The Credit CARD Act of 2009 was intended to limit and make transparent unreasonable profits and predatory practices of credit card companies. Although it was passed earlier this year, most of its provisions take effect in February 2010.  Credit card issuers, in the meanwhile, have escalated their harmful practices in order to shake down the battered consumer even more before the hammer falls, with rising interest rates and escalating fees, even fees by some credit card companies for not using their cards enough!

A recent report by the Pew Charitable Trusts Health Group details the extent of this escalation, and makes policy recommendations for Congress, the Federal Reserve, and Bank regulators to strengthen and accelerate implementations of the Credit CARD Act of 2009. Its findings were recently published in a report, "STILL WAITING: Unfair or Deceptive Credit Card Practices Continue as Americans Wait for New Reforms to Take Effect".

Its recommendations are summarized on page 3, and detailed on page 18 of the report:

1. Congress should act to ensure rapid implementation of the core protections found in the Credit CARD Act of 2009.
2. The Federal Reserve should regulate penalty interest rate increases under its “reasonable and proportional” rules.
3. The Federal Reserve should prohibit all credit card penalties that do not further the Act’s goals of improving price transparency and protecting consumers from unfair or deceptive practices.
4. Bank regulators should scrutinize partially variable rates, which rise with changes in an index but cannot fall below a fixed minimum set by the issuer. Cards with partially variable rates including minimum rate requirements should not be eligible for exemptions to certain notice and interest rate rules under the Act, which were created for true variable rates.

Let's hope Congress follows the recommendations. You can contact your representatives in congress and tell them you expect them to follow the Pew recommendations.

The grabby tactics of credit card companies are underscored by the 3^rd-Quarter lobbying report.  According to the Center for Responsive Politics lobbying expenditures by the financial sector alone ("Finance, Insurance, Real Estate") in 2009 so far, were $334 million, second to healthcare, but the biggest spender overall. Using the reports widgets on their site, you can sort lobbying expenditures by sector and industry, and also see the spenders and recipients of campaign contributions.

Not all lobbying is bad, of course, and it's a constitutional right to speak to your government, but I ask you: if the "beleaguered" financial industry has that kind of money to fight regulatory oversight (to say nothing of its executive compensation) wouldn't that in and of itself be the best and most compelling argument for better, tighter regulation?