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Consumer Credit: AwfulFriday, November 6, 2009 Posted by Karl Denninger Where are my green shoots? Consumer credit decreased at an annual rate of 6 percent in the third quarter of 2009. Revolving credit decreased at an annual rate of 10 percent, and nonrevolving credit decreased at an annual rate of 3-3/4 percent. In September, consumer credit decreased at an annual rate of 7-1/4 percent. Yuck. Here's the graphical representation. Nothing good in here. The non-revolving flattened out some in September (gee, you think "cash for clunkers" might have influenced August and September?) but revolving credit - that is, credit cards...

WT is wrong with this clown? WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd on Monday introduced legislation that would immediately freeze credit card interest rates on existing balances after he complained that financial institutions weren't supporting a new credit card act that is scheduled to take effect in February. "And no sooner had it been signed into law, but credit card companies were looking for ways to get around the protections this Congress and the American people demanded," said the Connecticut Democrat. "This bill would end those abuses and further protect customers today." Dodd has been giving Dirty...

Time to call out the outrageous actions this "bank" has taken. Let's first start with the fact that Capital One, along with most of the other "big banks", took TARP money. Why did they need/take TARP money? Simple: They were incompetent in their risk underwriting and thus got in trouble. That's a fact. Now let's add the other sin, to which the other big banks are also subscribed: These same firms have all front-run the legislation passed by Congress to bar certain practices, such as universal default and two-cycle billing, by raising rates and fees in front of the changes....

No law, including the Credit CARD Act that has started to take effect, prevents banks from closing down credit accounts without warning. Credit card issuers all maintain the right...

"The first thing they do is laugh. They think it is one of the most ridiculous things out there." Gordon Hageman is talking about a credit card offer that just came in the mail, an offer he could hardly believe. "I think they are trying to take advantage of me. I think that's what's going on right now with the economy, maybe just trying to see what they can get away with," says Hageman. And this card comes with an interest rate you won't believe. Not 20 or 30 percent, not even 50 or 60 percent, the Mastercard offer from...

Gordon Hageman couldn’t believe the credit card offer he got in the mail. "My first thought, it was a mistake," Hageman said. The wine distributor called the number on the offer, gave them the offer code and verified his information. Sure enough, it was right: the pre-approved credit card came with a 79.9 percent APR. Yes, 79.9 percent.

Q: Is it true that if I use my credit card at fast food places, my credit score will decrease or that it will affect my score in some way because it looks like I cannot afford to buy food? I pay my bill in full every month. -- Burger and Fries Lover A: Dear Burger: The fast answer is no, where you eat doesn't have an impact on your credit score, but that's not the full story. Your credit score is just one of the many factors that issuers use when making lending decisions, and while paying plastic for...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGC1mCS4OVo Message to Bank of America: I've decided to it's time to take a stand against the banksters' usury and greed! If our founding fathers were willing to sacrifice their LIVES for our FREEDOM, then I can certainly sacrifice my credit score and be willing to be sued. I'm staging a DEBTOR'S REVOLT!

Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc customers defaulted on their credit card debts in August at the highest rates since the onset of the recession, a sign that the banks' consumer lending woes are far from over.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Police in Charleston are asking for the public's help to identify a woman they say used a stolen credit card at Walmart. Click on the "photos" tab above to see more pictures of the suspect. Charleston Police say the suspect, who was wearing baggy red shorts and a gray shirt, bought about $130 worth of goods with the card. The credit card was stolen from a car on August 18. Anyone who can provide information about the woman in the surveillance photos is asked to contact Detective Kinder at the Charleston Police Department at (304) 348-6480.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Millions of Americans have already seen their credit card limits shrink, and millions more face the same fate as lenders prepare for tougher U.S. consumer protection rules. Since the financial crisis deepened a year ago, credit card companies have been closing millions of inactive accounts, cutting credit limits and raising interest rates to cushion themselves from record loan losses. This is just the beginning of the biggest shake-up in the credit card industry in at least 20 years, analysts said. . . . . . Going forward, credit card companies will purge customers rather than risk...

