The loan was an anvil on a chain. Not like the ones in the cartoons that killed so many characters, but more similar to the ones a mobster ties to the ankle of an informant before tossing them into the sea.
The entire system came to depend on loans to pump it up, loans to in-debt the young, to keep them too afraid and stressed out to see the big picture. The thing is, the elders are supposed to support and guide the young, not enslave them to plump out retirement plans.
Loans were immorality writ large, instead of helping the disadvantaged they were enslaved by the silky talk of the money-men.
Loans are predation. Help is more akin to how a brother comes to your rescue, all smiles and feeling the joy of coming to your aid. Loans are a huge part of what's wrong with us.
Loans were invented to make the rich richer, not as societal help. Those sharks saw an opportunity to stake out their fiefdoms and they took it.
A healthy society would give homes and food to all citizens, not ask them to saddle themselves with loans just to survive.