'Back to school' for debt-laden Britons
Britons needed to be educated about financial matters at an early age in order to avoid falling into debt problems in later life, the British Bankers' Association (BBA) has said.
The BBA says that moves by the government to issue guidance on money matters for consumers are an important step forward and highlighted the findings of a new report by Otto Thoresen on the subject.
Mr Thoresen was appointed by the Treasury to carry out a review examining the feasibility of delivering a national approach to generic financial advice, with BBA chief executive Angela Knight expressing her confidence in such a prospect.
Following a briefing on the review's findings, she stressed the role that preventative action could have in debt management.
"The British Bankers' Association believes better financial education is key to ensuring people can make sensible plans for the future and provides us with the best hope of addressing the problem of financial literacy at a national level," she said.
"Otto Thoresen has identified a real gap in financial knowledge among the wider population. Now we need to see how the Thoresen proposals would work in practice."
The BBA is calling for a pilot project to establish the impact of a wider scheme and to evaluate its cost and efficacy.
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