| IMMEDIATE
RELEASE: Tuesday December
16, 2008
MBRT Urges Federal Reserve Bank Board to Vote on Credit Card Reform
-
MBRT urges ban on wide
spread practice of increasing
interest rates and charging
late fees without adequate
notice and due process
- Reform
should prohibit usurious
excessive high rates
when businesses are
struggling with credit
tightening in the worst
U.S. economic recession
in decades
Washington,
D.C. - The Federal
Reserve Bank Board is
considering proposed changes
to reform the credit card
industry long endorsed
by consumer advocates
to prohibit banks from
overcharging fees and
increasing interest rates
unless they have given
customers the chance to
opt out. If the new credit
card regulations are approved,
they would represent the
most significant overhaul
of the industry in decades,
banking officials and
consumer advocates have
said. Among the provisions
is a ban on raising interest
rates on existing balances
unless the customer was
30 days or more late in
paying the minimum amount.
“Businesses
and consumers are experiencing
a deep recession in the
U.S. economy. Many businesses
use credit cards to pay
for supplies and materials
to finance their operations
and are having trouble
receiving payments from
customers and then making
payments on credit cards”,
said Roger A. Campos,
President & CEO of MBRT.
“The credit card industry
practice of raising fees
and interest rates for
sometimes no reason just
because they can smacks
of a regulatory failure
of due process. At a time
when the Prime Rate is
4 percent and the Federal
Reserve Bank is lowering
interest rates, credit
card companies are increasing
them anywhere from 10
percent to 30 percent
over the prime rate. This
must stop.”
Small
and minority businesses
are the backbone of the
U.S. economy and create
the most jobs, employ
the majority of Americans,
and significantly contribute
to America’s economic
growth. While many are
facing tightening credit
restrictions, employee
layoffs and possible bankruptcy,
we need a lending system
that is fair to businesses
and consumers alike and
does not weigh down their
ability to make payments
on credit card purchases.
About
the Minority Business
RoundTable:
The Minority Business
RoundTable is the only
national non-profit organization
for CEOs of the nation's
leading African-American,
Asian-American, Hispanic-American,
Native-American and other
minority-owned businesses.
Its members analyze and
help formulate effective
public policies that impact
minority-owned business.
Our corporate members
work to create sustainable
communities and national
economic viability through
successful partnerships.
The
Minority Business RoundTable
is proud to have Glaxco
Smith Kline, Equifax,
the Allegis Group and
Aerotek, Inc., IMPAC real
estate holding companies,
the Business Roundtable,
an association of chief
executive officers of
the country's leading
corporations, the Kauffman
Foundation, U.S. Department
of Energy, U.S. Small
Business Administration,
U.S. Department of Homeland
Security, U.S. Department
of Labor and other federal
agencies, corporations
and business trade groups
as strategic partners.
For more information on
the Minority Business
RoundTable, please visit
www.mbrt.net.
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NEWS
RELEASE
Minority
Business Roundtable
1629 K Street, Suite 300
Washington, D.C. 20036
Contact: Roger A Campos
President & CEO
Minority Business Roundtable
202-289-8881
rogercampos@mbrt.net
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