The Finance Sector Union today renewed calls for banking regulation as ING Direct's latest quarterly Financial Wellbeing Index showed that Australian households are under rising pressure to get personal debt under control.

Banks actively engage in marketing and sales strategies that pressure their workers to promote credit cards, lines of credit and other debt products onto clients, FSU said in a statement.

Leon Carter, FSU National Secretary, said a balance between the public interest and banks' pursuit of profits must be redressed.

"The fact that banks engage in debt-pushing practices at such a significant rate, on top of exceeding RBA interest rate rises, charging interest upon interest and fee gouging are all practices that impact severely on Australian households and personal debt levels."

"The ING Direct's Quarterly Financial Wellbeing Index shows that savings are depleted by the need to repay debt, with 31 per cent of households 'very uncomfortable' about their personal savings," Mr Carter said.

"If banks continue to engage in debt-pushing practices, customers will continue to struggle to gain financial security, and the workers will continue to be put under undue pressure to push these products."

According to him, the government has a responsibility to regulate banks that are engaging in practices that see Australian debt levels skyrocketing.

Mr Carter said that is why the FSU is urging both Labor and Coalition to commit to its Better Banking Charter, which seeks regulation of: off-shoring of bank jobs where sensitive personal data is handled, use of debt sales targets as a performance measure, interest rate movements outside RBA limits, control of short-term measures for bonuses for senior executives, and tighter controls of bank fees.

"The power of our banks touch the lives of every Australian - but only with proper regulation can banks balance public interest with profits," he said.