II 

Calendar No. 55 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 627 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 30, 2009 

Received; read twice and placed on the calendar 

AN ACT 

To amend the Truth in Lending Act to establish fair and 

transparent practices relating to the extension of credit 

under an open end consumer credit plan, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Credit Cardholders’ 

5 Bill of Rights Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CREDIT CARDS ON TERMS CONSUMERS CAN REPAY. 

7 (a) RETROACTIVE RATE INCREASES AND UNIVERSAL

8 DEFAULT LIMITED.—Chapter 2 of the Truth in Lending 

9 Act (15 U.S.C. 1631 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 

10 section 127A the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 127B. Additional requirements for credit card ac2 counts under an open end consumer 

3 credit plan 

4 ‘‘(a) RETROACTIVE RATE INCREASES AND UNI5 VERSAL DEFAULT LIMITED.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub7 section (b), no creditor may increase any annual per8 centage rate of interest applicable to the existing 

9 balance on a credit card account of the consumer 

10 under an open end consumer credit plan. 

11 ‘‘(2) EXISTING BALANCE DEFINED.—For pur12 poses of this subsection and subsections (b) and (c), 

13 the term ‘existing balance’ means the amount owed 

14 on a consumer credit card account as of the end of 

15 the 7th day after the creditor provides notice of an 

16 increase in the annual percentage rate in accordance 

17 with subsection (c). 

18 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF EXISTING BALANCES FOL19 LOWING RATE INCREASE.—If a creditor increases 

20 any annual percentage rate of interest applicable to 

21 the credit card account of a consumer under an open 

22 end consumer credit plan and there is an existing 

23 balance in the account to which such increase may 

24 not apply, the creditor shall allow the consumer to 

25 repay the existing balance using a method provided 


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1 by the creditor which is at least as beneficial to the 

2 consumer as 1 of the following methods: 

3 ‘‘(A) An amortization period for the exist4 ing balance of at least 5 years starting from the 

5 date on which the increased annual percentage 

6 rate went into effect. 

7 ‘‘(B) The percentage of the existing bal8 ance that was included in the required min9 imum periodic payment before the rate increase 

10 cannot be more than doubled. 

11 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION ON CERTAIN FEES.—If— 

12 ‘‘(A) a creditor increases any annual per13 centage rate of interest applicable on a credit 

14 card account of the consumer under an open 

15 end consumer credit plan; and 

16 ‘‘(B) the creditor is prohibited by this sec17 tion from applying the increased rate to an ex18 isting balance, 

19 the creditor may not assess any fee or charge based 

20 solely on the existing balance.’’. 

21 (b) EXCEPTIONS TO THE AMENDMENT MADE BY

22 SUBSECTION (a).—Section 127B of the Truth in Lending 

23 Act is amended by inserting after subsection (a) (as added 

24 by subsection (a)) the following new subsection: 

25 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A creditor may increase 

2 any annual percentage rate of interest applicable to 

3 the existing balance on a credit card account of the 

4 consumer under an open end consumer credit plan 

5 only under the following circumstances: 

6 ‘‘(A) CHANGE IN INDEX.—The increase is 

7 due solely to the operation of an index that is 

8 not under the creditor’s control and is available 

9 to the general public. 

10 ‘‘(B) EXPIRATION OF PROMOTIONAL

11 RATE.—The increase is due solely to the expira12 tion of a promotional rate. 

13 ‘‘(C) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH WORKOUT

14 PLAN.—The increase is due solely to the fact 

15 the consumer failed to comply with a negotiated 

16 workout plan with the creditor. 

17 ‘‘(D) PAYMENT NOT RECEIVED DURING 30- 

18 DAY GRACE PERIOD AFTER DUE DATE.—The 

19 increase is due solely to the fact that any con20 sumer’s minimum payment has not been re21 ceived within 30 days after the due date for 

22 such minimum payment. 

23 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON INCREASES DUE TO FAIL24 URE TO COMPLY WITH WORKOUT PLAN.—Notwith25 standing paragraph (1)(C), the annual percentage 


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1 rate in effect with respect to each category of trans2 actions for a credit card account under an open end 

3 consumer credit plan after the increase permitted 

4 under such subsection due to the failure of a con5 sumer to comply with a workout plan may not ex6 ceed the annual percentage applicable to such cat7 egory of transactions on the day before the effective 

8 date of the workout plan. 

9 ‘‘(3) STANDARDS REQUIRED.—The Board shall 

10 prescribe, by regulation, standards— 

11 ‘‘(A) for entering into any workout plan 

12 applicable to any credit card account under an 

13 open end consumer credit plan; and 

14 ‘‘(B) governing any such workout plan.’’. 

15 (c) ADVANCE NOTICE OF RATE INCREASES AND SIG16 NIFICANT CONTRACT CHANGES.—Section 127B of the 

17 Truth in Lending Act is amended by inserting after sub18 section (b) (as added by subsection (b)) the following new 

19 subsections: 

20 ‘‘(c) ADVANCE NOTICE OF RATE INCREASES.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any credit 

22 card account under an open end consumer credit 

23 plan, no increase in any annual percentage rate of 

24 interest (other than an increase described in sub25 section (b)(1)(A)) may take effect unless the creditor 


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1 provides a written notice to the consumer at least 45 

2 days before the increase takes effect which fully de3 scribes the changes in the annual percentage rate, in 

4 a complete and conspicuous manner, and the extent 

5 to which such increase would apply to an existing 

6 balance. 

7 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON RATE INCREASE NOTICES

8 WITHIN FIRST YEAR.—Except in the case of an in9 crease described in subparagraph (B), (C), or (D) of 

10 subsection (b)(1), no written notice under paragraph 

11 (1) of an increase in any annual percentage rate of 

12 interest on any credit card account under an open 

13 end consumer credit plan (for which notice is re14 quired under such paragraph) shall be effective be15 fore the end of the 1-year period beginning when the 

16 account is opened. 

17 ‘‘(3) MINIMUM TERM FOR PROMOTIONAL

18 RATES.—In the case of a promotional rate, no writ19 ten notice under paragraph (1) of an increase in any 

20 annual percentage rate of interest on any credit card 

21 account under an open end consumer credit plan 

22 shall be effective before the end of a 6-month period 

23 beginning from the date the promotional rate takes 

24 effect. 

25 ‘‘(d) ADVANCE NOTICE OF ACCOUNT CLOSURE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any credit 

2 card account under an open end consumer credit 

3 plan, a creditor may not close such account unless 

4 the creditor provides a written notice to the con5 sumer at least 30 days before the closure takes 

6 place, and which notifies the consumer— 

7 ‘‘(A) of the reason the account is being 

8 closed; 

9 ‘‘(B) of any recourse that the consumer 

10 may take to prevent the account from being 

11 closed; 

12 ‘‘(C) of any program under which the con13 sumer may repay the balance on the account 

14 over a period of time; and 

15 ‘‘(D) that if the consumer’s account is 

16 closed, it may have an impact on the con17 sumer’s credit score. 

