3magin8.com

For as much press as the $700 billion dollar has gotten lately (rightfully so given it’s scale and cost) there are still plenty of other interests on the plate of congressional leaders and lawmakers. One important aspect of those interests are efforts to regulate the credit card industry. Last week the House of Representatives by and large voted to pass the “Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights” which intends to mirror regulations the Federal Reserve will put into the place sometime during the fall. A recent article at SmartMoney examined the details.

What new rules and regs should we expect? Consumer advocate groups are talking of eliminating predatory lending practices like retroactively applying interest rate hikes to balances. Additionally there may be new requirements for card companies to notify consumers of impending interest rates. The proposal mentions a 45-day notice in advance.

Needless to say, credit card companies are not pleased by these looming changes and balk at the idea of the new rules. Issuers say that this will likely cut into their profits and so they may not be able to afford “teaser rates” like 0% offers for a period of time. In fact, it could wipe them out entirely. This isn’t really necessarily a bad thing for anyone, but if you have the opportunity to qualify for a 0% teaser rate, now would be the time to lock it in. With the credit crunch, mail solicitations for cards have dropped dramatically over the past year. I can’t say that I was sad to see them go, but it points to less available credit in the future.