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NEWS RELEASE
April 30, 2008
ABA Media Contact: Peter Garuccio
(202) 663-5452
E-mail: pgarucci@aba.com
ABA STATEMENT ON SENATE CREDIT CARD LEGISLATION
by Edward L. Yingling, president and CEO
“The credit card industry shares Congress’ commitment to promote consumer protection and responsible business practices. We understand that Senator Dodd has long had an interest in strong consumer protections in the banking area.
“However, broad legislative solutions come with consequences, often to the detriment of consumers. We have serious concerns that this legislation could hurt much-needed consumer access to credit by inserting the federal government into credit markets in unprecedented ways. Many of the practices this bill attempts to curtail allow credit card issuers to provide worthy borrowers with low-interest rates, no annual fees and broad access to credit.
“We are concerned that the changes outlined in this legislation would have serious, unintended consequences such as unfairly raising the cost of credit for consumers – even those who have a record of managing their credit well.
“We believe these concerns are very serious, and we will continue to engage Senator Dodd and other members of the Senate as the legislative process moves forward.”
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The American Bankers Association brings together banks of all sizes and charters into one association. ABA works to enhance the competitiveness of the nation's banking industry and strengthen America’s economy and communities. Its members – the majority of which are banks with less than $125 million in assets – represent over 95 percent of the industry’s $12.7 trillion in assets and employ over 2 million men and women.
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