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Financial Services Bill

The noble Lord makes good points about the dangers of credit card debt. In many cases, credit cards are toxic. They suck people into debt that they cannot afford. That debt is by its very nature unsecured. The rates of interest are high and have been edged steadily higher over the past year to 18 months by all the banks, not least the banks that we have rescued and in which we have majority or substantial shareholdings. I was horrified a few years ago when my children were at university and at one stage it seemed that, with almost every post, offers of credit cards were made to them. That was a gross form of mis-selling. We think that the noble Lord makes good points, even though the exact detail of what he suggests should be done needs further work. However, I pay tribute to the way in which he has highlighted these dangers.