An Unsettled Time for the Credit Card Industry

An Unsettled Time for the Credit Card Industry
Banks tighten lending requirements, face calls for more cardholder protections. Transcript of radio broadcast:
14 August 2008

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Credit cards let people buy things now and pay for them over months or even years. But some people get deep into debt. And critics say some banks have terms and charges that can make it harder for people to pay off that debt.

In the United States, there are calls for stronger government supervision of the credit card industry.

Credit cards have been heavily marketed through the mail and at stores. They offer economic power at a price.

In two thousand four, Americans had about eight hundred billion dollars in credit card debt. Now they owe about nine hundred sixty-eight billion. The average interest rate on those cards is currently thirteen and a half percent.

Critics say banks made it too easy to get credit cards. But that may be changing. The crisis in the housing and credits markets is beginning to affect the credit card industry. More payments are late. Charges for late payments are a growing source of profit for banks. But late payments can also signal bad debts.

The central bank, the Federal Reserve, says two-thirds of American banks have recently reported tighter lending requirements. Many people report having their credit limits reduced without warning.

Some lawmakers are concerned that cardholders do not have enough protections from what critics say are abusive policies. These include actions like raising interest rates because of an unrelated event -- like a missed payment on another debt. Also, banks may raise the chances of a late payment by changing monthly payment dates for credit cards.

Congress has been considering bills to increase cardholder protections. The industry sees no need for more rules.

Eighty-two percent of Americans think credit cards provide a valuable service. But a majority, fifty-eight percent, say they do not trust credit card companies. And three out of four think the government should regulate the industry more closely.

These are among the findings released this week from a national survey. CreditCards.com, an online marketplace, reported the findings based on a thousand adults.

Three out of four people feel there is always some condition that makes a card less appealing than the company made it sound. And a little more than half say they have had a card that was not as good as they expected. But close to eighty percent say no one really reads the terms and conditions when they sign up for a credit card.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

----------------------------Google Translate

1连同未交收时间为信用卡业
银行收紧贷款的要求，面对呼吁更多的持卡人的保护。全文电台广播：
2008年8月14日

这是美国之音特别英语经济学报告。

信用卡让人们买东西，现在，并支付他们数月甚至数年。但有些人得到深入的债务。和批评人士说，一些银行的条款及收费，可以使困难的人来支付债务。

在美国，有呼吁加强政府监管，信用卡行业。

信用卡已大量上市，通过邮件和商店。他们所提供的经济大国，在付出代价。

在2000 4 ，美国人约8000.0亿美元，在信用卡的债务。现在，他们欠约9680.0亿。平均利率对这些卡是目前13和半个百分点。

批评人士说，银行取得的，它太容易得到信用卡。但可能有所改变。危机在房屋和信贷市场是开始影响到信用卡业。更多的款项已晚。收费延迟付款是一个日益增长的利润来源为银行。但迟缴还可以信号坏帐。

，中央银行，美国联邦储备委员会说，有三分之二的美国银行最近的报道，更严格的贷款要求。很多人报告他们的信用额度减少，在没有警告的。

一些国会议员担心，持卡人没有足够的保护，从什么批评人士说，是滥用政策。这些行动包括像提高利率，因为一个无关的活动-就像一个错过付款，另一债务。此外，银行可能会提高的机会，一迟缴，改变按月付款日期的信用卡。

国会一直在考虑的法案，以增加持卡人的保障。业内人士认为没有必要为更多的规则。

82 ％的美国人认为，信用卡提供了宝贵的服务。但大多数， 58 ％ ，说，他们不信任的信用卡公司。四分之三认为政府应该规管业更加紧密。

这些都是研究结果发表在本星期从全国调查。 creditcards.com ，在线市场，报告结果的基础上，数千名成年人。

四分之三的人觉得总有一些条件，使一卡的吸引力也实在不怎么样，比该公司作出健全的。和略多于一半说他们曾一卡，这种卡是不是不如他们预期的。但接近80 ％的人说没有人真正内容的条款及条件，当他们申请信用卡。

这是该美国之音特别英语经济学的报告，书面，由马里奥里特尔。我史蒂夫ember 。