Payday lender Wonga may change name as part of overhaul

By Matt Scuffham LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's biggest payday lender Wonga may change its name as part of Chairman Andy Haste's plans to rebuild the battered reputation of the firm, which on Tuesday reported a 2014 loss of 37.3 million pounds ($55.5 million). Wonga grew rapidly in Britain, filling a gap left by banks retreating from short-term lending to customers following the financial crisis of 2007-9. At its peak in 2012, it was making a pre-tax profit of more than 1.5 million pounds a week. But the business, founded by South African entrepreneur Errol Damelin, hit trouble when its sky-high interest rates came under scrutiny from lawmakers and its debt collection practices, including sending its customers fake legal letters, were exposed by Britain's consumer watchdog. The resulting crackdown led to an overhaul of the way payday lenders are regulated in Britain and the departure of Damelin and several other Wonga executives. Wonga was left with a 35 million pound bill after writing off debt for 330,000 customers. Haste, a former chief executive of insurer RSA, was drafted in last July to rebuild the business. "We know it will take time to repair our reputation and gain an accepted place in the financial services industry, but we're determined to deliver on our plans and serve our customers in the right way," he said on Tuesday. Haste has ditched the company's television advertising featuring puppet characters that may appeal to children and introduced tighter lending criteria to lessen the chances of customers defaulting. That overhaul could lead to the company changing its name. "All of that stuff is in the melting pot. We are not ruling it out or in," Haste told Reuters in an interview. "The question comes down to whether it remains the only brand or one of many brands and ultimately does it stay as a brand for the overall company?" he said. Haste warned the company would make a further loss in 2015. Its 2014 performance contrasted with a profit of 39.7 million the year before. The company will look to launch new products and may seek new funding in 2016 to support more lending, Haste said. Wonga also took a charge of 15.3 million pounds after moving to a new lending platform and adopting different technology to assess risk. (This version of the story refiled to remove repetition of debt write-off in last paragraph) (Editing by Jason Neely)