Council Members in this Study Group: 47
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Consultant
Duncan McDonald![]()
Duncan MacDonald is an independent consultant to financial institutions, corporations, and think tanks on payments, privacy and data protection, alternate dispute resolution, bankruptcy, class action reform, antitrust, joint venture, plain language, and...
Principal
ANDREW KETTERER LAW FIRM![]()
Andrew Ketterer is an attorney with more than 30 years experience as a trial lawyer and specializes in state government relations. Mr. Ketterer is a former President of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG), where he was a member during...
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What GAO card study means to interchange legislation & NY lawsuit.
November 20, 2009
GAO: Let Card-Fee System Stand | online.wsj.com
The GAO study of bankcard interchange fees is a mixed bag for the industry. It upholds the practice (in contradiction to the lawsuit against the practice in New York) but points to numerous ideas about how its excesses can be reduced. The latter could propel the Welsh bill in Congress toward enactment. It would allow merchant actions to pressure issuers to accept lower interchange fees. The study's ideas could also play a role in crafting a settlement of the NY suit.
Populist Politics Threaten Card Industry Recovery & Survival
November 19, 2009
US Credit Card Sector Faces Punitive Hostility | www.ft.com
The letter in today's FT (I am one of the authors) questions whether new and proposed legislation by Congress can kill the credit card industry.
Retail discounts won't revive our economy
November 9, 2009
Catering to the Recession Mentality | online.wsj.com
The article is about the struggle of retailers to lure consumers to stop worrying about the economy and start spending again. Their bait is aggressive discounting. The question not only is whether it will work but whether other factors will wipe out the best laid discounts.
Loss of arbitration of cardholder disputes could sink card industry
October 15, 2009
Turmoil in Arbitration Empire Upends Credit-Card Disputes | online.wsj.com
Although the article is about an investor's failed bet on arbitration of card disputes, the bigger fail will belong to the card industry -- the 1 billion bank and private label cards held by 200 million consumers. Issuers of those cards have all but lost the right require arbitration and the enormous protection arbitration brings against class actions. With the NAF gone kaput and the AAA refusing to fill the void, issuers now face massive, potentially crippling new risks .
Threats to make CARD Act worse and to regulate interchange fees
October 6, 2009
Banks Face Pressure to Bend on New Agency - American Banker Article | www.americanbanker.com
The article is about the wrangling in Congress to enact a so-called "Consumer Protection Agency." But it carries a threat to bankers. If they don't stop trying to block a CPA, Congress will enact piecemeal bills that will prevent card issuers from being able to reprice in response to the CARD Act and will regulate interchange pricing downward.