Released: June 08, 2007

Fed criticized for allowing credit card ‘deceptive practices.’

Source: Reuters [CNN Money]

The chairwoman of a U.S. congressional subcommittee Thursday criticized abusive consumer credit card interest rates and fees, while faulting the Federal Reserve for doing little about them.

“The Federal Reserve is the only regulator with power to issue regulations banning unfair and deceptive practices ... It hasn’t done much in that area,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, chairwoman of the U.S. House consumer credit subcommittee. “If other regulators had similar powers, perhaps we would see more regulatory monitoring of bad practices,” she said.

The subcommittee held a hearing to get the views of industry executives and regulators, including Fed Board of Governors member Frederic Mishkin, on credit card practices.

Mishkin said the Fed is committed to “ensuring that consumers get key information about credit card terms in ways they can understand, in formats they can use, and at times when it is most helpful.”

Read Full Article: Fed criticized for allowing credit card ‘deceptive practices.’