BBA: Banks keep consumers away from loan sharks

Director of the BBA, Eric Leenders, said that access to credit from regulated sources was a “huge enabler” that helped stop people taking out informal arrangements at high interest rates.

“Any consumer who takes credit should have the protection that the law provides,” said Mr Leenders at a conference aimed at tackling debt levels.

“Increased access to credit over the last 20 to 25 years has been a huge enabler.”

However, he brushed off criticism that household debt now stood at 150 per cent of income, believing that those getting themselves into debt were a “minority issue”.

This is despite claims from the Money Advice Trust at the same conference that it no longer had enough staff to support the amount of people coming to it with debt problems.