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Obama meets on credit card tactics
U.S. President Barack Obama
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TEXT OF STORY
Bill Radke: In other banking news, President Obama meets with credit card issuers today to let them know how he feels about their recent tactics. Consumer advocates have complained that card companies
are charging exorbitant interest rates and fees to unsuspecting cardholders. Tamara Keith has more.
Tamara Keith: There's a pretty good chance credit card executives are going to leave the meeting feeling like they just spent some time in the principal's office. White House officials say escalating interest rates and deceptive practices are on the agenda.
Rebecca Borne is at the Center for Responsible Lending:
Rebecca Borne: Based on what President Obama has said previously, you know, we have every reason to think that he'll be on consumers' side on this issue.
President Obama supported credit card reform in his campaign:
Nessa Feddis: Um, well, we're looking forward to a constructive dialogue.
Nessa Feddis is vice president of the American Bankers Association. She's been tracking the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights, approved by the House Financial Services Committee yesterday. Feddis says banks are concerned.
Feddis: We want to work with Congress and the administration, but it's important if they're going to make adjustments that they keep a balance.
Credit card companies say they're taking such a hit on consumer credit defaults, they have to make up for it somewhere else. Feddis says too much of a crackdown on the industry could limit credit availability.
In Washington, I'm Tamara Keith for Marketplace.
I am not furious, I am fuming. Like Hogan said: "know I understand OJ Simpson".
How it is possible that those clowns in charge of the banking system get away with robbery of
the bank funds, assault on the pockets of the public and get millonaire bonuses?. If anyone
performed a job half as bad as those criminals, that person would lose their job in matter of
days. But those robbers not only keep their jobs but get all kind of benefits to boot.
Who was the "genius" who decided that when a person is having trouble making payments that person
should have late fees, higer interest rates and whatever else added so they can pay their debt.
This is only one of the reasons why we are in the present economic mess. Those criminals only
care about their gratification whitout regard for anybody or anything.
Would not make more sense to "freeze" the credit line of the debtor 10 or 20% under the current
balance until the debtor get up to day on his account? And then repeat the procedure until the
limit is at a reasonable level of risk. But this would no work because the thiefs then would not
have enough money to live the great life at the expense of the working person.
What would have happened if the goverment had followed that type of reasoning with the banks in
trouble?.
Does not make more sense to help the tax payer, who is the fundation of the sytem, get on his
feet and have a good footing? But the doctrine has been to give free hand to the big corporations
that have the ability and means to rip off the national treassury and destroy the economy in the
process. If any taxpayer steals couple of hundreds from his job he will go to prison for a long
time, but the big white collar criminals steal millions and on top they get compensated for their
derty deeds.
I think the salaries of those criminals should have a reasonable ceilign, maybe 20 times the
minimun wage,no thay they deserve that much, and any bonus to be completely dependant on the
performance and time of goofing off at the job,I mean the time of employment.
To those who claim that the talent, what talent?, would be lost to other firms I respond: I do
not think that anyone in his right mind would hire anyone who lost millions for the company he or
she worked for. Only crooks hire crooks.
I have always been a hardcore proponent of capitalism. Make money any way that is legal and ethical. That is where my problem lies with the credit card industry.
They set up teaser rates and a contract with the consumer that is subject to change without acknowledgment from the latter party.
For a large portion of the population, credit card debt is a long-term obligation. If the person has a debt that cannot be paid after the creditor has changed the terms of the agreement-noted on an enclosed tri-fold onion paper with 1.5 font, he is stuck with the new terms until he can pay it off and close the account.
Everyone should know that credit cards are a poor financial instrument for the consumer, but too many people have chosen to use them as a crutch to weather hard times.
I hate regulation of an industry, but I believe the credit card industry has brought this on themselves. This and the defaults they have earned by lending to those who do not deserve credit.
