According to figures released this week by the Financial Services Authority as many as 45% of home loans in the past decade have been given without adequate checks on the ability of the borrower to repay.

A spokesman for the FSA said that the past few years had seen a large sum of “irresponsible lending” that didn’t take into account the individual’s ability to repay loans that they had taken out. The FSA was particularly critical of so-called “self-certified” loans, which involved the borrower declaring their own average salary with no background check by the lender.

Some experts were quick to point out though, that the regulator ran the risk of lumping in perfectly good loans provided under the “fast-track” scheme.

"There is a very clear distinction between fast-track lending and self-certified lending. Fast-tracking is a process which involves low-risk loans, borrowers with very good payment records and people who are borrowing conservatively" said Bernard Clarke from the Council of Mortgage Lenders.