Credit Card Trends Are Toward Lower Balances

Friday, the Federal Reserve published its consumer credit figures for December 2009. And they show that credit card debt reduced for the 15th consecutive month. That is the longest period of decline since the Fed began compiling the data back in 1968.

Revolving credit, most of which is credit card balances, fell at an annualized rate of 11.7 percent in December, leaving $866 billion dollars still to pay down.

Credit Card Use Changing?

Some observers see these figures as (to quote Friday’s BusinessWeek): “…some indication Americans are getting their balance sheets in better order.” But it may be more complicated than that.

The Fed data also showed that non-revolving credit (auto loans, personal loans, and so on) actually went up by $6.8 billion in December. While that was not enough to fully offset the reduction in revolving credit brought about by changing patterns of credit card use, it may suggest that consumers have not become entirely averse to borrowing. So is it just their cards that Americans have come to distrust?

Credit Card Companies Less Popular?

USA Today thinks that may be the case. It ran a piece yesterday under the headline, “American consumers just say no to credit cards.” It said:

Tim McFarlin, a consumer bankruptcy attorney in Irvine, Calif., 34, stopped using credit cards eight years ago because he thought the industry’s business practices were unfair to consumers. “Any time there’s even a hint of a financial issue in the consumer’s life, the credit card company will raise the interest rate to the high 20s or 30%,” he says. “They’ll do anything they can to make life as difficult as possible.”

…The public’s opinion of credit card companies, which has never been particularly high, has plummeted during the past two years. Forty-seven percent of consumers surveyed in July said they trust credit card companies less now than they did a year earlier, according to Auriemma Consulting. Only national banks and the federal government fared worse.

A Hard Habit to Kick

In using the phrase “just say no” in its headline, USA Today was alluding to the similarities between some credit card use and drug use. Both can provide instant gratification, but carry a cost that has to be paid in the future. And both are hard habits to kick.

So just how much of the reduction in revolving credit is down to greater self-discipline and a genuinely changed relationship between Americans and their cards, and how much is down to lower credit limits and fewer new accounts being opened? Bear in mind also that some is likely to be a result of card issuers writing off some balances as uncollectable.

Good Times Starting Again?

Only time can tell whether consumers will keep those reduced balances down. But the Financial Times reported yesterday that those who have been relatively unaffected by the recession are beginning to return to their old spending patterns. It interviewed the heads of various luxury good manufacturers who identified a new readiness to buy premium and prestige goods.

One of them, Fabrizio Freda, chief executive of Estée Lauder, observed: “We view this as a return of the aspirational consumer.” And another, a senior executive at Polo Ralph Lauren, said last week that the fashion brand and retail company had “slowly begun to see the gradual return of our core luxury customer, including buyers of couture dresses that sell for more than $4,000.”

It will be interesting to see whether less fortunate people similarly revert to their old spending patterns once the effects of the recession wear off–and whether they go back to their old habits when it comes to credit card use.

Credit Card Debt vs. Mortgage Payments

Your mortgage is a “secured” debt. That means that if you get seriously behind with your payments you risk losing your home through foreclosure. Credit card debt is “unsecured.” So being delinquent with your payments may be expensive and ruin your credit report. But it’s unlikely to leave you homeless.

You’d think that it would be common sense to prioritize mortgage repayments over those for credit cards. But most Americans who find themselves unable to pay both are choosing to keep up to date with their cards.

New Payment Hierarchy

This strange phenomenon first arose in the first quarter of 2008. For the first time, more people were current with their credit cards and delinquent with their mortgages than the other way around.

But a new report, published yesterday, from TransUnion says that the practice of prioritizing credit card payments is becoming more widespread. In the third quarter of 2009, 6.6 percent of consumers were behind with their mortgages while current with their cards. At the same time, just 3.6 percent were current with their mortgages while delinquent with their cards. Those figures are starkly different from those in the first quarter of 2008, when the numbers were 4.3 percent, and 4.1 percent respectively.

