A recent debate on banking conducted by consumer organization Which? has revealed an almost total lack of trust in banks, with 96% of people agreeing the banks act more in their own interests than those of their customers.

One consumer summed up many people's views by saying: "Banks don't value customers. They view us as cash cows."

At the Big Banking Debate in London last week, many said the banks won't learn their lesson from the financial crisis, after benefiting from taxpayer-backed bailouts. People also slammed irresponsible lending, especially to those who are most vulnerable.

Many people in debt are only claiming a third of the welfare benefits they are entitled to, according to the Consumer Credit Counselling Service.

On average, a family on benefits missed out on £5,000 last year because they didn't claim everything they were entitled to. A whopping £16 billion of welfare benefits went unclaimed.

People are back to borrowing and spending again, Bank of England figures have revealed.

Consumers borrowed another £500 million on their credit cards and through loans in January, following £265 million in December.

This was the largest increase in consumer credit in well over a year and comes after five months of net repayments - when people paid back their credit card and other unsecured debts between July and November.

The surge in borrowing comes as a bit of a surprise. People probably borrowed more in December and January to buy Christmas presents and go on shopping sprees during the January sales – but retail sales were actually badly hit in January by the weather.

A new survey has revealed that there is strong demand to reform the banking system. The survey, commissioned by the Better Banking Campaign found that 70% of believed access to basic services is a right.

An unbelievable amount of people - between five and seven million - have no access to mainstream credit and nearly two million don't even have access to basic bank accounts.

So can the campaign really work, and what changes is it aiming to implement?

If you're in the market for a new credit card, or a new mortgage, it can be hard to know where to start looking. Knowing which kind or mortgage or credit card will suit you best is half the battle, and then knowing where to get is the other.

Find out how you can make at least one step in this process a whole lot easier.

Could you spot an outrageous rip off loan at 50 paces? What would you be looking out for - a loan shark? Perhaps even one of those pay day loans charging well over 3000% which are catching out unsuspecting consumers, and which are sanctioned by the authorities, which we warned about a couple of weeks ago.

OK how about a government-backed bank, which is offering loans every bit as expensive as these.
So what is happening. and what can we do about it?

The Bank of England was quite downbeat in its assessment of the economy today, saying the recovery would be slower than previously thought.

Governor Mervyn King said it's "far too soon" to say whether the quantitative easing programme is over. Last week the Bank halted the bond-buying programme, under which it pumped £200 billion into the economy since last May to kickstart growth - but left the door open for further purchases.

"The strength of the recovery is highly uncertain," the Bank said in its quarterly inflation report. "The nature of the headwinds means that the recovery is likely to be slow."

The tone suggests that interest rates are unlikely to go up any time soon from their record low of 0.5%. Some economists say they could even stay unchanged for the next couple of years.

King also warned of sharp price rises in coming weeks, but they will be temporary.

Thousands of borrowers with otherwise unblemished credit records face being turned down for loans and credit cards because the accounts they took out before 2000 do not appear on their credit reports, it has emerged.

Up to 50 million active accounts of all types, including mortgages and credit cards, do not appear on credit files held by credit reference agencies.

But having no repayment record can be just as damaging to your chances of being accepted as a borrower as a record showing missed payments.

Walletpop is therefore encouraging people in this situation to take out a so-called credit builder card to demonstrate their creditworthiness.

Experts have warned consumers against unscrupulous debt management firms and advised anyone thinking of using a debt management company to check the firm's fee structure before signing anything.

Although the UK officially came out of recession last week the hangover from the impact of unemployment, the high level of personal debt, and the prospect of rising interest rates will drive an increase in the number of people taking out a debt management plan in 2010, according to moneysupermarket.com.

So what should consumers look out for?

Personal loan rates are at a scary nine-year high, despite the bank base rate being at an all-time low.

Basically lenders are scared that the money they lend for loans to individuals won't be repaid. Although the recession is technically over unemployment is at a near 13-year high of almost 2.5 million, and many families are still struggling financially.

Put simply, personal loans are risky business.