What a debt jubilee could do for Britain

South Korea has announced a ‘National Happiness Fund’ which will wipe the slate clean for millions of the country’s indebted citizens. Lars Henriksson asks if the same idea could work in Britain.

Here's an idea for rebooting Britain's consumer economy.

First, you set up a fund to help restructure household debt. Let's say it's a $1.35bn fund (you'll see why in a minute). You use this fund to buy up bad debt from banks at a serious discount. Borrowers will be asked to pay back only part of the principal on favourable terms, offering the same low interest rates that are available to banks.

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Lars is an emerging-markets expert, with many years of 'on the ground' experience hunting down profit opportunities in Asia. Lars spent ten years living in Malaysia and Thailand, seeking out strategic opportunities, before moving to London to manage the Oracle Asia Absolute Fund. In short, Lars has real knowledge of where the opportunities in Asia are.