NEW YORK – Banks and some pundits had predicted that credit card users would face skyrocketing interest rates, a spike in annual fees and a plethora of other negatives after stringent new rules on cards kicked in last year.
That is not what happened, according to a new look at the policies associated with credit cards issued by major banks and credit unions. The Pew Charitable Trusts Safe Credit Cards Project found instead that interest rates are steady with those charged last year, while most fees have dropped.
The stabilization of interest rates is key, because banks sharply raised rates in 2009 following the law's passage but before its implementation.
"Whatever increases in advertised interest rates we saw going into 2010 have not continued into 2011," said Nick Bourke, director of the Safe Credit Cards Project.
