Who’s Entitled to a Credit Card? Perspectives on the Fed’s Independent Ability to Pay Amendment
Sara E. Emley & Manley Williams
March 1, 2011
Americans are devoted to credit cards, as evidenced by the nearly $800 billion in credit card debt and other revolving credit outstanding at year-end 2010. More than half of all US households have credit card debt. But our fixation on credit has led to some hard landings recently, with credit card delinquencies rising more than 150% from 2006 to 2009. As delinquencies triggered late payments, increased interest rates, and over-the-limit fees, the contractual rate and fee provisions in credit card agreements became a rallying point for public protest and media attention. Among the outcomes of a Congressional focus on credit card practices was the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (known as the CARD Act), which President Obama signed on May 22, 2009.
Published by American Bar Association Newsletter, Business Law Section