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		</div><p><a href="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/provident-hails-profits-recovery.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full" title="Doorstep lender Provident Financial has posted an 11 per cent hike in annual profits" src="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/min-provident-hails-profits-recovery.jpg" alt="Doorstep lender Provident Financial has posted an 11 per cent hike in annual profits"/></a></p>
<p>Doorstep lender Provident Financial has posted an 11% hike in annual profits after seeing a recovery in collections and in demand for loans.</p>
<p>The Bradford-based group, which specialises in sub-prime lending, said business picked up as consumer confidence returned after details of the Government&#8217;s spending review &#8211; a trend that has continued into 2011.</p>
<p>But Provident said it would continue to take a cautious approach to lending as it fears further fall-out from the austerity cuts.</p>
<p>The group, which offers doorstep credit and also owns Vanquis Bank, posted underlying pre-tax profits of £144.5 million in 2010, up from £130.1 million in 2009. On a reported basis, profits rose 13% to £142 million.</p>
<p>It maintained profits at £129.1 million in the consumer credit division &#8211; which offers small, short-term loans to people who would have trouble borrowing from mainstream lenders &#8211; after cutting costs and jobs and increasing collections by focusing on existing customers.</p>
<p>Home credit sales rose 9% in the fourth quarter after being depressed earlier in the year ahead of the spending review.</p>
<p>Provident has tightened its lending criteria and collections policy since the credit crunch, hiring more field-based management roles to boost collections and expanding its contact centre at Vanquis.</p>
<p>This helped reduce its impairment rate across both home credit and Vanquis Bank last year.</p>
<p>Provident said its businesses also enjoyed a &#8220;good start&#8221; to 2011, with sound collections and year-on-year sales growth.</p>
<p>However, the group added: &#8220;There is uncertainty about the future direction of the employment market, which is likely to remain until the impact of the Government&#8217;s spending review on UK economic growth is clearer. Consequently, tight underwriting standards will remain in place in both businesses.&#8221;</p>
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