Report Shows Credit Card Rates Falling; Consumers Deleveraging, Standards Tighter

With consumers deleveraging and banks tightening standards amid economic uncertainty, a new report on credit card use shows interest rates are continuing their descent since the recession that ended in 2009.

The American Bankers Association released its first ABA Credit Card Monitor, a new quarterly report that highlights key credit card market trends.

The report, going forward, will present certain metrics each quarter. The Sept. 26 report showed the cost of credit has fallen. The effective finance charge yield, which is the interest charged to accounts as a percent of outstanding credit balances, has dropped to 11.25 percent in the ...