In May, President Obama signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act into law. The White House ballyhooed the bill as the triumphant victory of the little guy over the massive credit card company. This was your bill of rights to ward off those nefarious credit card companies with their sneaky fine print and “hike the interest rates whenever we want” mentality. Now, the real world impact of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act goes into effect this week for millions of Americans and “surprise” it isn’t what was promised. In fact, it amounts to a government...

Three Indicted in Largest Corporate Identity Theft Case in History Monday, August 17, 2009 DEVELOPING: Three men have been indicted in New Jersey in an identity theft case that the Justice Department is labeling as the largest in history. Authorities say more than 130 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen in a corporate data breach involving five different companies. This is a developing story. Please click refresh for updates.

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is asking for help identifying a man wanted for stealing credit card numbers. Officials released a crime alert. They believe a man is stealing the numbers from shoppers in Plymouth and Maple Grove and using them to make his own credit cards. The wanted man was captured by a surveillance camera in Cub Foods in Maple Grove on July 28.

As a columnist for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the newspaper of record for Broward County, Michael Mayo is a fairly astute fellow. But that hasn’t made him immune to credit card issuers pulling the rug from under him. This past April he posted the following tale of personal woe: “I got a letter from Bank of America the other day. The fine folks at Bank of America wanted to let me know that they were raising my credit card interest rates. Currently, the card has an 8.9 percent fixed annual rate on purchases. I have a credit line of...

The Political Gap That Divides Generations Susan Fikse, Issue Number 24, July 2009 Kim is a 25-year-old Christian, a nurse who graduated from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. She voted for President Bush in 2004 and characterizes herself as pro-life. With just that information, it would be easy to categorize Kim as a conservative Republican. But in November, she cast her vote for Barack Obama. She was not alone.Survey data shows that while fewer than a quarter of white evangelicals between 30 and 64 supported Obama, that number increased to a third for white evangelicals under 30. Kim’s reasons for...

With credit card defaults rising, some companies are looking for reasons to cut your plastic. To make these decisions, banks rely on data about what you buy, where, and the company you keep. Stacey Vanek-Smith reports. Not all that long ago credit-card companies were looking for reasons to give us credit. As we all know now, it didn't take much to get a shiny new piece of plastic in your wallet. But with credit-card defaults rising, those companies have started looking for reasons to take some of that credit away. To help them figure out how, banks are compiling thousands...

Credit card delinquency figures bring to mind the rock classic “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet.” Ever after today’s record report — delinquencies jumped to 6.6 percent of all card debt in the first quarter from 5.52 percent — the peak may still be far off. The sunniest forecast in the Obama administration’s stress test suggested that credit card loss rates for banks would climb to between 12 and 17 percent in total over the next two years. This assumed an unemployment rate averaging just 8.4 percent in this year. Based on the gloomier scenario of 8.9 percent joblessness, the two-year...

As credit card companies continue to tighten their lending standards on card users, some are using purchasing data -- gleaned from millions of card transactions processed daily -- to weed out who may or may not be good credit risks. Have you used your credit card at merchants specializing in secondhand clothing, retread tires, bail bond services, massages, casino gambling or betting? Your credit card issuer may be taking note -- and making decisions about your creditworthiness based on your purchasing behavior. The reason: Buying used clothing or retread tires may be an indication of financial distress and a preamble...

snip “My monthly payment from my four accounts will go from $961.00 a month to $2394.00 a month. Needless to say I will not be able to make these payments and will end up defaulting on my accounts and probably claim bankruptcy.”

The banks were bailed out last fall, the automobile companies last winter. For Edward McClelland, a writer in Chicago, deliverance finally arrived a few days ago. Mr. McClelland’s credit card company was calling yet again, wondering when it could expect the next installment on his delinquent account. He proposed paying half of his $5,486 balance and calling the matter even. It’s a deal, the account representative immediately said, not even bothering to check with a supervisor. As they confront unprecedented numbers of troubled customers, credit card companies are increasingly doing something they have historically scorned: settling delinquent accounts for substantially...

U.S. credit card defaults rise to record in May By Juan Lagorio Juan Lagorio NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. credit card defaults rose to record highs in May, with a steep deterioration of Bank of America Corp's (BAC.N) lending portfolio, in another sign that consumers remain under severe stress. Delinquency rates -- an indicator of future credit losses -- fell across the industry, but analysts said the decline was due to a seasonal trend, as consumers used tax refunds to pay back debts, and they expect delinquencies to go up again in coming months. "I find it hard to believe...

