The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) says that the government and financial supervisory agencies are partially to blame for the nation's credit card crisis last year.

Announcing the results of its months-long probe into the crisis, the BAI dished out blame among credit card companies and users while criticizing the government's failed policies and the negligence of watchdog agencies for having brought about the credit woes.

The agency called for merging of the supervisory functions of three government bodies, namely the Finance Ministry, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), into a single channel.

The BAI also demanded disciplinary measures against some senior officials at the watchdog agencies.

Last year's surge in consumer delinquencies prompted card issuers to borrow capital from parent companies and seek bailouts from creditors.

In response to the BAI probe results, the Finance Ministry stressed the importance of assisting credit card companies to get back on their feet, saying that it would set up an early warning system to effectively regulate card issuers in the future.