CML welcomes launch of consumer 'debt test'

The CML welcomes today's launch of an online 'debt test' helping consumers keep control of their borrowing and take action if they encounter problems.  The CML worked closely with the Financial Services Authority in developing the test and chaired the borrowing working group under the FSA's strategy for improving the financial capability of consumers.

The debt test, which can be completed in just a few moments, asks consumers about their personal circumstances, income and borrowing.  The answers are analysed online, providing consumers with instant information and feedback on their borrowing commitments, tips on how to avoid debt problems and help to manage any difficulties they have. 

The CML's website provides a link directly to the FSA's online test.  The test can also be taken by visitors to the BBC website.  The CML welcomes the test as an important step towards making generic advice about borrowing more widely available, so that consumers will be able to get even more useful information and help before taking out a loan. 

The CML's director general Michael Coogan said:

"We spent much of last year helping to develop the debt test and so we are very pleased to see it launched today.  Borrowing can enhance the lives of consumers, and provides the route by which most people become home-owners.  But it is important for consumers to have a clear understanding of their commitments, and the debt test is a useful and highly accessible tool."

Notes to editors 

1.  The debt test can be taken by visiting the websites of the FSA and the BBC.

2.  The CML chaired the borrowing working group under the FSA's national strategy for financial capability, launched in November 2003.  More information on financial capability can be found on the FSA's website.

3.  The CML's members are banks, building societies and other lenders who together undertake around 98% of all residential mortgage lending in the UK.  There are 11.6 million mortgages in the UK, with loans worth around £942 billion.