Credit card rates are unacceptable today given the low cost of funds provided by the government to commercial banks and credit card issuers....
Read more …Credit card rates are unacceptable today given the low cost of funds provided by the government to commercial banks and credit card issuers.
In the United States, usury laws are state laws that specify the maximum legal interest rate at which loans can be made. Congress has opted not to regulate interest rates on purely private transactions, but it arguably has the power to do so under the interstate commerce clause of Article I of the Constitution.
In 1980, Congress passed the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act. Among the Act's provisions, it exempted federally chartered savings banks, installment plan sellers and chartered loan companies from state usury limits. Combined with the Marquette decision that applied to National Banks, this effectively overrode all state and local usury laws.
