith, said: "Which? found widespread poor practice in the pay day loans market when we investigated it last year, so we're pleased the OFT plans to review the sector. All too often, we found firms making misleading claims about APR, suggesting customers borrow more than they need and then encouraging them to rollover existing loans for several months. We also found several potential breaches of the Consumer Credit Act.

"The OFT must take tough action and deal firmly with any pay day lenders that it finds breaching the rules."

Pay day loan companies offer short-term loans that are supposed to be repaid within a month to limit the interest that is charged on the loan. The previous OFT investigation did not agree limits on interest rates charged by pay day lenders.

Joanna Elson, Chief Executive of the Money Advice Trust, said: "We have witnessed the growth of the pay day loans industry through a sharp increase in calls for help to National Debtline. Just two years ago National Debtline was receiving around 150 calls per month from people with pay day loans, that figure has now ballooned to 1,100."

The OFT's investigation will look at whether specific groups of people with an unsuitable credit profile such as students, or the unemployed are being targeted for the loans.
The regulator will check whether lenders assess the borrower's ability to repay before they lend the money and whether pay day loan companies encourage borrowers to 'rollover' the loans and incur higher levels of interest.

Sarah Brooks, Director of Financial Services at Consumer Focus said: "Our research showed problems with inadequate affordability checks and borrowers being offered multiple new loans or roll-overs on existing loans, and the situation seems to be getting worse not better."

Consumer Affairs Minister Norman Lamb said: "The OFT is right to launch a compliance review of its guidance in the pay day lending market to make sure that companies are adhering to agreed standards and in particular to identify those practices which can harm vulnerable consumers."

The OFT can enforce its findings and recommendations as it has the power to remove credit licenses from companies if it finds them in breach of the rules. After the previous review 43 companies voluntarily surrendered their licences and 13 more were found to be in breach of the rules and had their licenses removed.

The OFT advises people who are considering using a pay day loan company to make sure they understand the costs and charges before they do so and recommends that people who are worried by their finances should seek independent financial advice.

If you are worried you can find a list of organizations that offer free help and guidance on money matters here.

Sarah Brooks from Consumer Focus warned potential borrowers against pay day loans saying, "Pay day loans can be convenient for some consumers but they are a very expensive way to borrow money. If people don't pay back the loan on time the amount they owe increases rapidly - consumers should look very carefully at their options before taking out a pay day loan."

Europe's largest provider of pay day loans today welcomed the decision by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to launch a review of the fast growing sector in the UK.

Dirk Haro, Regional Director for Ferratum in Western Europe, said: "Responsible lenders such as Ferratum have absolutely nothing to fear from the OFT investigation.

"We would welcome the opportunity to demonstrate the industry-leading procedures and policies we have in place which ensure that we are complying fully with the Consumer Credit Act.

"Ferratum has highlighted in recent weeks the fact that there are rogue lenders operating in our sector and we hope that the investigation will help to expose these operators and help to remove them from the industry."

The review, announced today, will look at how lenders are behaving in a number of areas, including:

· Whether they are giving loans without first checking adequately that the borrower can repay them;
· Inappropriately targeting particular groups of people with clearly unsuitable or unaffordable credit;
· Rolling over loans so charges escalate and the loans become unaffordable;
· Not treating borrowers that get into financial difficulties fairly.

Mr Haro said: "There are undoubtedly pay day loan lenders who are regularly falling foul of these and other simple practices of responsible lending.

"But the total opposite is true of companies such as Ferratum which recognises fully the importance of responsible lending.

"A good example of this is that we do not charge any upfront fees and we do not just credit check our customers when they apply for their first loan - we continue to credit check them each time they apply to ensure that their individual circumstances have not changed. We will only lend to customers with a good credit history. We also do not allow customers to roll over their loans."

Ferratum has predicted that as many as two million people in the UK have taken out pay day loans during the past year. And industry experts are forecasting that by the middle of this year that number will have risen to 3.5million.

The vast majority of Ferratum customers are employed - many holding good jobs - and aged between 30-32. Approximately 60 per cent of customers are female.

Ian Porter, Ferratum UK's Sales and Marketing Manager, added: "The overwhelming message we are receiving from our customers is that they find a Ferratum microloan far more flexible and responsive to their needs than more traditional lenders. They have a short-term financial requirement - perhaps only £100 or £200 to perhaps pay a utility bill or urgent car repairs - so have no desire to take out more money than they need or have to repay over a longer period. This is responsible borrowing and lending in action.

