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The Credit Card Act and Consumer Debt Structure

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Listed:
  • Yiwei Dou
  • Julapa Jagtiani
  • Ramain Quinn Maingi
  • Joshua Ronen

Abstract

We investigate whether the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 influenced the debt structure of consumers. By debt structure, we mean the proportion of total available credit from credit cards for each consumer.The act enhances disclosures of contractual and related information and restricts card issuers’ ability to raise interest rates or charge late or over-limit fees, primarily affecting non-prime borrowers. Using the credit history via the Federal Reserve Bank of New York/Equifax Consumer Credit Panel during 2006–2016, we find that the average ratio of credit limit on cards to total consumer debt declined for non-prime borrowers in comparison to prime borrowers after the introduction of the CARD Act. The decline did not occur before the bill was first introduced in Congress; it took place afterward and continued through the end of our sample period. The results suggest that the CARD Act likely had an adverse effect on non-prime borrowers.

Suggested Citation

  • Yiwei Dou & Julapa Jagtiani & Ramain Quinn Maingi & Joshua Ronen, 2020. "The Credit Card Act and Consumer Debt Structure," Working Papers 20-32, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedpwp:88546
    DOI: 10.21799/frbp.wp.2020.32
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jambulapati, Vikram & Stavins, Joanna, 2014. "Credit CARD Act of 2009: What did banks do?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 21-30.
    2. Joshua D. Angrist & Jörn-Steffen Pischke, 2009. "Mostly Harmless Econometrics: An Empiricist's Companion," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 8769.
    3. Sumit Agarwal & Souphala Chomsisengphet & Neale Mahoney & Johannes Stroebel, 2015. "Regulating Consumer Financial Products: Evidence from Credit Cards," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(1), pages 111-164.
    4. Song Han & Benjamin J. Keys & Geng Li, 2018. "Unsecured Credit Supply, Credit Cycles, and Regulation," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 31(3), pages 1184-1217.
    5. Lawrence Santucci, 2015. "A tale of two vintages: credit limit management before and after the CARD act and Great Recession," Consumer Finance Institute discussion papers 15-1, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    6. Lawrence Santucci, 2016. "What Happened to the Revolving Credit Card Balances of 2009?," Consumer Finance Institute discussion papers 16-1, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    7. Atif Mian & Amir Sufi, 2009. "The Consequences of Mortgage Credit Expansion: Evidence from the U.S. Mortgage Default Crisis," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(4), pages 1449-1496.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    CARD Act; credit cards; credit limits; consumer debts;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • L21 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Business Objectives of the Firm

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