Work is under way to set up a national debt register which will stop consumers taking out loans if they are in arrears with other payments, the AD reports on Tuesday.

The paper says the privacy watchdog CPB has given the green light to an experimental debt register which would list whether people are late with paying their rent or mortgage, energy bills and online shopping bills.
The NVVK, an agency which helps people deal with debt, has called for the setting up of a national register for the past 10 years, the paper says.
Banks
Spokeswoman Joke de Kock says if consumers agree to allow banks to check their debt status, they can assess if people will be able to pay off a new loan.
If consumers refuse to allow banks access to their financial details, or if it appears they cannot meet their debts, any further loans will be refused, De Kock is quoted as saying by Nos television.
‘Banks and loan companies have a code of conduct which states they only want to make responsible loans,’ she told the broadcaster.
Until now, privacy considerations have stopped similar registers being set up. But now the CPB has agreed to an experiment on a voluntary basis, the AD says. The project will start up later this year.
BKR
The number of people who are behind in repaying bank loans rose slightly to 7.7% over the first six months of this year, but is set to reach 8% by the end of 2012, the credit registration agency BKR said on Monday.
By the end of this year, some 720,000 people, or 8% of the population, will be behind in their loan repayments, BKR says. The organisation lists credit agreements with banks, mortgage providers and other official credit agencies.