The Common Financial Statement (CFS)
The CFS is a standard and consistent way for money advisers to communicate with creditors. It is jointly sponsored by the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA), the British Bankers Association (BBA) and Money Advice Trust (MAT). Since the first CFS was published in November 2002 it has undergone considerable change and improvement.
The key principles are:
- A standard budgeting format for all money advice organisations.
- A set of pre-agreed levels – known as trigger figures - for certain areas of discretionary expenditure.
- A commitment from supporting creditors to CFS principles so that offers made by money advisers will be accepted as long as expenditure is within the trigger figures and the guidelines have been followed.
- An understanding that if trigger figures have been exceeded, an explanation of the reasons for this should be provided by advisers for creditors to consider.
- A streamlined process so that repayment offers can be dealt with more quickly.
- A partnership approach to avoid unnecessary disputes between money advisers and creditors.
The sponsorship by FLA members for the Common Financial Statement supports their commitments under the FLA Lending Code to assist borrowers who find themselves in financial difficulties.
The sponsorship by FLA Consumer Finance Division members for the Common Financial Statement supports their commitments under the FLA Lending Code to assist borrowers who find themselves in financial difficulties
For more information please refer to the MAT website
