Obama leads charge against charge card companies.
WASHINGTON — Building on populist anger against U.S. financial institutions, President Barack Obama on Thursday called for new federal rules to crack down on credit card companies that jack up interest rates and otherwise take advantage of unwary consumers.
“There has to be strong and reliable protections for consumers, protections that ban unfair rate increases and forbid abusive fees and penalties,” Obama said after a White House meeting with credit card company executives. “The days of any-time, any-reason rate hikes and late-fee traps have to end.”
The White House move, which faces strong opposition from leaders and lobbyists in the financial services industry, builds on efforts in Congress to shield consumers from higher and often unexpected costs at a time when families around the country are feeling a financial squeeze — and are lashing out against the banks and other institutions seen as contributing to the economic meltdown.
As early as next week, House Democrats expect to act on a bill that would make it harder for the industry to impose new fees and rates on card holders and also require clearer disclosure of the costs and risks for users. The bill would codify and expedite rules already proposed by the Federal Reserve Board, but those would not be implemented until 2010.
(more)
Filed under: Obama, economic news, money
