Motor Trade Thematic Review 2025 Report

Guernsey GFSC News

Published March 27th, 2026

Detected March 27th, 2026

Summary

The Guernsey Financial Services Commission has issued its Motor Trade Thematic Review 2025 report, assessing compliance with the Lending, Credit and Finance (LCF) regime. The review found generally positive outcomes, with firms treating customers fairly, but identified areas for improvement in commission disclosure and customer record quality.

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What changed

The Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) has published its Motor Trade Thematic Review 2025 report, evaluating firms' adherence to the Lending, Credit and Finance (LCF) regime, which fully took effect in July 2023. The review, which included a public survey, questionnaires, and onsite visits, assessed credit providers and brokers in the motor finance sector. Key findings indicate that while most firms treat customers fairly and provide loan APRs, improvements are needed in commission disclosure processes and the completeness/accessibility of information provided to customers. Motor finance advertising compliance was also found to be inconsistent.

Regulated entities in the motor finance sector, including credit providers and brokers, should review the report's findings and recommendations. The GFSC will work with firms through ongoing supervision to ensure necessary improvements are made, particularly concerning commission disclosures and customer information. While no specific compliance deadline is mentioned, firms are expected to address identified issues to maintain compliance with the LCF legislation and ensure fair treatment of customers.

What to do next

Review the Motor Trade Thematic Review 2025 report for identified areas of improvement.
Assess and enhance commission disclosure processes.
Improve the completeness and accessibility of customer information provided.

Source document (simplified)

News

Motor Trade Thematic Review 2025

27th March 2026
- General
The Commission has today issued its report on its first thematic review conducted under the Lending, Credit and Finance regime. The thematic review focused specifically on motor finance, assessing how well firms are complying with the new regulatory regime since it came into full effect in July 2023.

‘Motor finance’, in the context of the thematic, refers to the various loans and credit agreements that help individuals to spread the cost of buying vehicles such as cars, motorbikes or scooters for their personal use. In the Bailiwick, motor finance agreements commonly take the form of personal loans, hire purchase (HP), HP with a balloon payment and personal contract purchase (PCP) agreements.

Included in the scope were two main types of firm – credit providers (or lenders) and credit brokers (usually motor traders or garages), who arrange loans on their customers’ behalf during the process of selling a vehicle.

As part of the thematic, a public survey was launched to gather the public’s personal experiences of obtaining motor finance in the Bailiwick.

Alongside the survey, questionnaires were sent to lenders and brokers, desk-based reviews were undertaken, and 15 onsite visits were conducted, which provided a comprehensive picture of industry practice.

The findings of the thematic were broadly positive, with most firms demonstrating their commitment to meeting the requirements of the LCF legislation and embedding fair treatment of customers within their practices. The key findings were as follows:

Generally, firms are treating customers fairly
Firms no longer use discretionary commissions arrangements, although improvements must be made to commissions disclosure processes
Firms take into account the individual circumstances of those customers in arrears and consider a range of appropriate forbearance options
Firms are generally providing their customers with the loan APR, in accordance with the Rules
Motor finance advertising is generally clear, but compliance with the LCF Rules is inconsistent
The information provided by firms to customers could be improved, to ensure that it is complete and (where relevant) accessible
The quality of customer records held by motor traders could be enhanced Looking ahead, where issues have been identified, we will work with firms through our ongoing supervision, to ensure that any necessary improvements are made.

A copy of the thematic review is available here or via the Commission’s Legislation and Guidance page under the ‘Thematic Reviews’ heading. More information can also be found on the consumer pages on our website.

We would like to take the opportunity again to thank everyone who participated in the public survey.

Finally, we would also like to thank all participating firms for their cooperation throughout this process. Their engagement was instrumental in facilitating this assessment of industry practices.