BBA chief backs banks over lending
Angela Knight denied that banks were to blame for the rise in debt and said it was down to individuals to make up their own minds on whether to take out a loan.
“Firstly, [banks] are all signed up to responsible lending codes and those codes are checkable,” Ms Knight told BBC Radio Five Live’s ‘Wake Up To Money’.
“The second thing is you and I are individuals. It’s our choice as well as to whether we go and borrow money, and actually if you go off to a bank and you arrange a loan, it’s probably the cheapest way you can borrow money.”
Her comments run contrary to many, particularly debt action charities, which argue that banks need to be more responsible as consumers were often confused about loans.
Irresponsible lending has been attacked before and forced the big four banks to agree to share borrower information to help stop people taking on too many debts.
However, Ms Knight is adamant that it is down to individuals and not banks to decide whether to take out a loan, even, it seems, if they are not financially aware about the consequences.
