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Frank: Credit Card Hikes Show Need For Oversight

  • NPR, Tuesday, November 10, 2009 10:43 AM
The response of some credit card companies to new federal regulations that take effect in February -- raising rates and reducing credit limits -- may boomerang, suggests Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who serves as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. He says the actions are helping to build support for the creation of a consumer financial protection agency.

"People now understand the need for an ongoing supervisory power that's aimed at consumers and not as an afterthought to bank regulation," Frank tells Michelle Norris.

Slipping into Betty Furness mode, Frank also suggests that consumers in the market for a credit card should comparison shop. And he says those who already have them should pay the bill before the due date or pay cash until the new rules, which govern when and how banks can charge borrowers, take effect.

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