"Ferratum loans have to be repaid within 45 days and the vast majority of customers repay well ahead of the 45 days.

"Many pay day loan companies wrongly impose severe rates of interest on customers who default on repayments. However, Ferratum focuses more on ensuring that customers do not default and, should they do so, works with them to help them repay their loans as quickly as possible.

"It is because of these and other good practices that Ferratum is continuing to grow not just within the UK but globally with a presence now in 18 countries."

(Source - Ferratum Press Release)

Visit Ferratum

Russia is ready in principle to buy the Spanish government's debt once the euro zone's member states have put in place a strategy to overcome the currency bloc's debt crisis, Arkady Dvorkovich, economic adviser to President Dmitry Medvedev, said on Monday. Russian presidential aide, Arkady Dvorkovich, has told journalists that Russia may participate in helping Spain out of its debt crisis by buying sovereign debt.

"When the European countries announce a concrete and clear strategy to exit the crisis, and if in the framework of this strategy support from Russia and other BRIC countries is necessary, then we would provide such support," Dvorkovich said in response to a question. Fitch noted the downgrade of Italian and Spanish ratings in a wake of accelerated concerns on solvency and economic stability. At the same time, the agency continues to have concerns regarding the dynamics of the real estate sector in Spain according to Juan Garcia, director of structured finance ratings at Fitch.

"When the European countries announce a concrete and clear strategy to exit the crisis, and if in the framework of this strategy support from Russia and other BRIC countries is necessary, then we would provide such support," Dvorkovich said in response to a question. Fitch noted the downgrade of Italian and Spanish ratings in a wake of accelerated concerns on solvency and economic stability. At the same time, the agency continues to have concerns regarding the dynamics of the real estate sector in Spain according to Juan Garcia, director of structured finance ratings at Fitch. "Currently, we monitor the volume of loans for real estate deals and the market pricing in order to include the latest data in the review on the ratings of the country",

"When the European countries announce a concrete and clear strategy to exit the crisis, and if in the framework of this strategy support from Russia and other BRIC countries is necessary, then we would provide such support," Dvorkovich said in response to a question.

Dvorkovich, attending a conference in Moscow with Spanish Economy Minister Elena Salgado, said Salgado had met Russia's former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

"We are waiting for European countries to announce specific, understandable strategy to get out of crisis. If in the context of this strategy Russia's and other BRIC countries' support is necessary, we are prepared to provide that support".

Of Russia's total reserves, $109 billion worth of Russia's total reserves are held in two wealth funds whose asset allocation are set by the finance ministry. The central bank decides how the remainder is to be invested.

The debt ridden country has received the biggest loan in history (£200bn so far from the International Monetary Fund) and their prime minister, Lucas Papademos has said that there might be a need for a third bailout fund. This statement came only weeks after difficult negotiations in Brussels finally secured Greece their second bailout.

Speculation of Recovery
Greece has been locked out of the international market since first seeking help in 2010. The new economic program will see a required cut in public spending of 12bn in 2013-2014. However, Papademos is uncertain that the Greek economy will be able to access capital markets by 2015, when the last financial support programs will end, even with the economic reforms enforce by the troika of the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the European Central Bank. The bailout added with the bond swap has slashed Greece's 360bn debt by 95bn and is expected to reduce a further 12bn, when after the restructuring next week, coupons governed by foreign law will be exchanged.

With these developments, Papademos is confident that the Greek economy will be on the rebound by 2015. However, the EU and IMF have missions in Greece to supervise the progress made on reducing deficit and achieving the required targets, there is much more that has to be done before Greece can recover. IMF supervisor Paul Thomsen is of the opinion that it will take Greece "at least a decade" to recover.

Elections and Supervisions
To further complicate matters, Greece will be seeing a change in government with the upcoming elections. The government will have about 60 days to implement structural reforms that are long-overdue and come to an agreement on curbing public spending as much as possible before the troika officers come down for a critical inspection in June.
Despite it being Papademos' last time speaking to the Parliament, he insisted on the need to limit wasteful spending. One of his senior aides also emphasized the need to not let up the pace of reforms even with the change in government.

The Future
To safeguard against future possible financial crises the European Union has agreed to a 500bn as part of the European Stabilising Mechanism and the core of the European Monetary Fund. This 'firewall' is meant to act as a permanent bailout fund that combined with the European Financial Stability Facility should total 700bn. This was agreed upon after various discussions about the ceiling of the fund and hinges on 5 instalments of 80bn paid by 2014. What remains to be seen if it will be effective as a fund.

