• Washington Post , Thursday, December 18, 2008 11:15 AM

The federal government is expected to approve today new rules banning "unfair and deceptive" practices by credit card companies. When it does so, it will signal a shift in emphasis from educating customers about what they should do to telling companies and customers what they can and cannot do.

Bear in mind that Republications are still running the regulatory agencies involved -- the Federal Reserve, the Office of Thrift Supervision and the National Credit Union Administration -- and that the credit card lobby is traditionally among the most powerful in D.C., as Nancy Trejos and Binyamin Appelbaum point out.

"Eighteen months ago the Fed was focused on disclosure and transparency, and now they're coming out with a prescriptive, rules-based guidance," says Brian Gardner, who follows financial regulation issues for the investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. "It's a whole different world."

Meanwhile, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), and other members of Congress say they intended to propose bills next year that would make into law the rules being voted on today. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), who proposed a bill this year that would have extended even more protections to consumers, says that credit card reform will be a top priority for the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, which he leads.

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