Credit unions with card portfolios worth over $1 million saw their card charge offs at record levels in the first quarter of 2010, but their delinquencies dropped slightly according to NCUA data.
As Congress contemplates whether to pass a law regulating debit card interchange, a majority of economists and government officials attending a meeting on the subject agreed that there is no economic basis for the proposed regulatory change.
Credit unions took their case for keeping the status quo on interchange fees to Capitol Hill last week as House and Senate conferees began their effort to reconcile the different versions of the regulatory overhaul bill.
The U.S. Government could save between $36 million and $39 million in interchange fees annually if it had the right to negotiate for better terms, according to a Treasury Department report.
The Federal Reserve Board has published the latest card regulations that it was mandated to develop by the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009.
Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin is "disappointed," with the arguments made by CUNA and the Independent Community Bankers of America in opposing his amendment to regulate interchange fees.