The Euro Crisis should, in theory, be seeing an end in sight, with the second Greek loan finalised and the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) set up for completion in a few years. The fact, however is, that it still is. Even during the stalemate over the Greek debt situation, there were warnings that other European countries were also in the red.
In fact, the latest data shows that Greece's industrial production has been falling - almost 12% in December, 6% in January and 8.3% in February and the economy is well into its fifth consecutive year of recession. Yet, Athens, which received its second bailout (including the first amounting to a total of 200bn), is not the only problem.

Aside from Greece, those bordering on excessive public spending that may spiral control are Ireland, Portugal, Italy and Spain.
Following the banking crisis, Ireland had asked for and received a bailout loan the previous year amounting to %u20AC85bn. Working in Ireland's favour, the European Union leaders recently decided to reduce the interest rate on the bailout from 6% to between 3.5% and 4% and the length of repayment time has been extended from seven and a half years to fifteen years. This would save them up to 500-700mn a year, which the government can spend elsewhere. This comes at a time when Ireland has slumped back into a recession again with GDP falling by 0.2% at the end of the previous quarter.

Portugal, similarly has already received a bailout loan of 78bn in April 2011, but domestic banks continue to depend heavily on the European Central Bank for funding. The use has risen to a staggering 56.3bn as of March, well beyond the previous record of 49.1bn in August 2010 and up from 47.5bn this February.

The current biggest problem is the fourth largest economy in the Eurozone- Spain. The Spanish government have announced plans for cuts to the tune of 37bn ( 10bn to be saved per year in education and health and 27bn as part of the deficit reduction plans announced in March) in an attempt to close the 15bn gap to fulfil their deficit target of 1.5% in 2012.

The Spanish minister for the economy, Luis De Guindos has, over the past week stressed the country's commitment to reform in various interviews. With fears mounting that Spain may need a bailout loan, they are under pressure from the European Union to reign in public spending. In light of this De Guindos has stated that Spain may sell off public real estate. He also caused great chaos by suggesting that the rich be charged for public health services, where the sector is currently 15bn in debt. He stated however, that Spain wouldn't hike up the country's considerably low VAT, stating that a VAT hike like in 2010 wouldn't be very effective.

The UK economy has returned to recession, after shrinking by 0.2% in the first three months of 2012.



A sharp fall in construction output was behind the surprise contraction, the Office for National Statistics said.

A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction. The economy shrank by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Wednesday's figure is an early estimate and is subject to at least two further revisions in the coming months.

The ONS said output of the production industries decreased by 0.4%, construction decreased by 3%, and output of the service sector increased by 0.1%.

It added that a fall in public sector investment had contributed to the particularly large fall in the construction sector.

Some have questioned the validity of the ONS's figures, particularly on the construction industry, which has been volatile in recent quarters.

But Joe Grice, chief economic adviser to the ONS, said the construction data was based on a survey of 8,000 companies and had been carefully checked and double checked.

The latest figures supported the view that the economy had been "flattish" in the past few quarters, he added.

Shortly after the data was released, the pound fell half a cent against the dollar to $1.6093, and half a cent against the euro to 1.2184 euros.

The UK economy was last in recession in 2009.

'Missing link'

The BBC's chief political correspondent, Norman Smith, said the Treasury was again blaming the difficulties facing the UK economy on the eurozone, with sources saying the eurozone is predicted to enter recession and therefore "it would be hard for the UK to avoid one".

Some 40% of the UK's exports go to the eurozone.

The Treasury also pointed to the fact that unemployment in the UK is now falling, our correspondent said.

But the Institute for Public Policy Research said the figures were "a further blow for the government's reputation for economic competency".

"It is clearly not good news, the missing link in the economy has been confidence," said Graeme Leach, chief economist at the Institute of Directors.

"These are relatively small falls, so we shouldn't be too alarmist.

"[But] regardless of the figures, it is the message that comes out to business - to be cautious - exactly when we want them to be a little more aggressive in terms of recruitment and investment."

'At odds'

However, some pointed to other recent business surveys, which painted a more positive picture of the economy.

"These figures are at odds with the experiences of many UK businesses, which continue to operate with guarded optimism," said David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce.

He added that he expected the preliminary estimate to be revised upwards when more information became available.

The preliminary figure is based on only about 40% of the information that will be used to reach later figures.

The first estimate of GDP for the last three months of 2011 showed a contraction of 0.2%, which was later revised to a contraction of 0.3%.

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