Worse for Bad Risks

Those in the lowest scoring risk segment were much more likely to prioritize keeping their credit cards current. Twenty-nine percent of those in that category were paying their cards while letting the mortgages slide in the third quarter of 2009, while only half that number were giving preference to their mortgages.

Credit Card Trends

This shift in mortgage and credit card trends is probably being driven by a number of factors. Ezra Becker, TransUnion’s director of consulting and strategy for its financial services business unit, identifies some:

The implosion of the mortgage industry over the last 24 months, the resetting of adjustable-rate mortgages and the weak job market have all come together to redefine how consumers are managing their finances and meeting (or not meeting) their credit obligations. The insight gained through this analysis reveals a lot about changing consumer preferences. The financial services industry must recognize and adjust to the payment hierarchy shift with judicious modifications to business models, new assessments of specific areas of risk, and by strategic revisions to acquisition and account management strategies.

Other Factors?

The TransUnion report doesn’t try to go further and explain why this change in many people’s payment hierarchies has come about. However, five possible causes come to mind.

1. Credit card companies are generally more aggressive in chasing delinquencies than many mortgage lenders.
2. Cards provide an immediate source of credit, and losing the use of them can mean being unable to buy food, cover transportation costs, and generally access things that are immediately essential.
3. Too many people are unrealistically optimistic, and think that “something will come up” that can rescue them from a seemingly distant foreclosure.
4. Whether you’re behind on your mortgage payment or your credit card payments makes little difference to the impact on your credit report.
5. Credit card companies have made late payment and overlimit fees much more expensive in recent years

But, whatever the causes, the trend toward paying credit cards at the expense of mortgages is likely all too often to end in tears.

Credit Card Debt

Customers who pay their balances in full every month may be treated by credit card companies as if they’re royalty, but they’re not actually all that profitable. Some pay monthly fees, but they rarely, if ever, contribute to the card issuers’ principal consumer revenue streams, which are interest, late fees, and overlimit fees.

Credit card debt is the lifeblood of the industry, which is why balance transfer deals are still being offered. At the same time, credit card companies are, according to IRA Bank Monitor, having to write off some 10.35 percent of all such debts as uncollectable. So card issuers are particularly looking for customers who have good or excellent credit scores, but who also carry balances forward.

Balance Transfer Credit Cards–the Good Old Days

It feels like a different era, but it was only a couple of years ago that credit card companies were falling over themselves to attract new customers. Indeed, it was at the end of 2008–just 14 months ago–that U.S. credit card debt reached its highest point and topped $445 billion.

But its been a while since it was widely possible to transfer your credit card balance without incurring a fee. That’s because credit card companies realized some time back that many smart customers were transferring their balances immediately every time their zero-rate introductory offers expired. So those consumers were effectively borrowing money without ever paying any interest, something that those in financial services find anathema.

Balance Transfer Credit Card Deals Today

WBKO just published a list of current (well, they were current last week when the feature was published; check with the card issuers to see if they’re still the same) fees initially charged by some of the major banks for balance transfer credit cards. These are expressed as a percentage of the sum to be transferred:

• American Express–three percent
• Bank of America–four percent
• Capital One–nil for most, but three percent for a Platinum Prestige card
• Chase–five percent
• Citi–three percent
• Discover–five percent

Before Making that Credit Card Application…

Dennis Santiago, CEO of Institutional Risk Analytics (IRA), wrote a piece about transferring balances between credit cards for the Huffington Post last week. In it, he said:

Favorable introductory rates and good payer rates are the “toasters” of the credit card world. They’re meant to capture and retain valuable “interest on outstanding balance” paying customers. This means if you have one of these credit card accounts and diligently pay the minimums on time every month–yup, yup–you are valuable to that bank. Perk up! You are valuable whether you have a checking account there or not. What you also need to realize is that every other credit card issuers out there also covets you. That’s why those things keep clogging the mail box and wink at you from the computer screen every time you log on or off your online banking. Just make sure to keep paying that minimum and your account will keep getting the favorable treatment.

