Now, I'm very busy at work, so I have too little time to get prepared for a serious post. Holiday time is hot, I must say, partly because I have absolutely no ideas about the present and the whole celebration. Besides, much time is taken by my driving course))) Very soon you will be able to see me on the road, with my eye wide open and my back wet)))
I have just read a number of posts from www.getrichslowly.org - fabulous blog! I'm just fond of it!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Is My Govt Protecting Me?
As I'm putting a start to this blog, I would like to investigate the issue that seems to explain many things in the credit card market. This issue is government regulations in this market - the one we have become rather a frequent visitor of.
I came to the idea of investigating this topic a bit, afetr I read the article devoted to minimum credit card purchases at RequestCredit.com (sometimes they have interesting articles there).
So, what can an ordinary consumer expect from a bank as well as from the Govt when he entrusts his money or identity to the first?
As a matter of fact, the banks do not have a carefree prosperous life that we can imagine. Financial institutions are being widely controlled by different agencies. The Comptroller of the Currency, The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, The Office of Thrift Supervision and a number of others are in charge of regulating the banks' credit card and loan practices.
Everybody knows that the govt determine caps which the banks cannot exceed when issuing credit (Regulation Q). However, in some states the limitations are not that strict (I heard about South Dakota), that's why some irresponsible banks prefer locating their head offices in these states.
As you see, the over-regulating has some flaws, and the banks cannot but use this to their advantage. Super-tiny-absolutely-incomprehensible terms and conditions (fine print) is one of the examples: banks are obliged to show all the terms, but they are not entitled to write them in capitals...
But, I should say, my research gave me a measure of hope. Now, thanks to bnet.com I know that:
- The bank HAS to explain to mae why I was denied for a credit or plastic.
- The bank MUST report infarmation about the way how accurately I pay for my credit to the major credit bureaus
- The bank should be open for govt, it should report its income, policies and other aspects to the above mentioned offeces, otherwise it is closed
- No one will consider my race or sex when regarding my application for credit
I came to the idea of investigating this topic a bit, afetr I read the article devoted to minimum credit card purchases at RequestCredit.com (sometimes they have interesting articles there).
So, what can an ordinary consumer expect from a bank as well as from the Govt when he entrusts his money or identity to the first?
As a matter of fact, the banks do not have a carefree prosperous life that we can imagine. Financial institutions are being widely controlled by different agencies. The Comptroller of the Currency, The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, The Office of Thrift Supervision and a number of others are in charge of regulating the banks' credit card and loan practices.
Everybody knows that the govt determine caps which the banks cannot exceed when issuing credit (Regulation Q). However, in some states the limitations are not that strict (I heard about South Dakota), that's why some irresponsible banks prefer locating their head offices in these states.
As you see, the over-regulating has some flaws, and the banks cannot but use this to their advantage. Super-tiny-absolutely-incomprehensible terms and conditions (fine print) is one of the examples: banks are obliged to show all the terms, but they are not entitled to write them in capitals...
But, I should say, my research gave me a measure of hope. Now, thanks to bnet.com I know that:
- The bank HAS to explain to mae why I was denied for a credit or plastic.
- The bank MUST report infarmation about the way how accurately I pay for my credit to the major credit bureaus
- The bank should be open for govt, it should report its income, policies and other aspects to the above mentioned offeces, otherwise it is closed
- No one will consider my race or sex when regarding my application for credit
Friday, November 30, 2007
Hi, it's me)))
I started this blog because my greatest interest (after clubbing and shopping and partly because of them;-)) is personal finance. Hope it will be a good school for newbies in credit and those who have experience will teach me something!
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