18 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—The requirements of para19 graph (1) shall not apply in the case of a consumer 

20 request that the creditor close such account. 

21 ‘‘(e) ADVANCE NOTICE OF SIGNIFICANT CONTRACT

22 CHANGES.—In the case of any credit card account under 

23 an open end consumer credit plan, no significant change 

24 to the contract (such as any fee) may take effect unless 

25 the creditor provides a written notice of at least 45 days 


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1 before the change takes effect which fully describes the 

2 changes in the contract, in a complete and conspicuous 

3 manner.’’. 

4 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

5 for chapter 2 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 

6 1631 et seq.) is amended by inserting after the item relat7 ing to section 127A the following new item: 

‘‘127B. Additional requirements for credit card accounts under an open end consumer credit plan.’’. 

8 SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS REGARDING ACCOUNT 

9 FEATURES, TERMS, AND PRICING. 

10 (a) DOUBLE CYCLE BILLING PROHIBITED.—Section 

11 127B of the Truth in Lending Act is amended by inserting 

12 after subsection (d) (as added by section 2(c)) the fol13 lowing new subsection: 

14 ‘‘(e) DOUBLE CYCLE BILLING.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No finance charge may be 

16 imposed by a creditor with respect to any balance on 

17 a credit card account under an open end consumer 

18 credit plan that is based on balances for days in bill19 ing cycles preceding the most recent billing cycle as 

20 a result of the loss of any grace period. 

21 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

22 apply so as to prohibit a creditor from— 


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1 ‘‘(A) adjusting finance charges following 

2 the return of a payment for insufficient funds; 

3 or 

4 ‘‘(B) adjusting finance charges following 

5 resolution of a billing error dispute. 

6 ‘‘(3) GRACE PERIOD.—For purposes of this 

7 subsection, the term ‘grace period’ means, with re8 spect to any credit card account under an open end 

9 consumer credit plan, the time period, if any, pro10 vided by the creditor within which any credit ex11 tended under such credit plan for purchases of goods 

12 or services may be repaid by the consumer without 

13 incurring a finance charge.’’. 

14 (b) LIMITATIONS RELATING TO ACCOUNT BALANCES

15 ATTRIBUTABLE ONLY TO ACCRUED INTEREST.—Section 

16 127B is amended by inserting after subsection (e) (as 

17 added by subsection (a)) the following new subsection: 

18 ‘‘(f) LIMITATIONS RELATING TO ACCOUNT BAL19 ANCES ATTRIBUTABLE ONLY TO ACCRUED INTEREST.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the outstanding balance 

21 on a credit card account under an open end con22 sumer credit plan at the end of a billing period rep23 resents an amount attributable only to interest ac24 crued during the preceding billing period on an outVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:39 Apr 30, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H627.PCS H627

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1 standing balance that was fully repaid during the 

2 preceding billing period— 

3 ‘‘(A) no fee may be imposed or collected in 

4 connection with such balance attributable only 

5 to interest before such end of the billing period; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(B) any failure to make timely repay8 ments of the balance attributable only to inter9 est before such end of the billing period shall 

10 not constitute a default on the account. 

11 Such balance remains a legally binding debt obliga12 tion. 

13 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Paragraph (1) 

14 shall not be construed as affecting— 

15 ‘‘(A) the consumer’s obligation to pay any 

16 accrued interest on a credit card account under 

17 an open end consumer credit plan; or 

18 ‘‘(B) the accrual of interest on the out19 standing balance on any such account in ac20 cordance with the terms of the account and this 

21 title.’’. 

22 (c) ACCESS TO PAYOFF BALANCE INFORMATION.— 

23 Section 127B of the Truth in Lending Act is amended 

24 by inserting after subsection (f) (as added by subsection 

25 (b)) the following new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(g) PAYOFF BALANCE INFORMATION.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each periodic statement 

3 provided by a creditor to a consumer with respect to 

4 a credit card account under an open end consumer 

5 credit plan shall contain the toll-free telephone num6 ber, Internet address, and website at which the con7 sumer may request the payoff balance on the ac8 count. 

9 ‘‘(2) SMALL ISSUERS.—Notwithstanding para10 graph (1), in the case of any credit card issuer 

11 which issues fewer than 50,000 credit cards in con12 junction with credit card accounts under open end 

13 consumer credit plans, each periodic statement pro14 vided by such a creditor to a consumer with respect 

15 to any such credit card account shall contain the 

16 toll-free telephone number, Internet address, or 

17 website at which the consumer may request the pay18 off balance on the account.’’. 

19 (d) CONSUMER RIGHT TO REJECT CARD AFTER NO20 TICE IS PROVIDED OF OPEN ACCOUNT.—Section 127B of 

21 the Truth in Lending Act is amended by inserting after 

22 subsection (g) (as added by subsection (c)) the following 

23 new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(h) CONSUMER RIGHT TO REJECT CARD AFTER

2 NOTICE OF NEW ACCOUNT IS PROVIDED TO CONSUMER

3 REPORTING AGENCY.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A creditor shall remove any 

5 information furnished to a consumer reporting agen6 cy (as defined in section 603) concerning the estab7 lishment of a newly opened credit card account 

8 under an open end consumer credit plan if the con9 sumer has not used or activated the account and the 

10 consumer contacts the creditor within 45 days of the 

11 establishment of the account to close the account. 

12 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Paragraph (1) 

13 shall not be construed as prohibiting a creditor from 

14 furnishing information about any application for a 

15 credit card account under an open end consumer 

16 credit plan or any inquiry about any such account 

17 to a consumer reporting agency (as so defined).’’. 

18 (e) USE OF TERMS CLARIFIED.—Section 127B of the 

19 Truth in Lending Act is amended by inserting after sub20 section (h) (as added by subsection (d)) the following new 

21 subsection: 

22 ‘‘(i) USE OF TERMS.—The following requirements 

23 shall apply with respect to the terms of any credit card 

24 account under any open end consumer credit plan: 


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1 ‘‘(1) ‘FIXED’ RATE.—The term ‘fixed’, when 

2 appearing in conjunction with a reference to the an3 nual percentage rate or interest rate applicable with 

4 respect to such account, may only be used to refer 

5 to an annual percentage rate or interest rate that 

6 will not change or vary for any reason over the pe7 riod clearly and conspicuously specified in the terms 

8 of the account. 

