Senate approves credit card crackdown bill

WASHINGTON, May 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Tuesday approved a bill to curb sudden credit card interest rate increases and hidden fees, with President Barack Obama expected to sign the measure into law by the end of the month.

The first of several financial regulation reforms expected during the Obama administration, the bill must go to the House of Representatives again before reaching the president. The House approved it in similar form last month by a 357-70 vote.

Analysts said the bill would hurt the profits of major card issuers such as Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Bank of America (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research), JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Capital One (COF.N: Quote, Profile, Research), but that its impact was already largely factored into their share prices. (Reporting by Kevin Drawbaugh) Full Story

More Housing Pain

U.S. Banks 1Q Charge-Off and Delinquency Rates

==============================================================================
               1Q     4Q     3Q     2Q     1Q     4Q     3Q     2Q     1Q
              2009   2008   2008   2008   2008   2007   2007   2007   2007
==============================================================================
              ------------------------Charge-Off Rates----------------------
Total           2.04%  1.90%  1.51%  1.29%  1.00%  0.73%  0.62%  0.55%  0.52%
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Real estate     1.57%  1.74%  1.29%  1.09%  0.69%  0.36%  0.22%  0.20%  0.13%
Residential    1.80%  1.58%  1.49%  1.19%  0.85%  0.44%  0.26%  0.20%  0.15%
==============================================================================
               1Q     4Q     3Q     2Q     1Q     4Q     3Q     2Q     1Q
              2009   2008   2008   2008   2008   2007   2007   2007   2007
==============================================================================
Commercial     1.33%  2.19%  1.11%  0.99%  0.48%  0.40%  0.16%  0.14%  0.08%
Consumer loans  4.75%  4.11%  3.63%  3.35%  2.94%  2.66%  2.57%  2.37%  2.34%
Credit cards   7.49%  6.33%  5.70%  5.46%  4.59%  4.18%  4.14%  3.83%  3.86%
Other          2.93%  2.71%  2.42%  2.18%  1.95%  1.74%  1.59%  1.50%  1.41%
Leases          0.83%  0.65%  0.57%  0.55%  0.36%  0.24%  0.31%  0.20%  0.21%
C&I loans       1.77%  1.40%  1.03%  0.85%  0.68%  0.64%  0.51%  0.44%  0.38%
Agriculture     0.42%  0.28%  0.18%  0.16%  0.08%  0.12%  0.10%  0.11%  0.08%
              ----------------------Delinquency Rates-----------------------
Total           5.60%  4.64%  3.74%  3.36%  2.86%  2.45%  2.15%  1.88%  1.73%
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Real estate     7.13%  5.87%  4.91%  4.23%  3.55%  2.88%  2.41%  2.01%  1.77%
Residential    7.91%  6.34%  5.25%  4.42%  3.73%  3.02%  2.78%  2.31%  2.05%
Commercial     6.40%  5.43%  4.75%  4.20%  3.44%  2.74%  2.00%  1.64%  1.41%
Consumer loans  4.70%  4.22%  3.71%  3.58%  3.51%  3.38%  3.19%  3.01%  2.94%
Credit cards   6.50%  5.66%  4.80%  4.89%  4.76%  4.61%  4.41%  4.01%  3.97%
Other          3.53%  3.33%  3.06%  2.82%  2.77%  2.64%  2.49%  2.38%  2.29%
Leases          2.09%  1.82%  1.64%  1.53%  1.37%  1.33%  1.19%  1.04%  1.21%
==============================================================================
               1Q     4Q     3Q     2Q     1Q     4Q     3Q     2Q     1Q
              2009   2008   2008   2008   2008   2007   2007   2007   2007
==============================================================================
C&I loans       3.13%  2.58%  1.77%  1.75%  1.44%  1.31%  1.21%  1.18%  1.19%
Agriculture     1.71%  1.43%  1.23%  1.10%  1.06%  1.14%  1.17%  1.35%  1.17%
=========================================================================