Report: More Card Issuers Should Disclose Penalty Rates

Federal regulators should enforce rules requiring credit card issuers to disclose penalty interest rates, and prohibit them from imposing higher rates than disclosed initially to consumers. That was the key recommendation from Pew Health Group’s “Safe Credit Cards Project,” which recently conducted a study on the impact of the credit card reform laws that mostly took effect Feb. 22 of this year.

Schumer to Fed: Consumers Need Clarity on New Checking Fees

Some of the nation’s largest banks are about to start charging new checking account fees, and that has prompted Sen. Charles Schumer to ask Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to make sure banking customers will get sufficient and clear notice. The new trend is a response by the banking sector to anticipated declines in revenue from debit card fee restrictions to take effect next week.

Fed Caps Credit Card Penalty Fees at $25 for Non-Repeat Offenders

As part of the final phase of credit card reform, the Federal Reserve today capped penalty fees at $25 per violation, unless the card holder has made repeated violations or the card issuer can show that a higher fee is reasonable. The Fed is also requiring that credit card issuers re-evaluate any interest rate hikes since Jan. 1, 2009 to determine if reasons for the increase have changed “and, if appropriate, to reduce the rate.”

U.S. Credit Card Debt Falls for 19th Month in April: Fed

Overall consumer credit – not including real estate loans – nudged up $1 billion in May, but credit card debt registered its 19th-straight month of declines, according to the Federal Reserve. It was only the second increase in both credit card and non-revolving consumer borrowing in the past 14 months as Americans continue to work on reducing debt.

Fed Provides Updates on Consumer Credit Card Agreements

The Federal Reserve is making it a bit easier for consumers to compare credit card agreements for more than 300 issuers with a new searchable online database. The agreements contain credit terms and conditions, and pricing and fee information.

Credit Card Debt, Late Payments Fall in 1Q , TransUnion Says

Consumers lowered the credit card balances on average almost 11 percent over the past 12 months, and fewer were late on their payments in the first quarter, pushing down the 90-day delinquency rate nearly 16 percent over a year ago, TransUnion said today. The quarterly analysis of credit card trends based on 27 million anonymously sampled credit files shows that Americans continue to reduce card balances through economic hard times, possibly helped along by credit card reform that took effect Feb. 22.

Will Consumers Win with Regulated Debit Card ‘Swipe’ Fees?

After years of attempting to even get a bill on the floor of Congress, business groups finally saw enough support to draw a bipartisan vote in the Senate for the first-ever regulation over the fees charged merchants by payment networks Visa and MasterCard. In a 64-33 vote, the U.S. Senate Thursday approved an amendment loosening the grip Visa and MasterCard have enjoyed on debit card transaction fees passed on to the banks that carry their cards.

Credit Card Reform: Some are Inspired to Pay Off More

Some credit card users are paying attention to new required disclosures by card issuers intended to help consumers pay off their balances sooner and save potentially thousands of dollars in interest, according to a new survey. The National Foundation for Credit Counseling found that 25 percent of 2,000 respondents were inspired to pay off more than their minimum balances.

Obama: GOP Plan Would ‘Gut Consumer Protections’

President Obama today lashed out against a Republican amendment proposing a consumer financial protection agency without the autonomous and sweeping authority over credit cards, mortgages and other loan products that is sought by Democrats. The Republicans want to create a division of consumer protection within the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and subject it to FDIC rules. The FDIC’s primary role, White House officials say, is the safety and soundness of banks, not protecting consumers from unfair or predatory practices.

Chase, Bank of America: Have Credit Card Delinquencies Peaked?

JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, the top two general-purpose credit card issuers, reported improved outlooks for their card divisions in first-quarter reports, including a possible peaking in delinquencies, a trend generally reflective of the industry. But concerns remain as charge-offs are still elevated from credit card loans deemed uncollectible at 180 days late. Those stem from delinquencies that first registered in the second half of last year.

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