Groundbreaking Legislation is a Model for Regulating Other Financial Products
WASHINGTON, May 10, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Credit card holders are seeing stabilized interest rates, the elimination of overlimit penalty charges, a reduction in late fees charged by banks and minimal changes in annual fees since the Credit CARD Act of 2009 took effect, according to new research by the Pew Health Group's Safe Credit Cards Project.
Pew data show that the median advertised interest rates for purchases on bank credit cards remained unchanged from 2010. Meanwhile, bank cash advance and penalty rates held firm. Additionally, the percentage of cards with annual fees held steady for credit unions, at 14 percent, and increased for banks, from 14 percent in 2010 to 21 percent in 2011. The amount charged for annual fees remained unchanged.
"Pew's research shows that predictions that the legislation would spark new charges and long-term interest rate growth have not materialized," said Nick Bourke, director of Pew's Safe Credit Cards Project. "Whatever increases in advertised interest rates we saw going into 2010 have not continued into 2011. The Act created a new equilibrium where interest rates have flattened, penalty charges have declined and a number of practices deemed 'unfair or deceptive' have disappeared. Consumers are enjoying safer, more transparently priced credit cards - and banks and credit unions are able to compete on a more level playing field."
The study, "A New Equilibrium: After Passage of Landmark Credit Card Reform, Interest Rates and Fees Have Stabilized," is the latest in a series of reports from the Pew Safe Credit Cards Project that has examined all consumer credit cards offered online by the nation's 12 largest bank and 12 largest credit union issuers. Together, these institutions control more than 90 percent of the nation's outstanding credit card debt. For this latest report, which measures how the industry has changed since the passage of the Credit CARD Act, Pew collected data in March 2010 and January 2011.