The select committee wrote an open letter to the heads of major banks calling for greater openness.

“Banks have profited on lack of transparency and confusing small print for far too long,” said Lib Dem treasury spokesman, Dr Vince Cable. “I welcome the advance that has been made in terms of summary boxes on credit card statements.”

He went on to point out that the banking industry now needed to introduce a level of standardisation and that he wished to see all information in a simple, “understandable” form.

Dr Cable concluded by saying: “Institutions should not continue to offer credit cards to those who cannot afford to keep up with repayments and should be urged to inform people about Payment Protection Insurance.”