WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is pushing to rein in costs for millions of Americans who use credit cards, an appeal to consumers as many struggle to pay their bills.
But the banking industry is warning that Obama’s push for legislation could backfire, restricting lenders and making less credit available to Americans during the economic crisis.
Obama was meeting with leaders of the credit-card industry Thursday, a session the White House said would be an “open and productive conversation.”
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Kenneth Clayton, senior vice president for card policy at the Americans Bankers Association, said the concern is that new legislation may make economic matters even worse by shrinking lenders’ ability, resulting in “less credit available to vast numbers of Americans” at just the wrong time.
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By BEN FELLER, Associated Press Writer (Source: news.yahoo.com) [more at Yahoo News]