Spotlight: Emily Peters By Steve Santiago � Bankrate.com When it comes to credit cards, what you see isn't necessarily what you get. That's because interest rates, fees and other cardholder terms can change unexpectedly. At a glance Name: Emily Peters Hometown: San Luis Obispo, Calif. Education: University of the Pacific (bachelor's) Career highlights: Worked for several years as an industry insider at credit report bureau TransUnion. Joined Credit.com in 2005 as a personal finance expert. Seven years of experience in the credit industry focusing on credit reports, credit cards, loans and personal finance. Serves as the CreditBloggers.com editor and has...

Credit-card companies are getting a lot of grief in the blogosphere (not to mention Congress) lately. Most of these critiques are just a bunch of shaggy dog stories, but the very smart Rortybomb has an extremely numerate post in which he points out that when the interest rate on your plastic goes from 8% to 28% because you’re two days late on a payment, it’s highly unlikely that this is a pure reflection of a change in your probability of default. His analysis indicates that the way this price (i.e., interest rate) change is determined is not by the change...

A once-glittering business loses its shine CREDIT-CARD borrowers who roll over a portion of their balance each month are known as revolvers. These days lenders are in a spin as they struggle to cope with write-offs, a regulatory crackdown and changes in consumer behaviour. On May 18th American Express, a credit- and charge-card giant, announced a second round of job cuts (bringing the total to 11,000), slashed its marketing and business-development budgets and offered a “very cautious” outlook. A few days earlier Advanta, a provider of cards to small businesses, froze all existing accounts after charge-offs (uncollectable debt) reached a...

Amidst the anti-market frenzy in Washington, D.C., President Obama today signed into law a bill that will drive up interest rates on credit cards and force people with good credit to pay more to subsidize people with bad credit. The bill, which extends a big, fat middle finger to credit card companies by limiting their ability to price their products according to risk, swept through Congress this week at breakneck speed. According to Edward L. Yingling, CEO of the American Bankers Association, provisions in the legisation "will undermine the availability of credit." Credit cards are "a strong economic driver and...

Leave it to the banks to try to turn passage of credit card reform legislation Tuesday into bad news for many cardholders. Here's the deal: Banks are basically saying that because they're going to have to change some lending practices to comply with the bill, they'll be facing greater risk. To cope with that risk, they say they'll have to turn the screws on their best customers -- the ones who manage their finances prudently and pay off their bills on time -- by possibly raising interest rates, scaling back rewards and imposing annual fees. ''Those who have managed their...

The widely heralded credit card reform legislation making its way through Congress is a sellout to the credit card companies. Obama has proposed and Congress has passed a series of minor reforms that deal with the fringes of the problem - late billings, retroactive interest rate hikes, misapplication of payments and such - but fail to reform the most basic offense of the companies: their usury.

NEW YORK, May 20 (Reuters) - American Express Co (AXP.N) Chief Executive Kenneth Chenault said a new law that would impose sweeping limits on credit card issuers will likely hurt his company and reduce the flow of credit to consumers. Chenault said the legislation will be "more negative than positive" for American Express, because it will make it more difficult for the credit card and travel services company to set rates based on the risk its customers pose. Chenault said: "My concern is from the standpoint of credit being available, to particularly consumers who need it."

It looks like the credit card bill is headed to the White House. I won't pound the table any more than I already have. It's a bad bill that's bad for the economy. Now is a good time to take a measure, once again, of one of the President's simplest campaign pledges: that he would post the full text of any non-emergency legislation to the White House website for five days before signing it. His thought was that this would give greater transparency to the legislative process. Well, he has already whiffed at transparency in a number of ways, from...

Credit cards have long been a very good deal for people who pay their bills on time and in full. Even as card companies imposed punitive fees and penalties on those late with their payments, the best customers racked up cash-back rewards, frequent-flier miles and other perks in recent years. Now Congress is moving to limit the penalties on riskier borrowers, who have become a prime source of billions of dollars in fee revenue for the industry. And to make up for lost income, the card companies are going after those people with sterling credit. Banks are expected to look...