9 ‘‘(2) PRIME RATE.—The term ‘prime rate’, 

10 when appearing in any agreement or contract for 

11 any such account, may only be used to refer to the 

12 bank prime rate published in the Federal Reserve 

13 Statistical Release on selected interest rates (daily or 

14 weekly), and commonly referred to as the H.15 re15 lease (or any successor publication). 

16 ‘‘(3) DUE DATE.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each periodic state18 ment for any such account shall contain a date 

19 by which the next periodic payment on the ac20 count must be made to avoid a late fee or be 

21 considered a late payment, and any payment re22 ceived by 5 p.m., local time at the location spec23 ified by the creditor for the receipt of payment, 

24 on such date shall be treated as a timely pay25 ment for all purposes. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CERTAIN ELECTRONIC FUND TRANS2 FERS.—Any payment with respect to any such 

3 account made by a consumer online to the 

4 website of the credit card issuer or by telephone 

5 directly to the credit card issuer before 5 p.m., 

6 local time at the location specified by the cred7 itor for the receipt of payment, on any business 

8 day shall be credited to the consumer’s account 

9 that business day. 

10 ‘‘(C) PRESUMPTION OF TIMELY PAY11 MENT.—Any evidence provided by a consumer 

12 in the form of a receipt from the United States 

13 Postal Service or other common carrier indi14 cating that a payment on a credit card account 

15 was sent to the issuer not less than 7 days be16 fore the due date contained in the periodic 

17 statement under subparagraph (A) for such 

18 payment shall create a presumption that such 

19 payment was made by the due date, which may 

20 be rebutted by the creditor for fraud or dishon21 esty on the part of the consumer with respect 

22 to the mailing date.’’. 

23 (f) PAYMENT ALLOCATIONS.—Section 127B of the 

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1 section (i) (as added by subsection (e)) the following new 

2 subsection: 

3 ‘‘(j) PAYMENT ALLOCATIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If 2 or more different an5 nual percentage rates apply to different portions of 

6 an outstanding balance on a credit card account 

7 under an open end consumer credit plan, the amount 

8 of any periodic payment in excess of the required 

9 minimum payment shall be allocated first to the bal10 ance with the highest annual percentage rate and 

11 any remaining portion is allocated to any other bal12 ance in descending order, based on the applicable 

13 annual percentage rate each portion of such balance 

14 bears, from the highest such rate to the lowest. 

15 ‘‘(2) CLARIFICATION RELATING TO CERTAIN

16 DEFERRED INTEREST ARRANGEMENTS.—A creditor 

17 may allocate the entire amount paid by the con18 sumer in excess of the required minimum periodic 

19 payment to a balance on which interest is deferred 

20 during the 2 billing cycles immediately preceding the 

21 expiration of the period during which interest is de22 ferred. 

23 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITION ON RESTRICTED GRACE PE24 RIODS UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.—If, with 

25 respect to any credit card account under an open 


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1 end consumer credit plan, a creditor offers a time 

2 period in which to repay credit extended without in3 curring finance charges to cardholders who pay the 

4 balance in full, the creditor may not deny a con5 sumer who takes advantage of a promotional rate 

6 balance or deferred interest rate balance offer with 

7 respect to such an account any such time period for 

8 repaying credit without incurring finance charges.’’. 

9 (g) TIMELY PROVISION OF PERIODIC STATE10 MENTS.—Section 127B of the Truth in Lending Act is 

11 amended by inserting after subsection (j) (as added by 

12 subsection (f)) the following new subsection: 

13 ‘‘(k) TIMELY PROVISION OF PERIODIC STATE14 MENTS.—Each periodic statement with respect to a credit 

15 card account under an open end consumer credit plan 

16 shall be sent by the creditor to the consumer not less than 

17 21 calendar days before the due date identified in such 

18 statement for the next payment on the outstanding bal19 ance on such account, and section 163(a) shall be applied 

20 with respect to any such account by substituting ‘21’ for 

21 ‘fourteen’.’’. 

22 (h) DUE DATES.—Section 127B of the Truth in 

23 Lending Act is amended by inserting after subsection (k) 

24 (as added by subsection (g)) the following new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(l) DUE DATES.—If the date established by a cred2 itor as the date on which a periodic payment on a credit 

3 card account under an open end consumer credit plan is 

4 due is a day on which mail is either not delivered to such 

5 creditor or is not accepted by the creditor for processing 

6 on such day, the creditor may not treat the receipt by the 

7 creditor of any such periodic payment by mail as of the 

8 next business day of the creditor as late for any purpose.’’. 

9 (i) AVAILABILITY OF LEGITIMATE AND ACCREDITED

10 CREDIT COUNSELING.—The Board of Governors of the 

11 Federal Reserve System shall suggest appropriate guide12 lines for creditors to follow with respect to credit card ac13 counts under open end consumer credit plans to supply 

14 consumer cardholders with information regarding the 

15 availability of legitimate and accredited credit counseling 

16 services. 

17 SEC. 4. CONSUMER CHOICE WITH RESPECT TO OVER-THE18 LIMIT TRANSACTIONS. 

19 Section 127B of the Truth in Lending Act is amend20 ed by inserting after subsection (l) (as added by section 

21 3(h)) the following new subsections: 

22 ‘‘(m) OPT-IN REQUIRED FOR OVER-THE-LIMIT

23 TRANSACTIONS IF FEES ARE IMPOSED.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any credit 

25 card account under an open end consumer credit 


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1 plan under which an over-the-limit-fee may be im2 posed by the creditor for any extension of credit in 

3 excess of the amount of credit authorized to be ex4 tended under such account, no such fee shall be 

5 charged unless the consumer has elected to permit 

6 the creditor, with respect to such account, to com7 plete transactions involving the extension of credit, 

8 with respect to such account, in excess of the 

9 amount of credit authorized. 

10 ‘‘(2) DISCLOSURE BY CREDITOR.—No election 

11 by a consumer under paragraph (1) shall take effect 

12 unless the consumer, before making such election, 

13 received a notice from the creditor of any over-the14 limit fee in the form and manner, and at the time, 

15 determined by the Board. 

16 ‘‘(3) FORM OF ELECTION.—A consumer may 

17 make the election referred to in paragraph (1) orally 

18 or in writing. 

19 ‘‘(4) TIME OF ELECTION.—A consumer may 

20 make the election referred to in paragraph (1) at 

21 any time and it shall be effective until the election 

22 is revoked by the consumer orally or in writing. 

23 ‘‘(5) REGULATIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall issue 

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1 the-limit transactions that for operational rea2 sons exceed the credit limit by a de minimis 

3 amount, even where the cardholder has not 

4 made an election under paragraph (1). 

