Banks are clamping down on credit cards and other unsecured lending as fears grow that the boom in household debt could turn into a bust that could destabilise the financial system and force consumers into bankruptcy. New figures from the Bank of England show banks cut back the availability of loans and rejected an increasing proportion of credit card applications in an effort to ensure they are giving only high-quality loans to customers who can afford the debt.It follows a series of warnings from Mark Carney that annual growth of 10pc in lending could leave borrowers overstretched and the banks vulnerable to a slump.The proportion of banks reporting a fall in availability outweighing those with greater availability by 12 percentage points, the survey showed. It is the fourth consecutive quarter of falling availability, indicating the market is now cooling down.....

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