Credit cards have long been a very good deal for people who pay their bills on time and in full. Even as card companies imposed punitive fees and penalties on those late with their payments, the best customers racked up cash-back rewards, frequent-flier miles and other perks in recent years. Now Congress is moving to limit the penalties on riskier borrowers, who have become a prime source of billions of dollars in fee revenue for the industry. And to make up for lost income, the card companies are going after those people with sterling credit. Banks are expected to look...

FAIR Legislative Update: Last week, during debate over a bill to regulate the credit card industry, Senator David Vitter (R-LA) offered an amendment (Amendment #1066) that would have established new rules with respect to how banks issue credit cards. ( Vitter Press Release, May 13, 2009). The amendment would have required that banks verify the identification of any person who is not a citizen or national of the United States before they were permitted to open a credit card account. In addition to preventing the ability of illegal aliens to obtain credit cards, Senator Vitter's press release stated the amendment...

A federal judge has issued a pair of temporary restraining orders to halt what officials describe as a wave of "robo-calls" warning people their auto warranties are expiring and offering new service plans. U.S. District Judge John F. Grady issued a temporary restraining order against Transcontinental Warranty Inc. on Thursday and one against Voice Touch Inc. on Friday. The Federal Trade Commission filed suit against the companies in U.S. District Court in Chicago on Thursday. Chairman Jon Leibowitz says the FTC "has disconnected the people responsible for so many of these annoying calls." Officials say Americans have gotten as many...

Advanta to cease new credit card lending Advanta plans to cease new credit card lending as it battles losses; shares fall On Tuesday May 12, 2009, 10:20 am EDT SPRING HOUSE, Pa. (AP) -- Advanta Corp. said late Monday it will shut down its credit card lending operations next month as it battles surging loan losses. Shares tumbled more than 6 percent, losing 7 cents to $1.06 in early trading Tuesday. Shares have dropped 88 percent over the past 12 months.

No credit is worse than costly credit. That's a lesson American consumers will learn soon when Congress regulates credit cards. The House of Representatives recently passed a bill to set a ceiling on credit-card interest rates. The Senate's Banking Committee reached agreement on a similar measure this past week. Sen. Chris Dodd, the Connecticut Democrat who got below-market mortgage rates from Countrywide, promises "strict new rules." The Senate is likely to vote this week. While tapped out credit-card holders might welcome some relief, we invite them as well as their senators to think about the long-term effects of price controls....

The problem with the credit-card industry isn't just credit-card companies - it's you too. This week the Senate takes up a bill that would seriously clamp down on some of the industry's most unsavory practices, a piece of legislation that President Obama has said he wants on his desk by the end of the month. The bill, which builds on rules issued by the Federal Reserve Board and other agencies at the end of last year, would do away with interest-rate hikes on existing balances, prohibit issuers from putting customer payments toward lower-rate balances first and abolish the practice of...

(RTTNews) - A bill to crack down on what consumer advocates call unfair and deceptive practices in the credit card industry is poised to pass the Senate as early as this week. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said although consumers have an obligation to pay their bills, they also have rights that need protecting. "When credit card companies engage in deceptive practices that are designed specifically to trip up the consumer … then [consumers] feel deceived and want change, and that's what we're attempting to do here," Dodd said at a press conference Tuesday. Dodd,...

Next challenge for banks: Credit card losses Number usually tracks unemployment, but this time it may be worse Eric Dash and Andrew Martin May 10, 2009 It used to be easy to guess how many Americans would have problems paying their credit card bills. Banks just looked at unemployment: Fewer jobs meant more trouble ahead. The unemployment rate has long mirrored banks’ loss rates on card balances. But Eddie Ward, 32 and jobless, may be one more reason that rule of thumb no longer holds. For many lenders, losses are now outpacing layoffs. Mr. Ward lost his job at a...

Send me a bill that stops credit card companies from taking advantage of consumers, and do it by month's end, President Barack Obama is demanding of Congress. But there's no guarantee lawmakers will deliver by Memorial Day, and the banking industry is fighting back. "Americans know that they have a responsibility to live within their means and pay what they owe," Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address Saturday. "But they also have a right to not get ripped off by the sudden rate hikes, unfair penalties and hidden fees that have become all too common." Legislation known...

