Stop the exploitation.

OF late, cooperatives have been giving out personal loans. The Central Bank would do well to investigate if there is exploitation.

THE AUTHORITIES SEEM TO BE GRADUALLY clamping down on consumer loans, going by recent events.

Just last month, Bank Negara Malaysia said it was looking to impose curbs on property loans, and more recently, there is talk that credit card restrictions might be imposed on cardholders.

It is not difficult to fathom the concerns of the authorities. As the economy grows, the demand for personal loans, and that includes credit cards, has grown in tandem. Personal loans accounted for slightly more than half of the banking sector's loans …