Category: Federal Reserve
Credit Card Companies Fail To Provide Full Penalty Rate Disclosures
Despite legislation to make credit card terms fair and easy-to-understand for consumers, the new regulations have opened the door to changes that can make cardholders “vulnerable and uninformed.” The Pew Health Group study (entitled “Two Steps Forward: After the Card Act, Credit Cards are Safer and More Transparent–But Challenges Remain”) released last week analyzed and [...]
Financial Reform Doesn’t Address Our $10 Trillion Problem
George Gombossy asked for my thoughts on the new financial reform legislation. I have many, which I intend to share periodically going forward. But I think it’s important to place the legislation in the context of the big picture, which for me is framed by the numbers. The financial crisis was caused by the rise [...]
Attorneys Claim Consumer Financial Reform Will Protect Against Abusive Arbitrations
President Obama will take an important step today toward protecting consumers by signing into law the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), under the just-passed Wall Street Reform Act, to help limit the use of abusive forced arbitration clauses in financial contracts. “The new CFPB will help address the abusive forced arbitration practices used by [...]
Bristol Consumer Advocate Taking On Minimum Purchase Requirements For Credit Cards
Marcus Patten is a consumer advocate. A full-time associate television producer from Bristol, Patten has been carrying on a small battle on behalf of consumers like himself for the past year. Patten was upset about signs he saw in stores – especially gas stations – saying that in order to charge a purchase, customers needed [...]
Credit And Finance News Update For Week
Mortgage brokers and lenders will often caution borrowers against
charging up their credit cards or changing jobs before the closing
date on a home loan. Now that advice seems especially prudent.
On June 1, Fannie Mae, the government-sponsored company that
establishes the underwriting standards for most of the nation’s
mortgages, started requiring lenders to recheck a borrower’s
finances shortly before closing the loan. If a broker or lender finds
significant changes, the loan could be delayed, or in some cases,
denied. Industry executives say the change should not have a
drastic effect on borrowing, unless of course, the borrower is
prone to running up huge credit card bills.
Story by Bob Tedeschi for the New York Times.
New Credit Card Protections Announced By The Fed
The Federal Reserve announced new rules and credit card protections yesterday. It is the grand finale of the CARD Act, capping late fees and providing possible relief from rate increases. These rules go into effect on August 22. Under these new rules: * There are limited and conditional protections against interest rate increases. Any increase [...]
Dodd’s Proposal To Allow Regulators To Break Up Large Financials Gains Support
Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd’s proposed legislation permitting federal regulators to break up large financial firms seemed to be getting traction from both liberals and conservatives within hours of his announcement. Both conservative economic commentator Larry Kudlow and Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, the leading Democratic candidate for Dodd’s seat, both said tonight that their initial [...]
Credit Card Inactivity Fees: Federal Reserve Proposes To Outlaw Fees
Today, the Federal Reserve proposed a rule amending Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) to protect credit card users from unreasonable late payment and other penalty fees, as well as requiring credit card issuers to reconsider increases in interest rates. This rule will go into effect on August 22, 2010. “This proposal addresses two key costs [...]
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