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| U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs |
| Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations |
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| Title: Credit Card Practices: Fees, Interest Rates, and Grace Periods |
| Date: 3/7/07 |
| Time (EST): 10:00 AM |
| Place: Dirksen Senate Office Building, Rm. 342 |
| The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has scheduled a hearing entitled, "Credit Card Practices: Fees, Interest Rates, and Grace Periods." It is the first of several Subcommittee hearings that will examine a variety of credit card practices that raise concerns. This hearing will focus on how credit card issuers apply interest rates and fees to consumer accounts. It will examine, for example, how credit card issuers select and apply interest rates and, for consumers carrying a balance forward, eliminate grace periods for repaid debts. It will also analyze high fees charged for late payments, over-the-limit charges, and other matters, including how those fees are assessed, how they add to interest costs, and how they contribute to consumer debt. In addition, the hearing will examine an industry practice requiring consumer payments to be applied first to balances with the lowest interest rates instead of to balances with the highest interest rates. The hearing will draw, in part, from a September 2006 GAO report detailing the finance charges, fees, and disclosure practices associated with 28 popular credit cards. |
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| Member
Statements |
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| Witnesses
Testimony
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Panel 1
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WESLEY WANNEMACHER
[View
PDF]
, Consumer
, Lima, OH |
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ALYS COHEN
[View
PDF]
, Staff Attorney
, National Consumer Law Center
, Washington, DC |
Panel 2
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BRUCE L. HAMMONDS
[View
PDF]
, President, Bank of America Card Services
, Bank of America Corporation
, Wilmington, DE
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RICHARD J. SREDNICKI
[View
PDF]
, Chief Executive Officer
, Chase Bank USA, N.A.
, Wilmington, DE
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VIKRAM A. ATAL
[View
PDF]
, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Citi Cards, Global Consumer Group
, Citigroup Inc.
, New York, NY
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