MB, You're right that banks have one purpose: to make money. This is why banks also lend to people with lower credit scores -- because they can lend to them at higher interest rates. Of course, the risks are higher for the bank because those low-credit-score borrowers are more likely to not repay the loan at all. But what banks love more than anything is for people to carry a balance month to month and pay a high interest rate on it. Those are the real slaves.