Lib Dems: Banks must share blame

Responding to reports that most major banks had seen bad debt levels rise by about a third, the party’s financial spokesman Vince Cable said this was partly due to irresponsible lending.

“The irresponsible behaviour on the part of lenders and consumers over the last few years is now starting to show through in the bad debts that banks have to write off,” said Mr Cable.

“Banks must share some of the blame for rising insolvencies and must act more responsibly in the future.”

His comments back up remarks made by Datamonitor who said that both borrowers and lenders are responsible for the rise in bad debt levels.

Likewise, Mr Cable said that while some borrowers had “acted recklessly”, banks were to blame for increasing credit limits without a customer request.

He also warned that with interest rates likely to rise, those who had borrowed more than they could afford thanks to the banks could soon be feel their debt begin to affect their lifestyle.