Bank Regulators Push Back Against Credit Card Junkies

The credit card junkies (credit card abusers and their bank enablers) smelled bailout blood in the water and decided to strike.  They asked Federal Bank Regulators at the Treasury for some favors.  First, the banks want to write-off billions in credit card debt (up to 40% of unpaid balances).  That in itself is not a problem that bank regulators care about.  The problem arises from the other part of this request.  The banks want to delay showing the credit card write-downs on their books until after the defaulting consumers pay the remaining balances on their card.  In effect, the banks want to pretend that their balance sheets are in much better condition than they really are, allowing them to operate with less “real” capital. Read more