Finance Space

Credit card charge-offs – or loans deemed uncollectible and written off – edged mostly upward in January as reported by the major card issuers, although there is some optimism in the stabilizing of delinquency rates.

Delinquencies – accounts running 30 days late – is generally a harbinger of bad loans to come. Most of the major card issuers either reported modest decreases or little change in the delinquency rates for January compared with December.

But for now, the credit card issuers are mired in write-offs as they face the prospects of reduced revenues from landmark restrictions on interest rate hikes and some fees taking effect on Monday.

Canada is implementing three changes to mortgage rules that will help protect the housing market, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Tuesday.

Depending on the source, Americans carry an average of $5,000-$9,000 on their credit cards.

Linda Pichler with Consumer Credit Counseling Services says, “That’s where most people get into trouble,” adding that the new law will keep credit card companies from burying consumers in penalties, fees and surprise rate hikes. “The new law is definitely going to help the consumer and will regulate rate increases.”

Kevin Jackson with HCCP says the companies will be forced to give 45 days notice if they are going to raise your rates, and he agrees the law will benefit millions of card holders. The new rules also mean simpler, clearer statements.

The European Parliament vetoed an agreement on transferring bank data to U.S. counter-terrorism investigators, risking a security gap seven weeks after an attempt to bomb a trans-Atlantic flight.

The European Union assembly said an accord under which the EU allows the U.S. Treasury Department to view records from the Swift global money-transfer system lacks adequate protection of personal data. The Parliament rejected the deal over appeals by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner.

European banks rallied on hopes of a possible rescue plan for Greece, as officials in Berlin moved closer to constructing a “firewall” to prevent the debt crisis spiralling out of control.

Eurozone economies were keen to stop any excessive flight out of Greek stocks that could hit the country’s banks, as the negative feeling would inevitably spread to institutions elsewhere in the region.

Nunavut—Group of Seven financial leaders agreed on the need to continue supporting their economies until financial recovery takes a firmer hold, but they have yet to reach a consensus on how to overhaul regulation of their financial sectors.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner came to this small Arctic town promoting a U.S. proposal to assess fees against financial firms and a plan to curb trading activities at commercial banks. “The United States is very committed to making sure we put in place a strong, multilateral level playing field across these global institutions and across global lines,” he told reporters after meetings of the G-7 leaders.

Credit card users: Mark Feb. 22 on your calendar. That’s when the next phase of the Credit CARD Act of 2009 will take effect.

As part of the first changes, made last August, card issuers were required to give consumers 45 days’ notice before making major changes to their account and mail statements 21 days before payment is due. Next August, statements will be streamlined and language simplified to make the daunting fine print more user-friendly.

Here, meanwhile, is a rundown of the major changes coming in February this month:.

Bank of America Corp will not oppose U.S. President Barack Obama’s push to create a consumer finance-focused regulator, a company spokesman said on Tuesday.

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank will not actively lobby against, or for, Obama’s proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency, company spokesman James Mahoney told Reuters in an interview.

The stance sets apart Bank of America, the largest U.S. bank, from a broad swath of the industry, which has vigorously opposed creation of the agency since it was proposed in July 2009.

The Consumer Finance Protection Agency’s mission of overseeing banks’ products and services for transparency and consumer fairness were principles Bank of America was already adopting, Mahoney said.

People will start seeing important changes on their credit card statements that could result in better debt management skills in the long term for many of them.

Under the terms of the federal Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act, lenders must now provide people with information on their monthly statements about how long it would take to pay down their total balance by just making minimum payments. Related information on the statements will show consumers how much their monthly payments would have to be in order to pay down a balance in three years.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said he expects Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will win a second term, indicating enough Republicans will join Democrats in backing the central banker.

“He’s going to have bipartisan support in the Senate, and I would anticipate he will be confirmed,” McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said today on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” McConnell, 67, declined to say how he would personally vote.

Three White House officials also said today that they’re confident Bernanke will be approved. The Fed chief’s confirmation was less assured on Jan. 22 when the two top Senate Democrats signaled they were undecided and other Democrats announced their opposition.