5 ‘‘(B) SUBJECT TO NO FEE LIMITATION.— 

6 The regulations prescribed under subparagraph 

7 (A) shall not allow for the imposition of any fee 

8 or any rate increase based on the permitted 

9 over-the-limit transactions with respect to the 

10 account of any cardholder who has not made 

11 the election in paragraph (1). 

12 ‘‘(C) DISCLOSURES.—The Board shall pre13 scribe regulations governing any disclosure 

14 under this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(n) OVER-THE-LIMIT FEE RESTRICTIONS.—With 

16 respect to a credit card account under an open end con17 sumer credit plan, an over-the-limit fee may be imposed 

18 only once during a billing cycle if, on the last day of such 

19 billing cycle, the credit limit on the account is exceeded, 

20 and an over-the-limit fee, with respect to such excess cred21 it, may be imposed only once in each of the 2 subsequent 

22 billing cycles, unless the consumer has obtained an addi23 tional extension of credit in excess of such credit limit dur24 ing any such subsequent cycle or the consumer reduces 


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1 the outstanding balance below the credit limit as of the 

2 end of such billing cycle. 

3 ‘‘(o) OVER-THE-LIMIT FEES PROHIBITED IN CON4 JUNCTION WITH CERTAIN CREDIT HOLDS.—Notwith5 standing subsection (n), an over-the-limit fee may not be 

6 imposed if the credit limit was exceeded due to a hold un7 less the actual amount of the transaction for which the 

8 hold was placed would have resulted in the consumer ex9 ceeding the credit limit.’’. 

10 SEC. 5. STRENGTHEN CREDIT CARD INFORMATION COL11 LECTION. 

12 Section 136(b) of the Truth in Lending Act (15 

13 U.S.C. 1646(b)) is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘COLLECTION RE16 QUIRED.—The Board shall’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘COLLECTION REQUIRED.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall’’. 

19 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

20 subparagraph: 

21 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED.— 

22 The information under subparagraph (A) shall 

23 include, for the relevant semiannual period, the 

24 following information with respect each creditor 


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1 in connection with any consumer credit card ac2 count: 

3 ‘‘(i) A list of each type of transaction 

4 or event during the semiannual period for 

5 which 1 or more creditors has imposed a 

6 separate interest rate upon a consumer 

7 credit card accountholder, including pur8 chases, cash advances, and balance trans9 fers. 

10 ‘‘(ii) For each type of transaction or 

11 event identified under clause (i)— 

12 ‘‘(I) each distinct interest rate 

13 charged by the card issuer to a con14 sumer credit card accountholder dur15 ing the semiannual period; and 

16 ‘‘(II) the number of cardholders 

17 to whom each such interest rate was 

18 applied during the last calendar 

19 month of the semiannual period, and 

20 the total amount of interest charged 

21 to such accountholders at each such 

22 rate during such month. 

23 ‘‘(iii) A list of each type of fee that 1 

24 or more of the creditors has imposed upon 

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1 ing the semiannual period, including any 

2 fee imposed for obtaining a cash advance, 

3 making a late payment, exceeding the cred4 it limit on an account, making a balance 

5 transfer, or exchanging United States dol6 lars for foreign currency. 

7 ‘‘(iv) For each type of fee identified 

8 under clause (iii), the number of account9 holders upon whom the fee was imposed 

10 during each calendar month of the semi11 annual period, and the total amount of 

12 fees imposed upon cardholders during such 

13 month. 

14 ‘‘(v) The total number of consumer 

15 credit card accountholders that incurred 

16 any finance charge or any other fee during 

17 the semiannual period. 

18 ‘‘(vi) The total number of consumer 

19 credit card accounts maintained by each 

20 creditor as of the end of the semiannual 

21 period. 

22 ‘‘(vii) The total number and value of 

23 cash advances made during the semiannual 

24 period under a consumer credit card ac25 count. 


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1 ‘‘(viii) The total number and value of 

2 purchases involving or constituting con3 sumer credit card transactions during the 

4 semiannual period. 

5 ‘‘(ix) The total number and amount of 

6 repayments on outstanding balances on 

7 consumer credit card accounts in each 

8 month of the semiannual period. 

9 ‘‘(x) The percentage of all consumer 

10 credit card accountholders (with respect to 

11 any creditor) who— 

12 ‘‘(I) incurred a finance charge in 

13 each month of the semiannual period 

14 on any portion of an outstanding bal15 ance on which a finance charge had 

16 not previously been incurred; and 

17 ‘‘(II) incurred any such finance 

18 charge at any time during the semi19 annual period. 

20 ‘‘(xi) The total number and amount of 

21 balances accruing finance charges during 

22 the semiannual period. 

23 ‘‘(xii) The total number and amount 

24 of the outstanding balances on consumer 


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1 credit card accounts as of the end of such 

2 semiannual period. 

3 ‘‘(xiii) Total credit limits in effect on 

4 consumer credit card accounts as of the 

5 end of such semiannual period and the 

6 amount by which such credit limits exceed 

7 the credit limits in effect as of the begin8 ning of such period. 

9 ‘‘(xiv) Any other information related 

10 to interest rates, fees, or other charges 

11 that the Board deems of interest.’’; and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

13 paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(5) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Board shall, 

15 on an annual basis, transmit to Congress and make 

16 public a report containing estimates by the Board of 

17 the approximate, relative percentage of income de18 rived by the credit card operations of depository in19 stitutions from— 

20 ‘‘(A) the imposition of interest rates on 

21 cardholders, including separate estimates for— 

22 ‘‘(i) interest with an annual percent23 age rate of less than 25 percent; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) interest with an annual percent2 age rate equal to or greater than 25 per3 cent; 

4 ‘‘(B) the imposition of fees on cardholders; 

5 ‘‘(C) the imposition of fees on merchants; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(D) any other material source of income, 

8 while specifying the nature of that income.’’. 

9 SEC. 6. STANDARDS APPLICABLE TO INITIAL ISSUANCE OF 

10 SUBPRIME OR ‘‘FEE HARVESTER’’ CARDS. 

11 Section 127B of the Truth in Lending Act is amend12 ed by inserting after subsection (o) (as added by section 

13 4) the following new subsection: 

14 ‘‘(p) STANDARDS APPLICABLE TO INITIAL ISSUANCE

15 OF SUBPRIME OR ‘FEE HARVESTER’ CARDS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any credit 

17 card account under an open end consumer credit 

18 plan the terms of which require the payment of any 

19 fee (other than any late fee, any over-the-limit fee, 

20 or any fee for a payment returned for insufficient 

21 funds) by the consumer in the first year the account 

22 is opened in an amount in excess of 25 percent of 

23 the total amount of credit authorized under the ac24 count when the account is opened, no payment of 

25 any fee (other than any late fee, any over-the-limit 


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1 fee, or any fee for a payment returned for insuffi2 cient funds) may be made from the credit made 

3 available by the card. 

