Banks are struggling to make money in the credit card business

[katty]

more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33829687/ns/business-the_new_york_times/

By Andrew Martin and Lowell Bergman

updated 2 hours, 5 minutes ago

Banks are struggling to make money in the credit card business these days, and consumers are paying the price. Interest rates are going up, credit lines are being cut and a variety of new fees are being imposed on even the best cardholders.

One recipient of new credit card terms is Anita Holaday, a 91-year-old in Florida, who received a letter last month from Citibank announcing that her new interest rate was 29.99 percent, an increase of 10 percentage points.

“I think it’s outrageous they pursue such a policy,” said Susan Holaday Schumacher, Ms. Holaday’s daughter, who pays her mother’s bills. “That rate is shocking under any circumstances.”

[villager]

1. Let's provide some "clarity" for banks with a credit card "rent strike"

lasting a few months, until sanity and fundamentals are restored, and consumers' backs aren't used to finance Wall Street's egregious sprees...

[ejpoeta]

2. boo fucking hoo. my heart bleeds for them. they should quit lending to

people who can't friggin afford it and won't be able to pay it back. they should also go back to an annual fee for the card then. quit doing the bait and switch and screwing people over by playing tricks.

[Ruby the Liberal]

3. Heaven forbid they take a short-term loss while the rest of us

pick up the slack from those who have lost their jobs and struggling to hang on.

Fuck the banks.

[katty]

4. 29.99%-WTF?! I'd rather contact my neighborhood loan shark

then give it to the banksters

[rgbecker]

5. I got one of those letters just this morning. I'll be happy use one of my other cards.

Though I don't think they'll be much better. I've had the Citibank card since 1973. It started with a local St. Louis bank and has gone through 3 other banks, all now absorbed by Citibank and other banks which now are too big to fail!

Unfortunately, I'm too small to succeed.

[aquart]

6. Poor dears. Poor, poor dears.

[Skink]

7. They should be able to survive on the fees they charge retailers to accept the cards.

Interest on account balances is sort of like frosting on frosting.

[supernova]

8. Oh, boo hoo for you!

Here's my tiny violin section just for you banksters:

:nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity:

[ThomCat]

9. Why the hell aren't "our" representatives standing up for us

and fighting the banks when the banks start increasing interest rates for no reason other than to suck in money. There is no way that should be a legal business practice.

No other business can say, "I want more money, so I'm just going to demand it from you, and if you don't pay it I'm going to destroy your financial future."

That is blackmail with the threat of destroying people's credit ratings.

:grr:

Is there anything at all the banks could really do that would be so egregious that our reps would finally take notice and actually do something about it? Is there any limit to how greedy and vicious they can be, and still get away with it?

What the hell do we have to do to get our reps to actually represent US and our best interests?