You can't make make this up: the government has decided to introduce new credit laws to punish "dodgy lenders". Not only does every lender now have to be licenced which in itself adds operating costs and red tape, but they're also subjected to laws requiring them to let borrowers "...request a variation to their credit contract if they suffered financial hardship." It's good to see that a voluntary contract between two parties is now worthless in this country. What's next, laws against usury?

It's always the same with the government: if the existing regulation doesn't work then just add yet another layer that strips even more liberties, adds more red tape, increases the costs for private enterprise and ultimately hurts the consumer, the very people they're trying to "protect". As interest rates rise thanks to cumbersome regulation and the inflation of the money supply, watch the government get even more heavy-handed in the loan industry. They will probably condemn lenders for charging "too much", like they can possibly determine what is "too much" or "fair" without the market's price mechanism. Then they'll force down rates, banks will stop lending (they'll probably simply invest themselves) and the politicians will "fight" the huge underground consumer loan industry they created that doesn't take your house, it takes your fingers.

The banks don’t prey on the poor. They offer them a service; no one is forcing them to agree to it. The price is right for them at the time they take the money, that’s perfectly legal. The right to buy or not to buy is vital to economic well-being and, of course, to personal liberty. Individuals need to be responsible for themselves and try to avoid the losses that result from mistakes. If people are constantly bailed out, the loss comes out of the public purse (or the lenders) and they are relieved of personal responsibility. They can then waste and lose just as much as their inherent laziness may dictate!

Remove all of the banking and lending regulation and allow the free market and competition to work. We're on a slippery slope to a place no one wants to go (politicians excluded) and these do-gooders who think they're saving the world are leading the charge, systematically removing individual liberties and freedom as they go. As Ayn Rand said, we support the smallest minority of them all: the individual.