4 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—No provision 

5 of this subsection may be construed as authorizing 

6 any imposition or payment of advance fees otherwise 

7 prohibited by any provision of law.’’. 

8 SEC. 7. EXTENSIONS OF CREDIT TO UNDERAGE CON9 SUMERS. 

10 Section 127(c) of the Truth in Lending Act (15 

11 U.S.C. 1637(c)) is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing new paragraphs: 

13 ‘‘(8) EXTENSIONS OF CREDIT TO UNDERAGE

14 CONSUMERS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No credit card may be 

16 knowingly issued to, or open end credit plan es17 tablished on behalf of, a consumer who has not 

18 attained the age of 18, unless the consumer is 

19 emancipated under applicable State law or the 

20 parent or legal guardian of such consumer is 

21 designated as the primary account holder. 

22 ‘‘(B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—For the 

23 purposes of determining the age of an appli24 cant, the submission of a signed application by 


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1 a consumer stating that the consumer is over 

2 18 shall be considered sufficient proof of age. 

3 ‘‘(9) PROVISIONS APPLICABLE WITH REGARD

4 TO THE ISSUANCE OF CREDIT CARDS TO FULL-TIME, 

5 TRADITIONAL-AGED COLLEGE STUDENTS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 

7 paragraph, the following definitions shall apply: 

8 ‘‘(i) COLLEGE STUDENT CREDIT CARD

9 ACCOUNT DEFINED.—The term ‘college 

10 student credit card account’ means a credit 

11 card account under an open end consumer 

12 credit plan established or maintained for or 

13 on behalf of any college student. 

14 ‘‘(ii) COLLEGE STUDENT.—The term 

15 ‘college student’ means an individual— 

16 ‘‘(I) who is a full-time student 

17 attending an institution of higher edu18 cation; and 

19 ‘‘(II) who has attained the age of 

20 18 and has not yet attained the age of 

21 21. 

22 ‘‘(iii) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU23 CATION.—The term ‘institution of higher 

24 education’ has the same meaning as in secVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:39 Apr 30, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H627.PCS H627

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1 tion 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 

2 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

3 ‘‘(B) MAXIMUM AMOUNT LIMITATION AS A

4 PERCENTAGE OF GROSS INCOME.—Unless a 

5 parent, legal guardian, or spouse of a college 

6 student assumes joint liability for debts in7 curred by the student in connection with a col8 lege student credit card account— 

9 ‘‘(i) the amount of credit which may 

10 be extended by any one creditor to the full11 time college student may not exceed, dur12 ing any full calendar year, the greater of— 

13 ‘‘(I) 20 percent of the annual 

14 gross income of the student; or 

15 ‘‘(II) $500; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) no creditor shall grant a student 

17 a credit card account, if the credit limit for 

18 that credit card account, combined with 

19 the credit limits of any other credit card 

20 accounts held by the student, would exceed 

21 30 percent of the annual gross income of 

22 the student in the most recently completed 

23 calendar year. 

24 ‘‘(C) PARENTAL APPROVAL REQUIRED TO

25 INCREASE CREDIT LINES FOR ACCOUNTS FOR


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1 WHICH PARENT IS JOINTLY LIABLE.—No in2 crease may be made in the amount of credit au3 thorized to be extended under a college student 

4 credit card account for which a parent, legal 

5 guardian, or spouse of the consumer has as6 sumed joint liability for debts incurred by the 

7 consumer in connection with the account, before 

8 the consumer attains the age of 21, with re9 spect to such consumer, unless the parent, 

10 guardian, or spouse of the consumer, as appli11 cable, approves in writing, and assumes joint li12 ability for, such increase. 

13 ‘‘(D) INCOME VERIFICATION.—For pur14 poses of this paragraph, a creditor shall require 

15 adequate proof of income, income history, and 

16 credit history, subject to the rules of the Board, 

17 before any college student credit card account 

18 may be opened by or on behalf of a student. 

19 ‘‘(E) PROHIBITION ON MORE THAN 1

20 CREDIT CARD ACCOUNT FOR ANY COLLEGE

21 STUDENT.—No creditor may open a credit card 

22 account for, or issue any credit card to, any col23 lege student who— 

24 ‘‘(i) has no verifiable annual gross in25 come; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) already maintains a credit card 

2 account under an open end consumer cred3 it plan with that creditor, or any affiliate 

4 thereof. 

5 ‘‘(F) EXEMPTION AUTHORITY.—The 

6 Board may, by rule, provide for exemptions to 

7 the provisions of this paragraph, as deemed 

8 necessary or appropriate by the Board, con9 sistent with the purposes of this paragraph.’’. 

10 SEC. 8. PROHIBIT FEES FOR PAYMENT ON CREDIT CARD 

11 ACCOUNTS BY TELEPHONE OR ELECTRONIC 

12 FUND TRANSFERS. 

13 Section 164 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 

14 1666c) is amended— 

15 (1) by striking ‘‘Payments received’’ and insert16 ing ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Payments received’’; and 

17 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub18 section: 

19 ‘‘(b) PAYMENT FEES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION ON FEE BASED ON MODE OF

21 PAYMENT.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), in 

22 the case of a credit card account under an open end 

23 consumer credit plan, a creditor may not impose a 

24 fee on the obligor based on the particular manner in 

25 which the obligor makes a payment on such account. 


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1 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—If the obligor requests to 

2 make an expedited payment on a credit card account 

3 under an open end consumer credit plan by tele4 phone on the date that a payment is due, or the day 

5 immediately preceding such date, the creditor may 

6 assess a fee for crediting the payment to the obli7 gor’s account on or by such date.’’. 

8 SEC. 9. REGULATIONS RELATING TO ACTIVE DUTY MILI9 TARY CONSUMERS AND RECENTLY DISABLED 

10 VETERANS. 

11 Section 127B of the Truth in Lending Act is amend12 ed by inserting after subsection (p) (as added by section 

13 6) the following new subsection: 

14 ‘‘(q) REGULATIONS RELATING TO ACTIVE DUTY

15 MILITARY CONSUMERS AND RECENTLY DISABLED VET16 ERANS.—In the case of any credit card account, under an 

17 open end consumer credit plan, held by any veteran receiv18 ing compensation for a service-connected disability (as 

19 such terms are defined in section 101 of title 38, United 

20 States Code) that occurred less than 2 years before or any 

21 active duty military consumer (as defined in section 

22 603(q)(2) of this Act) , the Board shall prescribe regula23 tions that prohibits the creditor with respect to such ac24 count from making adverse reports to any consumer re25 porting agency with respect while the consumer maintains 


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1 status as such a veteran or as an active duty military con2 sumer.’’. 