But no matter how desirable you are to card issuers, you should carefully check out the different deals on offer before you make any credit card application. And you can begin to assess those deals by using the credit card calculators here.

Credit Card Companies Aren’t Charities

People who are fortunate–or clever–enough to pay their card balances on time, and in full every month have for years enjoyed free credit card use. Recently, that happy situation has become more rare, but plenty of consumers still have the privilege. Meanwhile, those who belong to credit card rewards schemes actually receive valuable benefits just for spending.

But credit card companies aren’t charities, and somebody has to be paying for their premises, staff, IT infrastructures, dividends, executive bonuses, and so on. So how–at least in good economic times–do they make money?

Two Sources of Income

The credit card industry has two principle sources of income. First, there are the fees, penalties, and interest paid by those who are less good at managing their money, or who find themselves–sometimes through no fault of their own–in financial trouble. Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal quoted one analyst who said that, in 2009, penalty fees alone reached $22.9 billion, up from $19 billion in 2008.

The industry’s second major revenue stream comprises so-called “interchange fees” (also called “swipe fees”). Toward the end of last year, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducted a review of interchange fee practices. Its report found that, generally, anything between one and three percent of the total cost of every transaction is taken by the credit card industry in swipe fees.

It gives an example of a $100 transaction from which $2.20 is deducted for these fees. Of this, $1.70 ends up in the credit card issuer’s coffers, and 50 cents is kept by the “acquiring institution” (the biggest of which are Visa and MasterCard) for processing the transaction.

Credit Card Use Costs Everyone

Another Wall Street Journal piece, published yesterday, suggests that interchange fees add up. Quoting a Nilson report, it says that they amounted to $62.7 billion in 2008, up three percent from the previous year.

But, of course, the merchants who pay these fees have to recoup the costs somehow, and the only way they can do so is by increasing their prices. CBS4 reported earlier this week an example of this in action. It said:

Joel Campos, who owns a restaurant, says he tried to avoid these fees.

“We opened in 1995 and we accepted only cash because we knew that the fees from the credit card companies were high,” said Campos.

But as more customers requested to pay with plastic, Joel was forced to raise his prices.

“Once I accepted the first credit card, I put like 10% more in the prices,” explained Campos. “I prefer to have low prices for the customer than accepting credit cards.”

So everyone–not just card users, but those, including the poor, who pay cash–end up suffering. In fact, the CBS4 report went on to suggest that, in 2008, interchange fees cost every American family an average of $427.

Credit Card Regulation on Interchange Fees?

The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) is just one body lobbying for new credit card regulation to rein in swipe fees. It says:

NACS retail members cite credit card fees as their third largest store-level operating expense, following labor and rent. In 2008, the convenience and petroleum retailing industry reported a pre-tax profit of $5.2 billion and $8.4 billion paid in credit card fees…Since 2001, interchange fees have tripled…Interchange fees are far higher than the actual processing costs and risks involved, yet these transactions fees continue to rise.

The GAO looked at regulatory options, but concluded:

Proposals for reducing interchange fees in the United States or other countries have included (1) setting or limiting interchange fees, (2) requiring their disclosure to consumers, (3) prohibiting card networks from imposing rules on merchants that limit their ability to steer customers away from higher-cost cards, and (4) granting antitrust waivers to allow merchants and issuers to voluntarily negotiate rates. If these measures were adopted here, merchants would benefit from lower interchange fees. Consumers would also benefit if merchants reduced prices for goods and services, but identifying such savings would be difficult. Consumers also might face higher card use costs if issuers raised other fees or interest rates to compensate for lost interchange fee income. Each of these options also presents challenges for implementation, such as determining at which rate to set, providing more information to consumers, or addressing the interests of both large and small issuers and merchants in bargaining efforts.

So merchants and consumers may be stuck with unregulated interchange fees for a while.

Credit Card Regulation Imminent

Most of the provisions of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act of 2009 (the Credit CARD Act) are due to come into force four weeks today, on February 22. But opinion is divided on just how effective the new credit card regulation will prove.

