A study by FICO, the company responsible for the widely used FICO credit scores, revealed that consumers' credit scores have been only minimally impacted by the recent, widespread cut in consumer credit lines.

"Our study suggests that lenders are using a scalpel and not a hatchet to trim their revolving credit exposure and meet their requirements for regulatory capital," said Dr. Mark Greene, CEO of FICO. "This bodes well for the economy if we are counting on empowered consumers to stimulate growth and help end this recession. Based on our findings, the fundamental rules of Wall Street and Main Street still prevail. Both lenders and consumers perform at their best when they maintain smart, responsible credit strategies."

FICO found that available revolving credit had been reduced for an estimated 33 million U.S. card holders between October 2008 and April 2009, up from an estimated 25 million card holders between April 2008 and October 2008. Of those 33 million card holders, the researchers found that credit reports for nearly nine million contained recent negative credit references such as reported late payments. Such "risk triggers" may have prompted lenders to reduce those customers' card limits, the company said.

The average reduction in credit limit was found to be $5,100, more than double the reduction that FICO observed for comparable consumers six months earlier. However, $5,100 was only 14% of this population's average total revolving credit.