Chancellor issues warning over consumer debt
Published On 14 September 2007
The chancellor has said that people in the UK need to consider the consequences before getting into more debt.Speaking to the Telegraph newspaper, Alistair Darling revealed that he thinks UK banks have not been rigorous enough when people apply for loans and other credit.
He called on lenders to return to "good old-fashioned banking" and added: "Institutions have in some cases been prepared to lend to people without checking if they were ever going to repay it.
"It doesn't do any good for anybody, particularly the person in debt but also the lender, to be getting into a situation where you have bad debts."
However, Mr Darling also told the paper that much of the responsibility for debt in the country had to be put at the feet of those that borrowed the money in the first place.
He explained: "Primary responsibility has to rest with people … [Borrowers] need to ask themselves, 'can I repay this?'"
Recent figures from moneysupermarket.com indicate that 28 per cent of people in the country have used a loan to consolidate some or all of their debt.
