WILMINGTON, Del. — JPMorgan Chase, the second largest cardissuer in the country, has announced that its “clear and simple”cards will abandon the practice of hiking the interest rates ofcard holders whose credit scores decline. The practice, whichindustry analysts say is mostly confined to the nation's top 10issuers in terms of the number of cards, has drawn increasing firefrom consumer groups, regulators and lawmakers.

This move follows Chase's announcement that it will switch tothe average daily balance method of calculating finance charges onall of its cards, eliminating the two-cycle method of calculatinginterest which has also drawn a lot of consumer anger andregulatory attention.

In March, Chase announced the “Clear & Simple” initiativemade the card resemble a CU issued product by including consumermanagement tools; financial literacy and education; and clearerdisclosure of terms and conditions, including automatic payments,free alerts, paperless statements, and payment calculators.