Credit Card Companies’ Shares Down

Last Friday, ABC News reported that shares in two credit card companies tumbled when Scott Valentin, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets, predicted that the credit card market would shrink as a result of three factors, one of which was the new law. American Express shares fell 8.5 percent, while Capital One fared even worse with a 12.1 percent drop.

The ABC News report said:

During a conference call Thursday, American Express Chief Financial Officer Dan Henry noted that the regulations could lower AmEx’s yields on credit cards, which were at 9.7 percent in the latest quarter. Margins at Capital One are also expected to decline to about 15.5 percent, down from 16 percent, Valentin noted.

Credit Card Trends Uncertain

But not everyone sees credit card trends as being so clear cut. Also last week, the New York Times carried a piece questioning whether the new law would have teeth as sharp as Mr. Valentin thinks.

It pointed out that the current regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), is on record as opposing some of the key provisions of the Credit CARD Act, and questioned just how enthusiastically it would enforce laws with which its senior officials disagree. And it quoted Travis B. Plunkett, legislative director for the Consumer Federation of America, thus: “The O.C.C. to the end fought the rules and tried to get huge exceptions, carrying water again for the large banks they were regulating. Now they have to enforce this law that they disagreed with.”

New Law Already Leaky

Back in May, when the President signed the new act, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), wrote about the law, which she had co-authored: “This legislation, Public Law 111-24, will end the most abusive practices of the credit card industry and level the playing field between cardholders and credit card companies.”

But her optimism already seems misplaced. Since May, card issuers have found highly creative–and entirely legal–ways to generate new streams of income that are likely, at least in part, to make up for the revenues that the new law cut off.

For example, Alliance Data Systems recently announced that it would charge its customers a dollar a month for the privilege of receiving statements by mail. And, of course, many companies used the grace period between the act’s signing, and its implementation to hike rates, introduce fees, and generally change credit card terms and conditions in ways that were disadvantageous to consumers.

Nature of the Beast

Some question whether it is possible to frame laws that can effectively contain those who issue credit cards. Last July, Shailesh Mehta, who used to be chairman and CEO of Providian Financial, recorded a remarkably candid interview for PBS’s Frontline program. In it, he observed:

[Some industry people will say,] “As long as I’m in compliance with what the government says, it’s none of anybody’s business to tell me what to do.” That’s the kind of mind-set with which … some people work. … “You make the stupid laws, I’ll comply, and I’ll make money. … Tell me the rules, and then I’ll outsmart you all.” …

A New Regulator?

Whether or not it will ultimately turn out to be possible to rein in credit card companies, many in government plan to keep trying. Their latest move is to propose the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which, they hope, can close off legislative loopholes even as issuers discover or create them. Chuck Bell, who is programs director for the Consumers Union, is an advocate for the new agency. He was quoted earlier this month as saying:

Not surprisingly, the credit card companies have been resisting and stonewalling fair consumer protections every step of the way. Many consumers are reeling from the industry’s last-minute efforts to impose drastic rate increases on balances, add new fees and penalties, and jack up minimum payment requirements, before the law went into effect. Creating a national Consumer Financial Protection Agency is the next critical step to stamp out new tricks from the credit card industry, and help millions of Americans get out of the cycle of never-ending debt.

Student Credit Cards Beneficial…

Earlier this week, the Daily Illini, an independent student newspaper for the University of Illinois, ran a feature about how new state and federal credit card regulation is likely to affect students. Having described the probable impact, the piece went on to observe that “Some students at the University said they think the laws are overprotective.”

And it went on to quote from an interview with Oana Toma, who is a 21-year old sophomore in Engineering. She pointed out that it is not only those who are under 21 who find themselves in trouble with credit card debt. Many much older people encounter similar problems. And she went on to remark:

This is the time we all need to be building credit. We will need good credit to buy a house or a car in the future. A lot of students just use it [a credit card] like a debit card. They are responsible with it, and they monitor how much they are spending.

