By Jennifer Waters, MarketWatch
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — If you’re one of the millions of Americans holding a credit card, this isn’t necessarily news: Credit-card issuers are hiking interest rates, penalties and fees in full force ahead of stringent new laws that take effect in February.
In fact, some 400 credit cards from the nation’s 12 largest bank issuers — accounting for 90% of the $889 billion in outstanding consumer revolving credit in September — are still using most of the same tactics that the Federal Reserve has called “unfair or deceptive” and that will be outlawed in fewer than four months, according to a new report from the Pew Health Group’s Safe Credit Cards Project.
“Until the law takes effect we’re seeing that all the major credit-card issuers on the bank side are continuing to engage in these unfair and deceptive practices,” said Nick Bourke, project manager of the Safe Credit Card Project. “The numbers of unfair and deceptive practices have grown and in some cases are worse.”
Among the other findings:
99.7% of bank cards allowed issuers to boost interest rates on outstanding balances — a jump from 93% in December
95% of bank cards are applying payments first to low-rate balances, a practice the Federal Reserve has said will likely cause substantial financial injury to consumers
90% of bank cards had penalty rate hikes with the vast majority imposed by so-called “hair triggers” of one or two late payments in a year. The median bank penalty rate was 28.99%.
As of July, interest rates spiked an average of 20% across the board from December of 2008 with some issuers jacking up rates 30% and in at least one case 50% — even on their best customers.
Many — but not all — of the interest rate increases were tied to user credit scores, which have been dropping as many consumers’ credit lines have been cut or cancelled, Bourke said.
Credit-card losses mount
There’s no question that the economic malaise and the millions of people without jobs has had a damaging effect on credit companies too. Credit-card charge-offs and delinquencies this year have doubled, even tripled in some cases, and are still hovering in record territory at the nation’s largest banks with the outlook only worsening. Credit-card charge-offs retreated in September from August’s record high, but are still in double digits, according to Moody’s Investor Service.
Moody’s charge-off index, a measure of credit-card loans that aren’t expected to be repaid — slipped to 10.72 in September from August’s peak of 11.49. However, loans at least 30 days late, considered a gauge of future losses, climbed to 5.97 from 5.8. Charge-offs and delinquencies closely follow the jobless numbers: As unemployment rises so too does bad debt.
“Some of (those interest-rate and fee hikes) occurred because of the economic environment we’re in,” Bourke admitted. “But the timing is pegged at getting a lot of changes in before the bill takes effect.”
The American Bankers Association agreed that some higher rates are being pushed ahead of February, but said the embattled economy that is leaving issuers with boatloads of unpaid, unsecured debt is the real driver of such huge interest-rate increase.
“We have to take into account the losses in the credit-card space,” said Peter Garuccio, ABA spokesman.
Credit-card companies recognize the pain they are inflicting on many consumers. “We understand that customers don’t like price increases, especially in difficult economic times,” Citi said in a statement. “However, these actions are necessary given the doubling of credit card losses across the industry from customers not paying back their loans and regulatory changes that eliminate repricing for that risk.”
Moving ahead of law
The Pew study looked at rate and fee increases from January to July and doesn’t include hikes made since then as issuers press consumers before the law takes effect Feb. 22. Nor does the study take into account the initial credit-card legislation that took effect in August.
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