Note: The following text is a quote: Ali Al-Marri Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to Al-Qaeda Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, 43, a dual national of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to al-Qaeda. Al-Marri entered his guilty plea at a hearing this afternoon before Judge Michael M. Mihm in U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois. In so doing, al-Marri admitted that he agreed with others to provide material support or resources to al-Qaeda in the form of personnel, including himself, to work under al-Qaeda’s...

President Obama, flitting from crisis to crisis without ever quite managing to solve one, has alighted upon credit cards. He summoned a dozen credit-card executives to Washington and dressed them down. Finding credit-card statements difficult to read, Obama proposes to put the wordsmiths of the federal government in charge of reforming them. He also proposes to manage interest rates and fees, the size of the type on bills, the content of card issuers’ websites, and the ease of comparison-shopping among competing cards. As the commercial says, there’s a card that’s right for you — and the president believes he knows...

Next up for the federal government: the credit card industry. Having already thrown trillions in taxpayer dollars at the banking sector, and having moved to nationalize several of the nation’s largest banks by buying up preferred shares of stock, the Obama Administration now has the credit card sector in its sights. In a closed-door meeting on April 23 with executives representing the credit card industry, President Barack Obama made it clear his administration intended to impose new requirements on the industry, eliminating allegedly deceptive fine-print clauses and other things that impede transparency. “I trust that those in the industry who...

Separating personal feelings from straight-up journalism is something MSNBC anchors have had trouble with in the past, and David Shuster is no exception. During MSNBC's daytime news coverage on April 24, Shuster interviewed Bill Himpler of the American Financial Services Association. The discussion was nominally about the legislation sponsored by Sens. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), designed to freeze credit card rates, it became more about Shuster's view that credit card companies are gouging their customers. Throughout the four-minute interview, Shuster threw out anti-business questions and occasional hyperbole. Shuster asked Himpler, "Why are credit card companies raising interest...

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama, appealing to mainstream consumers, is pushing for more legal protection for the millions of Americans who use credit cards.

Seizing on the surging unpopularity of credit card companies, the Obama administration on Thursday threw its support behind legislation moving through Congress that would restrict banks from imposing higher fees and interest rates on consumers. Following up on pledges he made during the campaign to curtail the high fees and rates, President Obama met at the White House on Thursday with top executives from the nation’s largest credit card companies to pressure them to take steps that officials say would reduce abusive practices. The meeting comes as the House prepares to adopt new restrictions on credit cards. Lawmakers said on...

Two leading Democratic senators asked federal regulators on Thursday to implement an emergency freeze on credit-card interest rates for existing balances. The call from Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., comes as President Barack Obama is meeting with credit-card issuers to discuss how consumers are faring during the economic crisis that has seen widespread credit disruptions.

Up next for the Obama Administration and its ongoing attempt to completely redefine the American financial industry - the credit card industry. First, the comes rhetoric: "We are ... working with Congress on legislation that will promote simplicity, require transparency, demand fairness, and ensure accountability, so that we can strengthen consumer protections against abusive and deceptive practices," says Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President. Whatever that means. Apparently, those platitudes mean that the White House is putting the screws to the credit card industry.

Note: The following text is a quote: ICE nabs man at LMMIA with 172 fraudulent credit cards SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A 28–year–old man was arrested Monday at the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (LMMIA) for credit card fraud following a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Secret Service investigation. Alexis De Jesus, a United States citizen residing in New York, arrived at the LMMIA from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and was referred to a secondary inspection by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspectors. The search of De Jesus and his luggage revealed 172 fraudulent credit...

After beating analysts' earnings expectations last week, JPMorgan Chase(JPM Quote) Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon vowed to return the $25 billion in government aid the bank had received "as soon as possible." Dimon should hold on to those funds. The pace of defaults in the company's credit card business, its third-biggest revenue source, rose for the eighth-straight quarter. If the economy weakens further, more of JPMorgan's customers will probably stop paying their bills. Banks are experiencing record credit card defaults as strapped consumers lose jobs and miss loan payments. The rate of uncollectable accounts is rising across the industry. Competitors...