05/12/08 Credit Card Regulations

Me thinks they doth protest too much. In other words, the one squealing the loudest usually has the most to lose. The Federal Reserve's proposal to regulate the nation's credit card industry has been met with nothing less than scorn and resentment by the banking industry stating that the ones who would be hurt the most by the proposed regulations would be consumers themselves. Yeah, right. But it was worth a try, it sounded sincere. Well, almost. The new rules would create a baseline for fairness in credit card operations, making it more difficult for lenders to raise interest rates and put a stop to the double cycle billing which so many lenders practice. Years back the industry was under greater control but banks complained that the controls were hurting their profits and the government removed the regulations. The key phrase here is "their profits". Credit card companies are in the business of making money, that's what they do, don't be fooled. I'm afraid for most of us the cavalry will be coming too late to save the fort.