At the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, our mission is to empower consumers and strengthen their financial independence. We want to make it easier for people who can afford credit to get it. And if we find that the rules we administer are having the opposite effect, we will act to change those rules.
We recently found, after discussions with credit card issuers and individual consumers, that a significant number of otherwise credit-worthy people may have been denied access to credit cards because they did not have their own income independent of their spouse. We thought this issue was important and deserved further consideration.
Existing regulations require a credit card issuer to evaluate a consumer's ability to make payments based on his or her independent income or assets before opening a new account. But according to the Census Bureau, over 16 million married people do not work outside the home. That means for approximately one out of three married couples, one spouse could be denied credit under the current rules.
This week, the Bureau announced proposed changes to those rules. Our proposal would add accessible income as a way to allow spouses and partners not working outside the home to qualify for credit and build their own credit histories. With our proposal, a consumer could rely on accessible income from a third party, including his or her partner, when applying for a credit card. Under the proposal, the accessible income must be money that the consumer has a reasonable expectation of being able to use, and it applies to all credit card applicants who are at least 21 years old, whether married or unmarried.
This proposal shows our commitment to independent evaluation and rigorous analysis of the existing regulatory framework. We reviewed feedback from consumers and industry, and based on this information, we established a view on the effects of existing rules on access to credit.
We believe this proposed change strikes the right balance between honoring the letter and purpose of the law without compromising consumer empowerment. We look forward to receiving public comment on our proposal and considering how best to address this issue for millions of Americans.
When starting a family people can way the upside and downside of leaving the workforce to become a stay at home parent and if they don't like the trade offs for this they can decide to not be a stay at home parent.
I realize that this is an important choice for a lot of people, but we really have to stop mitigating the logical consequences for people's choices.
Store discounts based on cards with 20+% interest rates? What a waste of time. You use the card, then run to the accounting office 5 minutes later to pay it off.
Why can't stores just be honest give the discount to everyone?
In addition, money was transferred to an account in my name solely before I started college years ago. Voila, I got a credit card in my name without mom and dad as co-signers..
Problem solved - without government intervention.
1. TEAR UP ALL YOUR CREDIT CARDS AND STOP BORROWING MONEY!!!
2. If you don't have the cash to buy something, don't buy it.
3. Before you buy something non-essential, accumulate 2X the cost and put 1x into savings the same time you spend 1x on the item. You'll be shocked at what $$$ you have by the end of the year.
4. Buying short term necessities like groceries with a long term credit card is THE ROAD TO FINANCIAL SUICIDE!
I agree that it's foolish to buy groceries on a card that you aren't paying off every month but it's very difficult to live in this society without a major credit card.
Of course it is. If it were easy to live without a major credit card, then it would be very hard for the bankers to turn us into debt slaves, and what good is that for an economy based on debt and consumption?
Let's say things change so that she can get her own separate credit card in her name using her husband's income and credit history. Now she's charging things on her own credit card and building her own credit history, but the bill is being paid with her husband paycheck -- which is fine; it's joint income, but it's still him bringing in the paycheck.
Now suppose they divorce, which is statistically likely. Now she has no more joint income but still has a credit card balance to pay. She will probably have an unused credit limit on her credit card, which will allow her to go even deeper into debt, and I understand credit card cannot be erased in bankruptcy.
I see that as setting people up for financial disaster. Credit itself is setting people up for financial disaster. It's like giving a child a bag of candy and telling him to eat just one piece a day. Sure, adults should be more disciplined, but they're not.
I think a "consumer protection" agency should be urging people in general to rely less on credit, not more.
Unlike this article bias toward gaining credit, my programs help folks gain a foundation of financial support based on cash in the bank.
Credit is a mortgage on time and health. Time to stay away from these kinds of mortgages.
And yes, we should avoid credit whenever possible. Buying things with money from the future is a bad idea.
|I recommend we eliminate this office by the new administration.
My name is Joe and i approve this message.
What happens if the source of this "reasonable access" is withdrawn or simply decides it nolonger wishes to provide, whom do I go after to collect? The spouse, partner or whatever whose sole previous occupation with said funds was moving it from one account to another?
Give me a break. Did we not just go through a worldwide financial meltdown based on part by extending credit to those without means of repayment?
We underwent a financial meltdown because crooked mortgage lenders loaned money to naive and/or greedy people, knowing that the loans would be cut up and sold to Wall Street bankers who would con one another on financial deals. No one was held responsible for their bad judgment except the people who bought the houses that are now underwater. If Jane Doe gets a credit card and can't or won't make the payment, the debt will follow her forever unlike the crooked mortgage lenders and Wall Street bankers.