§ One requirement of a new and more flexible regime is that it should deal comprehensively with the whole of the banking sector—taking account of the wide variety of banking business—and with other relevant credit-giving institutions. It is particularly important that it should operate effectively in relation to finance houses with their central role in the field of consumer credit.
§
And here I should refer to the valuable report on consumer credit by the
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committee under Lord Crowther's chairmanship. The committee recommend that control over consumer credit
should be subject 10 the general methods of quantitative monetary control
and should not be singled out for selective methods of control. It also recommended the abandonment of terms control over hire-purchase contracts. Clearly these two points go together—the general methods of quantitative control and the control of consumer credit.
§ The present hire-purchase arrangements continue to make an important contribution to demand management, although their use as an economic regulator has been causing increasing concern over the years. But it is also vital for economic management that general methods of control can be developed effectively. This will be an important aspect for the consultations to which I have referred. Meanwhile the present hire-purchase arrangements must remain.