You're not wrong. The language they use about the new...

You're not wrong. The language they use about the new regulations is 'credit checking', but they have always done credit checks - this is more insidious - it's background checking to make sure the customer is not being put into hardship. The term is making sure the loan is 'not unsuitable'. If they give you a loan and you can later prove they should not have, the loan can be struck out and they will be prosecuted. In this space they have to treat every applicant as a bare faced liar to make sure they catch every bit of other credit and household expenses, prove the source of income, verify the payslips. It will kill them slowly