Government urged to reform financial market.

An influential group of MPs have urged the government to ensure several reforms in the financial market. The suggestions include clamping down on illegal money lending and raising competition in the home credit market where hundreds of lenders are engaged in providing secured and unsecured loans.

London (loans-bazaar) November 18, 2006: There are numerous lenders in the UK financial market who deal in various types of secured and unsecured loans but still generic financial advice is not widely available. Labour MP John McFall said that eight million people earning between 10,000 pounds and 22,000 pounds a year find it difficult to get advice that was not linked to commissions and the sales process.

McFall, who headed a Parliamentary Treasury Committee inquiry into banking services for the poor, portrayed a number of areas the government should look into if it was serious about providing financial advice to poorer segments.

McFall also said that the Treasury should take the lead in brokering an agreement between the Financial Services Authority and the financial industry to sort out a framework for a national financial advice network. The network could be funded through a partnership between the public and private sectors.

The Parliamentary Treasury Committee said that it expects the government to take a tougher approach against illegal lenders as part of a drive to counter the high cost of credit.

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