NY TIMES: CONGRESS NEEDS TO REIN IN CREDIT CARDS

July 31, 2007

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The federal agencies that are supposed to regulate the banking and credit card industries have failed to keep pace with deceptive and unfair practices that have become shamefully standard in the business, according to an editorial in today’s New York Times. As a consequence, many hard-working Americans who pay their bills are mired in debt, so Congress needs to rein in this sometimes predatory industry. Congressional investigations and studies by consumer advocates have exposed other unsavory practices. State usury laws would once have precluded many of these practices, but those have been preempted by federal regulations that are increasingly in favor of banks and credit card companies. Passing a bill introduced by Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) that would limit “penalty” interest rates to an additional 7 percent above the previous rate would be a good start, but lawmakers need to ban deceptive card offers outright, strengthen federal oversight and toughen truth-in-lending laws. Read more.

NY Times: Congress Needs To Rein In Credit Cards