…But the Drawbacks Are Serious

Of course, Ms. Toma is right to highlight the many benefits that credit cards can bring to students. But others take a sharply different view. They argue that young people, who, by definition, are relatively inexperienced in financial matters, are especially vulnerable to what they see as predatory credit card companies. And a recent study by Gallup for Sallie Mae suggests they may be right.

Sallie Mae’s report, published last April, but based on a 2008 survey, certainly contained some scary statistics:

• Half of all students had four or more cards
• Only 15 percent of freshmen had a zero balance
• The median credit card debt carried by freshmen nearly trebled between 2004 and 2008–from $373 to $939
• The average credit card debt on graduation was $4,100
• Nearly a fifth of seniors had balances totaling more than $7,000
• Sixty percent of students were surprised at how high their balances had grown
• Balances were carried forward–and finance charges paid–by 82 percent of all students surveyed

Student Credit Cards: Some Good Advice

The Consumers Union last August issued advice to students who are considering making a credit card application. It identified seven key rules that can help young people (and, come to think of it, everyone else) to steer clear of trouble:

1. Don’t fall for the credit card companies’ slick marketing campaigns
2. Make sure you can really afford to borrow money with a credit card
3. If you decide to get a credit card, shop carefully and make sure you understand your contract
4. Don’t be tricked by the teaser rate
5. Don’t use your credit card to finance your education
6. Use your card wisely
7. Don’t co-sign for your friends

Whether or not you’re a student, the first step to a happy relationship with your card is to shop around for the best credit card rates.

Credit Card Companies Lose Billions–Mourning Crowds Fail to Gather

Readers who took this column’s advice last week, and held off sending a care package to Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co., should be glad they did so. Analysts had predicted that the bank would post a profit of $2.5 billion for the fourth quarter of 2009, up from $702 million for the same period in 2008. In reality, the profit, published Friday, was $3.3 billion.

However, the bank’s gains would have been even more stellar had its exposure to consumer credit risks (mostly mortgages and credit card debt) been more limited. Losses in these areas totaled an eye-watering $7.8 billion, although that was down $300 million on the third quarter.

Credit Card News Grim for Other Issuers

JPMorgan Chase & Co. was only one of the major credit card companies to post results Friday. And most of the others, which included Bank of America, Capital One, and Discover, did not fare any better.

Capital One announced that its annualized charge offs (the proportion of all a lender’s credit card debt that it now regards as uncollectible) rose to 10.14 percent in December, up from 9.6 percent the previous month. Discover said that its annualized charge-offs of credit card loans that had been converted into bonds was a more modest 8.68 percent in December. That figure was actually down from 8.98 percent in November.

The worst credit card news came from Bank of America, which revealed an annualized charge-off rate for December of 13.53 percent, up from 13.0 percent in November. BofA has been underperforming in relation to its rivals in this respect for months, a situation that some blame on past lending policies that may have been too lax.

Retail Credit Card Defaults Also Up

Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings released data Thursday that mainstream credit card trends are being reflected among store-branded cards. A press release from the company said:

Fitch’s December Retail Credit Card Index results show that more than one in every eight dollars of receivables was written off as uncollectable during the November collection period on an annualized basis. Taken with the recent delinquency trends and Fitch’s expectation for unemployment, Fitch expects retail card chargeoffs to remain elevated throughout first half-2010.

“We do not foresee any meaningful improvement in the retail card credit quality in the coming months,” said Managing Director Michael Dean. “U.S. consumers remain under stress on a number of fronts, most notably on the employment front, and retail card chargeoffs will continue to reflect those pressures.”

Not All Bad News

One analyst not only sees a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, but also thinks that it may not be an oncoming express train. Scott Valentin of FBR Capital Markets pointed to falling delinquency rates (the proportion of people who are making late payments) among credit card users as a good sign for future charge offs. If fewer cardholders are falling behind with payments now, then the amount that will have to be written off later should also decline.

Mr. Valentin told Dow Jones Newswires: “We are seeing stabilization, which is the first step toward improvement. As long as we see early stage delinquencies continue to decline, charge-offs should peak relatively soon.” And he went on to forecast that that peak is likely to show up in late spring or early summer.

