Major credit card reform was passed back in May, but some of the new laws weren't set to be implemented until February. That delay gave big-time angst to both consumers and politicians, worrying that banks would rush to jack up interest rates before the reforms became law.
Sure enough, Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), and Citigroup (NYSE: C), among others, tightened credit terms this summer, while they still could, and -- as is standard during a recession -- when lending is riskier. On cue, squeals arose. "The implementation of these necessary reforms should not be taken as an indication that the industry should take advantage of consumers now before the prohibitions come into effect," said Rep. Betsy Markey, D-Colo.
To fix this kerfuffle, the House of Representatives passed a bill to up the start date on credit card reform from Feb. 22, 2010, to right away.
Seems brilliant, until you remember that the Senate still needs to bicker over and pass the bill. Who wants to bet that every single bank looking for a last hurrah before these reforms become law will simply do so before that happens? I do, I do! It takes only a few keystrokes for banks to change terms. I'll guarantee you every bank that saw the House's bill yesterday has already altered terms exactly as it wanted to. Plus -- and here's the real issue -- most of the banks that wanted to change terms before the regulations became law likely already did so this past summer.
And as The Associated Press points out, "a vote ... in the Senate was considered highly unlikely because of lingering concerns by many senators that the bill could restrict credit when Americans need it most." So banks still eager to change still have time to do so.
I'm all for regulations to protect consumers from predatory lending. But I'll go out on a limb and predict that accelerating the start date will stop precisely zero banks from doing what they intended. It's like locking a kid in a room full of candy, and saying, "OK, starting sometime in the future, I'm going to ask that you not touch any of this." You've prevented nothing.
Better late than never. But not much better, I guess.
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