VOA慢速英语2009-Economics Report - Credit Card Companies in US F

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

A bill to place new restrictions¹ on the credit card industry in the United States won final approval this week in Congress. The measure went to President Obama to sign into law with popular support, except among banks.

Credit card companies will have to inform cardholders forty-five days before they raise interest rates or change other important terms. The new act will also bar companies from raising rates on existing debts unless payment is at least sixty days late.
　
A motorist uses a credit card to buy gasoline in Morgantown, North Carolina

Also, companies will have to send out billing statements at least twenty-one days before a payment is owed. They will have to tell how long and how much it would take to pay off a card if the holder² makes only the lowest monthly payment. And they will have to write their cardholder agreements clearly and publish them online.

These changes, however, will not take effect for nine months.

President Obama recently said it was time for credit card reform:

BARACK OBAMA: "Instead of an 'anything goes' approach, we need strong and reliable protections for consumers. Instead of fine print that hides the truth, we need credit card forms and statements that have plain language in plain sight."

Credit card companies say the changes will only reduce the availability of credit. These come at a time of recession when banks are reporting billions in losses in their credit card divisions.

The president of the American Bankers Association says the legislation "changes the entire business model of credit cards." Edward Yingling says it restricts the ability to price credit for risk -- in other words, to charge more for those more likely not to repay their debts.

Lots of people pay off their credit cards in full each month to avoid finance charges. But industry experts say card providers might now start charging new fees for all cardholders. And, they say, companies could raise their interest rates.

Americans held nine hundred forty-six billion dollars in credit card debt at the end of March. That was down from last year, but still about twenty-five percent more than ten years ago.

Elizabeth Kiss is a personal finance specialist with Perdue University in Indiana. She says the main value of the new credit card act is that it "provides an opportunity for consumers to have more information."

But, she says, consumers have to make their own informed decisions. In her words, "We need to know how using credit fits into our plans and goals."

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

1 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

2 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。