And his optimism is reinforced by previously reported Federal Reserve data on consumer credit, which suggested that Americans are continuing to pay down credit card debt, which was reduced by $17.5 billion in November, the 14th consecutive month in which the total amount outstanding had dropped.

Don’t Share Credit Card Companies’ Pain

Credit card issuers are unused to pain, and their first instinct is to share it with their customers. Now is a good time to review whether the plastic in your pocketbook provides you with the best deals you can get. Compare credit card rates here.

Credit Card Debt Down, Said Fed

On Friday, the Federal Reserve published its monthly consumer credit report which showed that, in November 2009, Americans continued to pay down “revolving credit,” almost entirely made up of credit card debt. It was the 14th consecutive month that such debt had been reduced.

And, in November alone, consumers reduced their credit card indebtedness by $17.5 billion, which translates into an annualized rate of 18.5 percent. Only another $2.5 trillion to go.

Credit Card Regulation Explained

It’s been a busy week for the Fed when it comes to credit cards. Tuesday, it posted on its website a handy consumer guide to the new credit card regulation regime that comes into force on February 22.

The guide, which reflects changes included in the Credit CARD Act of 2009, provides information under three headings:

1. What your credit card company has to tell you
2. New rules regarding rates, fees, and limits
3. Changes to billing and payments

Credit Card Companies Struggling…Sorta

Meanwhile, BusinessWeek reported earlier today that Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co., warned investors about the performance of his bank’s credit card operation. He told them that it could lose two billion dollars in the first half of 2010 and set aside money to cover the losses.

He went on to explain that the credit card unit’s performance in the second half of the year would largely depend on the wider economy, along with future decisions that the bank is going to have to make about loan-loss reserves. And he predicted that the unit’s net income could drop by $750 million as a result of new credit card regulation. Other credit card companies could see proportionately similar problems.

But before you mail a care package to Mr. Dimon, bear in mind that the bank as a whole is expected tomorrow to post overall profits of a little over $2.5 billion for the fourth quarter of last year. That’s up more than 300 percent on the $702 million it made during the fourth quarter of 2008.

Credit Card Rewards Points for IRS?

CNN Money ran a piece Monday about American Express’s credit card rewards program. Apparently, Amex members can use their points from the program to pay local, state, and federal income taxes, providing they use one of two designated websites for the transaction.

But don’t get too excited. It takes 200 points to pay a single dollar in taxes. And CNN Money reckons you’d need to have spent a million on your Amex credit card in order to settle a $5,000 tax bill.

Credit Card Rates Too High for Attorney

And finally, Ben Pavone, a California attorney, says he is making a stand against rising credit card rates. Mr. Pavone appeared last week on CBS News’s The Early Show to express his anger at Bank of America, which recently hiked his card rate to 27.99 percent.

He said that he won’t make card payments until the rate goes back down, and that he’ll sue the bank if it damages his credit report by recording his delinquency. He didn’t cite a legal principle that could apply, but seemed confident he’d win, telling one of the show’s presenters:

At the end of the day, the legal system is composed of people, judges, juries, and if they don’t have a good enough explanation, there’s always a legal avenue to find a way to seek justice.

Good luck with that, Mr. Pavone.

Monty Python and the Merchant Banker

Back in the late 1960s or early ’70s, Monty Python’s Flying Circus aired a sketch in which a collector for an orphans’ charity asked a merchant banker for a donation. At first, the banker was enthusiastic, saying that his bank was keen to get into orphans because they were an emerging market. But, as it gradually dawned on him that a donation didn’t provide an attractive–or, indeed, any–return, he grabbed the collection tin, and dropped the collector through a trapdoor in his office floor.

If that sketch contained enough truth to be funny 40 years ago, how much more must it apply to the current generation of Wall Street’s big hitters?

