Full speed ahead on reform

Opinion: February 26, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Seattle Times: The list of new protections for credit-card users is a dismaying reminder of how many sleazy, creepy practices were devised to filch money from unsuspecting consumers.

The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act that went into effect on Monday infuses all those routine transactions with a measure of transparency that has been missing at great expense to American households.

Certainly consumers are responsible for using credit wisely, but the rules and gimmicks have been stacked against the most financially vulnerable in a down economy. Even the most fastidious credit users have been gouged by murky rates and fees.

Federal regulations will stop retroactive rate hikes, deceptive late fees, over-the-limit fees and payment application abuses. Game playing with billing procedures is supposed to end, and card users are to receive advance warnings on rate and payment changes. Payment times and dates are standardized.

Remember, the legislation did not cap interest rates — usury laws went away with Reagan-era inflation — and there is no prohibition on assessing creative new fees. Expect the lights to burn late in bank marketing departments, but consumers will get better information to make decisions and protect themselves.

Retooling of the U.S. financial system gets a boost with new credit-card rules, but the job is only getting under way.

Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell is leading efforts to reinstate lessons learned from the Great Depression that separated commercial banking and investment activities. The laws were lifted in the 1990s with disastrous consequences a decade later.