Consumer Credit, Consumers | featured news

Soaring unemployment and a shrinking economy drove delinquencies on credit card debt to an all-time high in the first quarter.

In his weekly radio address, the president said Americans “have a right to not get ripped off by the sudden rate hikes, unfair penalties and hidden fees that have become all too common to our credit card industry.”.

The U.S. Federal Reserve rejected a request to force credit card companies to immediately halt retroactive interest-rate increases on existing balances, Democratic Senator Charles Schumer said on Tuesday.

Legislation to curb credit card fees and limit consumer penalties cleared a congressional panel on Wednesday, a day ahead of a meeting between industry executives and President Barack Obama at the White House.

Debt settlement companies claim they help both creditor and consumer by bridging the abyss between them, but the firms often manage to please no one.

The FDIC plan to expand its debt-guarantee program is part of an aggressive government push to persuade banks to make more consumer loans and kickstart the economy.