3 SEC. 10. POSTING INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET. 

4 Section 122 of the Truth in Lending Act ( U.S.C. 

5 1632) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

6 subsection: 

7 ‘‘(d) INTERNET POSTING OF CREDIT CARD AGREE8 MENTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) POSTING AGREEMENTS.—.A creditor shall 

10 establish and maintain an Internet site on which the 

11 creditor will post the written agreement between the 

12 creditor and the consumer for each open-end con13 sumer credit plan not secured by a dwelling that has 

14 a credit card feature. 

15 ‘‘(2) PROVIDING COPY OF CONTRACTS TO THE

16 BOARD.—A creditor shall provide to the Board in 

17 electronic format, the consumer credit card agree18 ments that the creditor publishes on the creditor’s 

19 Internet site. 

20 ‘‘(3) RECORD REPOSITORY.—The Board shall 

21 establish and maintain on its publically available 

22 Internet site a central repository of the consumer 

23 credit card agreements received from the creditors 

24 pursuant to this subsection and such agreements 

25 shall be easily accessible and retrievable. 


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1 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTION.—Paragraphs (1) and (2) 

2 shall not apply to individually negotiated changes to 

3 contractual terms, such as individually-modified 

4 workouts or renegotiations of amounts owed by a 

5 consumer under an open end consumer credit plan. 

6 ‘‘(5) REGULATIONS.—The Board, in consulta7 tion with the other agencies described in section 108 

8 and the Federal Trade Commission, may prescribe 

9 regulations to implement this subsection, includ10 ing— 

11 ‘‘(A) specifying the format for posting the 

12 agreements on the creditor’s Internet site; and 

13 ‘‘(B) establishing exceptions to paragraphs 

14 (1) and (2) in cases where the administrative 

15 burden outweighs the benefit of increased trans16 parency, such as where a credit card plan has 

17 a de minimis number of consumer account hold18 ers’’. 

19 SEC. 11. ENHANCED MINIMUM PAYMENT DISCLOSURES. 

20 Paragraph (11) of section 127(b) of the Truth in 

21 Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1637(b)(11)) is amended to read 

22 as follows: 

23 ‘‘(11) MINIMUM PAYMENT DISCLOSURES.— 

24 ‘‘(A) MINIMUM PAYMENT WARNING.—A 

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1 imum Payment Warning: Making only the min2 imum payment will increase the interest you 

3 pay and the time it takes to repay your bal4 ance.’. 

5 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION ON OUTSTANDING

6 BALANCE.—Not less than once per calendar 

7 quarter, such billing statement shall also in8 clude repayment information that would apply 

9 to the outstanding balance of the consumer 

10 under the credit plan, including— 

11 ‘‘(i) the number of months (rounded 

12 to the nearest month) that it would take to 

13 pay the entire amount of that balance, if 

14 the consumer pays only the required min15 imum monthly payments and if no further 

16 advances are made; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the total cost to the consumer, 

18 including interest payments, of paying that 

19 balance in full, if the consumer pays only 

20 the required minimum monthly payments 

21 and if no further advances are made; 

22 ‘‘(iii) the monthly payment amount 

23 that would be required for the consumer to 

24 eliminate the outstanding balance in 12 

25 months, 24 months, and 36 months, if no 


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1 further advances are made, and the total 

2 cost to the consumer, including interest 

3 and principal payments, of paying that bal4 ance in full if the consumer pays the bal5 ance over 12, 24, or 36 months, respec6 tively; and 

7 ‘‘(iv) a toll-free telephone number at 

8 which the consumer may receive informa9 tion about accessing credit counseling and 

10 debt management services. 

11 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTION TO REQUIREMENTS OF

12 SUBSECTION (B).—The quarterly disclosure re13 quirements in subsection (B) shall not apply 

14 with respect to— 

15 ‘‘(i) a calendar quarter if, in the 2 

16 consecutive billing cycles preceding the end 

17 of such quarter, a consumer has paid the 

18 entire balance of the bill in full; 

19 ‘‘(ii) a calendar quarter if, at the end 

20 of the calendar quarter, a consumer has an 

21 outstanding credit balance of zero or has a 

22 positive credit; or 

23 ‘‘(iii) any class of consumers for which 

24 the Board has determined will not benefit 

25 substantially from additional disclosures. 


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1 ‘‘(D) APPLICABLE RATES TO BE USED IN

2 DISCLOSURES.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

4 (ii), in making the disclosures under sub5 paragraph (B), the creditor shall apply the 

6 interest rate or rates in effect on the date 

7 on which the disclosure is made until the 

8 date on which the balance would be paid in 

9 full. 

10 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE IN CASE OF TEM11 PORARY RATE.—If the interest rate in ef12 fect on the date on which the disclosure is 

13 made is a temporary rate that will change 

14 under a contractual provision applying an 

15 index or formula for subsequent interest 

16 rate adjustment, the creditor shall apply 

17 the interest rate in effect on the date on 

18 which the disclosure is made for as long as 

19 that interest rate will apply under that 

20 contractual provision, and then apply an 

21 interest rate based on the index or formula 

22 in effect on the applicable billing date. 

23 ‘‘(E) FORM AND PROMINENCE OF DISCLO24 SURE.—All of the information described in sub25 paragraph (B) shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) be disclosed in the form and man2 ner which the Board shall prescribe, by 

3 regulation, and in a manner that avoids 

4 duplication; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) be placed in a conspicuous and 

6 prominent location on the billing statement 

7 in conspicuous typeface. 

8 ‘‘(F) TABULAR FORMAT.—In the regula9 tions prescribed under subparagraph (D), the 

10 Board shall require that the disclosure of such 

11 information shall be in the form of a table 

12 that— 

13 ‘‘(i) contains clear and concise head14 ings for each item of such information; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) provides a clear and concise form 

16 stating each item of information required 

17 to be disclosed under each such heading. 

18 ‘‘(G) LOCATION AND ORDER OF TABLE.— 

19 In prescribing the form of the table under sub20 paragraph (E), the Board shall require that— 

21 ‘‘(i) all of the information in the table, 

22 and not just a reference to the table, be 

23 placed on the billing statement, as required 

24 by this paragraph; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the items required to be included 

2 in the table shall be listed in the order in 

3 which such items are described in subpara4 graph (B). 

5 ‘‘(H) SUBSTITUTION OF TERMINOLOGY.— 

6 In prescribing the form of the table under sub7 paragraph (D), the Board may employ termi8 nology which is different than the terminology 

9 used in subparagraph (B), if such terminology 

10 is more easily understood and conveys substan11 tially the same meaning. 

