The federal government’s proposal to bring in tighter consumer credit laws is a positive, but long overdue, move, it has been claimed.

Earlier this week, the government issued a Green Paper aimed at reforming the regulation of various financial products including credit cards.

A subsequent editorial by the Geelong Advertiser has noted that the proposals aim to make banks “smarten up” about who they extend credit to, how much credit they extend and what they charge.

It suggested that while such reforms may affect the decision of Aussies looking to compare credit cards and other loan facilities, they may ultimately improve the rights of consumers generally.

“The upshot, of course, is that the cost of credit will rise, and that access to credit will become tougher,” said the newspaper. ” Read full article…

Americans may have a more difficult time securing loans, competitive rates and credit cards with low credit scores

As the U.S. economy struggles to recover and unemployment rates remain high, Americans may have another issue to worry about before they can improve their personal financial situation – their credit scores. A new report – released by FICO – reveals that Americans’ credit scores have dropped to a new low, endangering consumers’ ability to secure loans and competitive rates for home and auto loans as well as credit cards.

Citing data from FICO, the Associated Press reports that 25.5 percent of American consumers – which roughly translates to 43.4 million individuals – carry a FICO credit score of 599 or below. Read full article…

Credit card experts have predicted that interest rates will continue to rise, with providers balancing the risks they are taking.

The Bank of England recently reported that write-off rates on credit card lending have now reached record highs, leading to spreads on unsecured lending sharply rising recently.

A spokesperson for Moneyfacts.co.uk detailed some of the changes to expect in the credit card market over the coming years and identified who would be affected.

She said: “Providers have been putting rates up and obviously there’s high unemployment and the risk of people defaulting and not repaying their debts is still quite high, so they’re very strict on who they give their cards to.

“The customers that pay off just the minimum every month are going to be the ones who are hit hardest. Read full article…

Consumer credit declines in May.

Consumers across America are slowly paying off their debt, continuing a trend has been exhibited in 18 of the last 20 months.

According to the latest report from the Federal Reserve [Board], the amount of money consumers owe to creditors declined at an annualized rate of 4.5 percent in May. That number equates to a drop of about $9.15 billion in consumer debt. The new national number for total consumer debt is $2.42 trillion. This was the fourth month in a row that consumer credit declined. Read full article…

Are you familiar with the average credit card debt in the United States? Depending on who you ask, the figures are staggering: some studies suggest a figure of up to $9,000 per person. It’s hard to arrive at a single accurate answer to this question — but actually, it doesn’t really matter that much. What does matter is that any significant credit card debt is too much to carry.

What’s the Problem with Credit Card Debt?

Sure, any debt is problematic, but it’s simply a fact of life in modern America. Most people have mortgages for hundreds of thousands of dollars, so why does another five or six thousand dollars in credit card debt make a difference?

Actually, credit card debt is problematic for a number of reasons.

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