Darling condemns banks for credit crunch - papers 13 September

Alistair Darling says the key is to make the system ‘more open and transparent’. People should consider the consequences more carefully before signing up to loan deals, he says. His remarks will be seen as a watershed, marking the end of the credit boom that has characterised most of Labour's decade in office. Mr Darling says: "They [borrowers] need to ask themselves, 'can I repay this?' and lenders need to ask themselves, 'If it goes wrong can I get it back?' "People do need to think long and hard about this. One of the by-products of the current situation is that, not just at a hi...