12 ‘‘(I) ‘ROUNDING’ REGULATIONS.—For pur13 poses of determining whether an error in the 

14 disclosures required by subparagraph (B) con15 stitutes a legal cause of action against a cred16 itor or any other party, the standard referred to 

17 under the heading ‘Rounding assumed pay18 ments, current balance and interest charges to 

19 the nearest cent’ in the publication by the 

20 Board in the Federal Register (74 Fed. Reg. 

21 5385) on January 29, 2009, of the final regula22 tion revising part 226 of title 12 of the Code 

23 of Federal Regulations (Regulation Z), or a 

24 standard that affords substantially similar pro25 tections as determined by the Board, shall 


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1 apply for purposes of the determination with re2 gard to such disclosures.’’. 

3 SEC. 12. BOARD REVIEW OF CONSUMER CREDIT PLANS 

4 AND REGULATIONS. 

5 (a) REQUIRED REVIEW.—Not later than 2 years 

6 after the effective date of this Act and every 2 years there7 after, except as provided in subsection (c)(2), the Board 

8 shall conduct a review, within the limits of its existing re9 sources available for reporting purposes of the consumer 

10 credit card market including— 

11 (1) the terms of credit card agreements and the 

12 practices of credit card issuers; 

13 (2) the effectiveness of disclosure of terms, fees, 

14 and other expense of credit card plans; 

15 (3) the adequacy of protections against unfair 

16 or deceptive acts or practices relating to credit card 

17 plans, and 

18 (4) whether or not, and to what extent, the 

19 Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2009 has 

20 resulted in— 

21 (A) higher annual percentage rates of in22 terest, on average, for credit card users than 

23 the average of such rates of interest in effect 

24 before the effective date of the Act; 


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1 (B) the imposition of annual fees or other 

2 credit card fees— 

3 (i) that did not exist before such ef4 fective date; 

5 (ii) at a higher average rate of appli6 cability than existed before such effective 

7 date; or 

8 (iii) with higher average costs to the 

9 consumer than were in effect before such 

10 effective date; 

11 (C) an increase in the rate of denial of— 

12 (i) new credit card accounts for con13 sumers; or 

14 (ii) new extensions of credit, or addi15 tional lines of credit, for existing credit ac16 counts established before such effective 

17 date; or 

18 (D) any other adverse or negative condi19 tion or effect on consumers. 

20 (b) SOLICITATION OF PUBLIC COMMENT.—In con21 nection with conducting the review required by subsection 

22 (a), the Board shall solicit comment from consumers, cred23 it card issuers, and other interested parties, such as 

24 through hearings or written comments. 

25 (c) REGULATIONS.— 


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1 (1) NOTICE.—Following the review required by 

2 subsection (a) the Board shall publish a notice in 

3 the Federal Register that— 

4 (A) summarizes the review, the comments 

5 received from the public solicitation, and other 

6 evidence gathered by the Board such as through 

7 consumer testing or other research; and 

8 (B) either— 

9 (i) proposes new or revised regulations 

10 or interpretations to update or revise dis11 closures and protections for consumer 

12 credit cards as appropriate; or 

13 (ii) states the reason for the Board’s 

14 determination that new or revised regula15 tions are not proposed. 

16 (2) REVISION OF REVIEW PERIOD FOLLOWING

17 MATERIAL REVISION OF REGULATIONS.—In the 

18 event the Board materially revises regulations on 

19 consumer credit card plans, a review need not be 

20 conducted until 2 years following the effective date 

21 of the revised regulations, which thereafter shall be22 come the new date for the biennial review required 

23 by subsection (a). 

24 (d) BOARD REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—The Board 

25 shall report to the Congress no less frequently than every 


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1 2 years, except as provided in subsection (c)(2), on the 

2 status of its most recent review, its efforts to address any 

3 issues identified from the review, and any recommenda4 tions for legislation. 

5 (e) ADDITIONAL REPORTING.—The Federal banking 

6 agencies and the Federal Trade Commission shall provide 

7 annually to the Board, and the Board shall include in its 

8 annual report to Congress under section 10 of the Federal 

9 Reserve Act, information about the supervisory and en10 forcement activities of the agencies with respect to credit 

11 card issuers’ compliance with applicable Federal consumer 

12 protection statutes and regulations including— 

13 (1) this Act, the amendments made by this Act, 

14 and regulations prescribed under this Act and such 

15 amendments; and 

16 (2) section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission 

17 Act, and regulations prescribed under the Federal 

18 Trade Commission Act, such as part 227 of title 12 

19 of the Code of Federal Regulations as prescribed by 

20 the Board (Regulation AA). 


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1 SEC. 13. SOLICITATIONS REQUIRED TO INCLUDE WARNING 

2 ON ADVERSE EFFECTS OF EXCESSIVE CRED3 IT INQUIRIES. 

4 Section 127(c)(1)(B) of the Truth in Lending Act 

5 (15 U.S.C. 1637(c)(1)(B)) is amended by adding at the 

6 end the following new clause: 

7 ‘‘(iv) EXCESSIVE CREDIT INQUIR8 IES.—A warning that excessive credit in9 quiries, which occur in connection with 

10 credit applications and solicitations and 

11 under other circumstances, can have an 

12 adverse effect on a consumer credit 

13 score.’’. 

14 SEC. 14. READABILITY REQUIREMENT. 

15 Section 122 of the Truth in Lending Act (U.S.C. 

16 1632) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

17 subsection: 

18 ‘‘(d) MINIMUM TYPE-SIZE AND FONT REQUIREMENT

19 FOR CREDIT CARD APPLICATIONS AND DISCLOSURES.— 

20 All written information, provisions, and terms in or on any 

21 application, solicitation, contract, or agreement for any 

22 credit card account under an open end consumer credit 

23 plan, and all written information included in or on any 

24 disclosure required under this chapter with respect to any 

25 such account, shall appear— 

26 ‘‘(1) in not less than 12-point type; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) in any font other than a font which the 

2 Board has designated, in regulations under this sec3 tion, as a font that inhibits readability.’’. 

4 SEC. 15. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON REDUCTIONS OF CON5 SUMER CREDIT CARD LIMITS BASED ON CER6 TAIN INFORMATION AS TO EXPERIENCE OR 

7 TRANSACTIONS OF THE CONSUMER. 

8 (a) REPORT ON CREDITOR PRACTICES REQUIRED.— 

9 Before the end of the 6-month period beginning on the 

10 date of the enactment of this Act, the Board of Governors 

11 of the Federal Reserve System, in consultation with the 

12 Comptroller of the Currency, the Director of the Office 

13 of Thrift Supervision, the Federal Deposit Insurance Cor14 poration, the National Credit Union Administration 

15 Board, and the Federal Trade Commission, shall report 

16 to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of 

17 Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, 

18 and Urban Affairs of the Senate on the extent to which, 

19 during the 3-year period ending on such date of enact20 ment, creditors have reduced credit limits or raised inter21 est rates applicable to credit card accounts under open end 

22 consumer credit plans based on— 

23 (1) the geographical location where a credit 

24 transaction with the consumer takes place or the 

25 identity of the merchant involved in the transaction; 


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1 (2) the consumer’s credit transactions, includ2 ing the type of credit transaction, the type of items 

3 purchased in such transaction, the price of items 

4 purchased in such transaction, any change in the 

5 type or price of items purchased in such trans6 actions, and other data pertaining to the consumer’s 

7 use of such credit card account; and 

8 (3) the identity of the mortgage creditor which 

9 extended or holds the mortgage loan secured by the 

10 consumer’s primary residence. 

