WASHINGTON — A new non-profit organization has commissioned a study that it said shows consumers with lower credit scores are able to raise those scores through the use of subprime credit cards.

Citizens for Equal Access To Credit (CEAC) describes itself as a "diverse, national multicultural nonprofit coalition" whose members include some smaller subprime card issuers but also chambers of commerce, some minority organizations and current and former sub-prime borrowers.

The Center has drawn attention by releasing a study, conducted on its behalf by Transunion, one of the three leading credit bureaus, which indicated that a percentage of subprime borrowers have increased their credit scores by using subprime cards responsibly. These subprime borrowers should not be penalized or effectively kept from credit as a result of regulatory or legislative zeal to protect consumers, the Center argued.