Credit Card Regulation Gains Limited Traction

Rep. Carolyn Maloney has a remarkable record as a consumer advocate on financial issues, including sponsorship of the Credit CARD Act of 2009. But with so many wounds to lick after her countless battles with credit card companies and banks, you might think that she’d be a tad skeptical about their potential to change voluntarily.

After all, she was one of the legislators who granted those credit card companies a nine-month grace period between the signing of the Credit CARD Act, and the implementation of its key provisions. The card issuers had claimed that they needed the time in order to re-engineer their highly complex systems and processes to comply with the new law. They then promptly used the period to hike credit card rates, impose fees, and generally do their best to undermine the tough regulation that the legislation was supposed to bring.

Credit Cards and Wishful Thinking

But in Friday’s Huffington Post, the Congresswoman wrote:

A new attitude and a new ethic–enlightened self interest–on the part of financial institutions (many of whom were salvaged by taxpayer support) must view customers as the basis for further prosperity.

Really? Of course, on one level, this makes sense. An issuer that produced a truly consumer-friendly card might well quickly attract a huge customer base.

But for decades issuers have used “confusion marketing” techniques to ensure that it’s difficult to compare products, and imposed similar credit card terms and conditions that generated the maximum revenues. After all this time, why would they change now?

The Reality of Credit Card Regulation

Of course, Rep. Maloney understands this really. She said: “Card companies will seize on any loophole to achieve their growth targets.” And she went on to quote a past CEO of a card issuer as saying in a television interview: “You make the stupid laws, and I’ll comply, and I’ll make money.”

Which is why she’s backing a new wave of credit card regulation in the form of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), a new, permanent regulator (or “sheriff,” to use her word), tasked with:

…enforcing the rules and establishing the overarching principle: treat customers fairly and prosper; but assume more risk and treat them solely as an ATM for your bottom line and you’ll suffer more than you could possibly have gained.

Congress has already passed legislation to create the new regulator and is currently hoping that the Senate will take up the cause.

Credit Card Regulation–New Rules Effective Next Month

Although the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act (CARD) of 2009 was signed into law last May, its provisions were–controversially–scheduled to come into force in three stages. Some minor rules already apply and new regulations governing gift cards will not be enforceable until later this year.

But the most important clauses take effect on February 22. Here are 22 of the new credit card regulations that will apply from that date.

1. Rate Changes

• You must receive 45-days’ notice of credit card rates changing–except prime rate fluctuations on variable-rate cards
• Rates on existing balances can’t go up unless you’re 60 days or more late with payments
• If you pay at least the minimum balance punctually for six months after you were 60-days late, your rate must revert
• Only promotional introductory rates can go up during the first year after the account is opened
• Promotional, introductory rates must last at least six months

2. Lower fees

• Credit card companies can’t charge a fee for accepting your payment
• You can’t be charged over-limit fees unless you opt into your issuer’s over-limit scheme
• Penalty fees must be reasonable and proportional to the transgression

3. Payment Handling

• If you pay more than the minimum, the excess must be credited to the portion of the balance attracting the highest interest rate
• Credit card companies can’t impose early morning deadlines for receipt of payments
• Your payment must be received at most 21 days after your receipt of your credit card statement
• Payment due dates must be the same every month
• If you have a grace period, it must be at least 21 days
• Payments at local branches must be credited on the day they’re deposited
• You can’t be charged interest if you pay in full on time (bans so-called “double-cycle billing”)

4. Credit Card Terms, and Conditions Disclosure

• Your card issuer must tell you, on renewal, of any changes to your credit card terms and conditions
• The issuer must disclose how long it will take you–and how much it will cost you–to clear your balance if you make only minimum payments
• Your statement must make clear the payment due date and any penalties for lateness
• Changes to fees and finance charges (as well as rates) can only be made after you’ve received 45-days’ notice

5. Protections for Young Consumers

• Those under 21 years can only open an account if the credit card application is signed by a parent, guardian, or other adult who will be responsible for the debt–unless the young person has independent means
• There will be more strict controls over the marketing of cards to students
• Pre-screened offers to young people will also be limited