Providers poised to follow bank's deal, which varies 0% period for individuals

The average household is now £55,808 in debt, according to the money education charity Credit Action. Meanwhile the average amount owed by every UK adult is nudging £30,000.

A raft of measures aimed at getting money flowing to smaller companies lie at the heart of George Osborne's economic and political strategies.

An official review of credit has given the green light to excessive interest.

Members of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee warned that the eurozone crisis could trigger a fresh credit crunch, minutes released yesterday reveal. At its November meeting two weeks ago, the MPC discussed "concerns over the sustainability of the debt positions of some euro-area countries".

Black entrepreneurs denied equal access to loans, says Lib Dem leader

A poor credit rating can mean a life of refused loans and credit cards and expensive current accounts. But there is no reason for your credit rating to sink like the Greek economy.

Nationwide building society yesterday claimed "strong performance in our key markets" helped underlying profits climb 17 per cent to £172m in the six months to 30 September.

Nearly two million UK credit card customers plan to switch providers over the next 12 months because the interest-free period on their balance transfers is coming to an end, according to research from Sainsbury's bank. Nearly 900,000 other customers are planning to switch because a similar 0 per cent deal on purchases has come to an end.

A free loan offer launched this week could prove disastrous for hard-up families, a debt charity has warned. "It's just a way to snare people into paying sky-high rates," said Una Farrell of the Consumer Credit Counselling Service.

British banks should reverse plans to scrap cheques by reintroducing the cheque guarantee cards that were phased out in June, the Treasury Select Committee will demand today.

Mental illness and money problems very often go together but the link is still unclear.

I would like to let you into a little secret this week, although it probably won't surprise you: some fund managers aren't that exciting. In fact some are rather dull – not necessarily a bad quality for someone you are entrusting your money to of course. Yet there are others so passionate about their subject that it clearly shows they love their job. Anthony Eaton, manager of the J M Finn Global Opportunities fund, definitely falls into the latter camp.

Debt collectors have been told by the Office of Fair Trading that they are not to contact people who owe them money via Twitter and Facebook.

The Office of Fair Trading yesterday hit out at debt collectors that hound debtors through social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter.