Provident Financial is changing (Patrick Hosking writes). The idea that the Bradford-based Provi still largely comprises an army of agents knocking on housing estate doors to extend loans to the poor and collect monthly repayments was way out of date even before the pandemic. The shutdown in the spring and the one starting now have made that approach even less feasible. It has still just about been possible for a borrower to request a home visit, but the vast majority of business is now conducted online or over the phone.
Home-collected credit, once the mainstay of the business, is now a dwindling division, with Vanquis Bank, a sub-prime credit card and personal loans operation, and Moneybarn, the car loans division, becoming more important.
The third-quarter
