A leading U.S. CEO is warning that the country is "drowning in debt" and that blame can be spread among lenders and consumers.

Last week in a speech before the Executives Club of Chicago, Bloomberg News quoted Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis as predicting record defaults on credit card payments next year because of higher unemployment.

He noted that along with the current poor economy, consumer and government debt has grown faster than the gross domestic product at a four to one pace in recent years.

"The times, to be blunt, are not good," Lewis was quoted as saying in the Charlotte Observer. "What started last year as a crisis in the subprime mortgage markets became a global credit crisis, and now has become a global recession."

In his remarks, Lewis called on banks to reclaim the role they once had in trying to teach Americans how to save money and live within their means.

According to a Dow Jones report, the CEO found at least one silver lining to the ongoing financial mess, observing that financial institutions are currently being reminded that they play a "supporting role" in the economy, and not a lead one.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------