article: Controversial payday lender Wonga could change its name in a desperate attempt to regain credibility after a string of scandals caused the firm to lose £37.3million. The firm has been hit by new rules on payday lending, as well as being forced to pay compensation to customers who were sent fake legal letters. Wonga's revenues fell by nearly £100million last year to a total of £217.2million, it was announced today - months after the company wrote off the debts of 300,000 customers. Controversial: Wonga, whose puppet advert is shown here, has reported a loss of £37.3million . Now chairman Andy Haste says that the company might ditch its controversial brand in a bid to repair the company's reputation. 'We are not ruling it out or in,' he told Reuters today. '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?' Wonga's financial woes are expected to continue thanks to a new cap on the interest rates it can charge which was introduced at the start of this year. Announcing the firm's latest set of results today, Mr Haste said: 'We said Wonga would be smaller and less profitable in the near term as we focus on creating a sustainable business that lends responsibly and transparently to customers who can afford to borrow from us. Desperate measures: Chairman Andy Haste says that Wonga might change its name . '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 that all credit providers have to 'put their customers first and lend responsibly', admitting: 'Regrettably, that has not always been the case at Wonga.' The firm's chairman insisted that Wonga would no longer lend to customers who cannot afford to repay their loans, and said that the company had 'grown too quickly' without putting in place the necessary management structure. The number of Wonga's customers in the UK fell by nearly half, to 575,000, with the company making 2.5million loans in the course of 2014 compared to 3.7million the year before. The total amount of money lent fell from £1.1billion to £732million - but the company said that just 6.6 per cent of loans were defaulted on, down from 6.9 per cent in 2013. Wonga has cut the proportion of loan application it accepts from 80 per cent to just half after toughening up the criteria which potential lenders must meet. However, Mr Haste admitted that it is likely to take another year to turn the company around, saying that 2016 would be when 'we will start to come back'. Last year, Wonga took a £35million hit from writing off 300,000 personal loans, and also faces a £20million bill over the bogus legal letters scandal. The company was ordered to compensate 45,000 customers who were sent official-looking letters demanding repayment from law firms which were actually just a front for Wonga itself. Wonga also courted controversy with its cheerful adverts featuring puppets, which critics claimed were designed to appeal to children and which have now been pulled from the airwaves. Row: The company now faces new restrictions on the amount of interest it can charge on loans . New rules introduced this year are designed to clamp down on the costs of payday loans offered by companies like Wonga. Interest rates have been capped at 0.8 per cent a day - meaning that Wonga has had to cut its annual rate from 5,853 per cent to 1,509 per cent. Experts have warned that up to 99 per cent of payday lenders could be driven out of business by the rates cap, although Wonga is considered likely to survive because of its high profile. However, earlier this year Wonga announced that it was sacking 325 staff - a third of its workforce - in the wake of the new rules. Among those who have led the criticism of Wonga is the Archbishop of Canterbury, who announced plans to set up a Church-backed credit network which can compete with payday lenders. Clampdown: Payday lenders are now significantly restricted in the interest rates they can charge . March 2013: The UK's biggest payday lenders are threatened with being put out of business after a damning report by the Office of Fair Trading uncovers evidence of 'widespread irresponsible lending'. June 2013: The OFT refers payday lenders to the Competition Commission for a full-scale inquiry, saying it has found 'deep-rooted' problems. It finds some firms' business models appear to be based around customers taking out loans which they are forced to roll over because they cannot afford them. March 2014: Payday lenders face a new inquiry to see how sympathetic they are when customers struggle to pay back their debts, the Financial Conduct Authority announces. April 2014: Supervision of the whole payday lending industry passes from the OFT to the FCA. The FCA immediately starts putting tough new rules into action, including forcing payday firms to provide financial health warnings in emails, online and in texts and signpost people to free debt help. June 2014: The Competition and Markets Authority releases provisional findings from its competition investigation and says that payday loan borrowers are paying around £60 a year over the odds because of problems shopping around. It suggests setting up an independent price comparison website for payday customers. The FCA announces that Wonga is to pay £2.6million in compensation after chasing struggling customers with fake legal letters in order to pressurise them into paying up. Between October 2008 and November 2010, the firm sent correspondence to about 45,000 customers in arrears from non-existent law firms threatening legal action. July 2014: The payday industry comes under more new rules overseen by the FCA. From July 1, payday firms have to include risk warnings in television advertising. They are also banned from rolling over a loan more than twice. The FCA proposes a cap on payday lending, meaning that from January interest and fees on new loans, including those rolled over, must not exceed 0.8 per cent for each day of the amount borrowed. October 2014: The CMA announces plans that will force payday lenders to sell their products through impartial comparison websites as part of a new clampdown by the watchdog . January 2015: The FCA's new cap on interest rates comes into force. It is predicted to squeeze up to 99 per cent of lenders out of the market. February 2015: The Competition and Markets Authority says payday lenders will have to put their deals on comparisons sites, as Wonga reveals plans to sack one third of its workforce. April 2015: Wonga reports a pre-tax loss of £37.3million in the wake of its high-profile struggles.
highlights: The firm lost £37.3million after revenues fell by a third over the past year .
  Wonga has been hit by public controversy and forced to  compensate customers over fake legal letters .
  New cap on payday loan interest rates is set to damage company further .
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