Speech by Alison Walters, director of consumer finance at the Credit Week: Powering the Future of Finance event. We all recognise that consumer credit plays a vital role in the real economy and in people’s everyday lives, supporting households, enabling opportunity, and helping people manage financial pressures. But the world around us is changing, the credit market is changing and so are consumer demands and needs. With that in mind, it is important to consider whether the market today is fit for the future.If the consumer credit market still feels like a caterpillar – complex, multi-limbed, a bit prickly and lumpy in places – then our shared task is to guide it through its metamorphosis, from chrysalis to butterfly.To become a butterfly, the credit market needs to transform from one that is less prickly for some, fragmented and with areas of brittleness, to one that is more cohesive, resilient, and trusted by the people it serves.That transformation into a butterfly requires a period of transition – a chrysalis phase – where the industry comes together to metamorphose into something stronger. It will require regulators, firms, trade bodies, policymakers and consumer voices to move forward with shared intent. And that is exactly the journey we are inviting you to be part of today.Our vision is a well-functioning credit market: not just in theory, but in practice. One that works for consumers in good times and bad, and one that we collectively help to shape.The question is not just where we are heading, but how we get there together.What needs to change?And what does success look like?We are keen to hear your views.
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