11 (b) OTHER INFORMATION.—The report required 

12 under subsection (a) shall also include— 

13 (1) the number and identity of creditors that 

14 have engaged in the practices described in subsection 

15 (a); 

16 (2) the extent to which the practices described 

17 in subsection (a) have an adverse impact on minority 

18 or low-income consumers; 

19 (3) any other relevant information regarding 

20 such practices; and 

21 (4) recommendations to the Congress on regu22 latory or statutory changes that may be needed to 

23 restrict or prevent such practices. 


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1 SEC. 16. PROCEDURE FOR TIMELY SETTLEMENTS OF DECE2 DENT OBLIGORS’ ESTATES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 2 of the Truth in Lend4 ing Act ( U.S.C. 1631 et seq.) is amended by adding at 

5 the end the following new section: 

6 ‘‘§ 140A Procedure for timely settlements of decedent 

7 obligors’ estates 

8 ‘‘The Board, in consultation with the Federal Trade 

9 Commission and each other agency referred to in section 

10 108(a), shall prescribe regulations to require any creditor, 

11 with respect to any credit card account under an open end 

12 consumer credit plan, to establish procedures to ensure 

13 that any administrator of an estate of any deceased obli14 gor with respect to such account can resolve outstanding 

15 credit balances in a timely manner.’’. 

16 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

17 for chapter 2 of the Truth in Lending Act is amended 

18 by inserting after the item relating to section 140 the fol19 lowing new item: 

‘‘140A. Procedure for timely settlements of decedent obligors’ estates.’’. 

20 SEC. 17. INTERIM IMPLEMENTATION REPORTS TO THE 

21 CONGRESS. 

22 The Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Fed23 eral Reserve System shall submit a report each 90 days 

24 after the date of the enactment of this Act on the level 

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1 scribed under this Act to the Committee on Financial 

2 Services of the House of Representatives and the Com3 mittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the 

4 Senate until the Chairman can report full industry imple5 mentation. 

6 SEC. 18. DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENT FOR STORES ACCEPT7 ING CREDIT CARD ACCOUNT APPLICATIONS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 122 of the Truth in Lend9 ing Act (15 U.S.C. 1632) is amended by adding at the 

10 end the following: 

11 ‘‘(d) SIGNS REQUIRED ON CERTAIN PREMISES

12 WHERE CREDIT CARD ACCOUNT APPLICATIONS ACCEPT13 ED.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person who sells personal 

15 property to consumers on a business premises and 

16 makes available to consumers on such premises any 

17 application to open a credit card account under an 

18 open end consumer credit plan, and where such per19 son is the issuer of such account, shall display in the 

20 premises on a sign any information that is subject 

21 to subsection (c) and that is required to be disclosed 

22 by the person on that application. 

23 ‘‘(2) FORMAT.—Such information shall be dis24 played on the sign in the form and manner which 

25 the Board shall prescribe by regulations and which, 


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1 to the extent practicable and appropriate, shall be 

2 consistent with the form and manner required for 

3 the disclosure of such information on the credit card 

4 application. 

5 ‘‘(3) SIGN PLACEMENT.—Such signs shall be 

6 conspicuously placed at each location on the prem7 ises where the credit card application may be sub8 mitted by the consumer.’’. 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 111(e) of 

10 the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1610(e)) is amended 

11 by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘Section 122(d) shall supersede State laws relating 

13 to store display of the information that is subject to the 

14 requirements of such section, except that any State may 

15 employ or establish State laws for the purpose of enforcing 

16 the requirements of such section.’’. 

17 SEC. 19. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

19 (c) for the period described in such subsection, the amend20 ments made by this Act shall apply to all credit card ac21 counts under open end consumer credit plans after the 

22 earlier of— 

23 (1) the end of the 12-month period beginning 

24 on the date of the enactment of this Act; or 

25 (2) June 30, 2010. 


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1 (b) REGULATIONS.—Except as provided in subsection 

2 (c) for the period described in such subsection, the Board 

3 of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, in consulta4 tion with the Comptroller of the Currency, the Director 

5 of the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Federal Deposit 

6 Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Admin7 istration Board, and the Federal Trade Commission, shall 

8 prescribe regulations, in final form, implementing the 

9 amendments made by this Act before the earlier of— 

10 (1) the end of the 5-month period beginning on 

11 the date of the enactment of this Act; or 

12 (2) June 1, 2010. 

13 (c) INTERIM EFFECTIVE PERIOD FOR ADVANCE NO14 TICES OF RATE INCREASES.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—During the period beginning 

16 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act 

17 and ending on the effective date of all the amend18 ments under this Act as determined pursuant to 

19 subsection (a), no increase in any annual percentage 

20 rate of interest on any credit card account under an 

21 open end consumer credit plan (as such terms are 

22 defined in the Truth in Lending Act) may take ef23 fect unless the creditor provides a written notice to 

24 the consumer at least 45 days before the increase 

25 would otherwise take effect which fully describes the 


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50 

HR 627 PCS 

1 changes in the annual percentage rate, in a complete 

2 and conspicuous manner, and the extent to which 

3 such increase would apply to an existing balance. 

4 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—A notice shall not be re5 quired under paragraph (1) for an increase in an an6 nual percentage rate described in subparagraph (A), 

7 (B), or (C) of section 127B(b)(1) (as added by sec8 tion 2). 

9 (3) REGULATIONS.—The Board of Governors of 

10 the Federal Reserve System shall prescribe regula11 tions implementing the amendment referred to in 

12 paragraph (1), for purposes of this subsection, be13 fore the end of the 60-day period beginning on the 

14 date of the enactment of this Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives April 30, 2009. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
Calendar No. 55 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 627 

AN ACT 

To amend the Truth in Lending Act to establish 

credit plan, and for other purposes. tension of credit under an open end consumer fair and transparent practices relating to the exAPRIL 30, 2009 

Received; read twice and placed on the calendar 


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