The House Financial Services financial institutions subcommittee took steps Wednesday to bring a card reform bill from Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., closer to conforming with Federal Reserve Board regulations that would ban certain practices.
The panel is expected to pass the bill with broad support when it votes today on the legislation.
The banking industry still opposes the legislation, but bringing the bill closer to the central bank's regulations may soon change that.
The Senate Banking Committee approved a card reform bill Tuesday that went beyond the Fed rules.
A key change to the House bill was a shift in the effective date, which bankers and the Fed have argued needs to be late enough to give card companies time to update their systems.
The panel approved by voice vote an amendment from Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., the subcommittee's chairman, that would make the bill go into effect in one year, or by June 30, 2010, whichever comes sooner. (The Fed rules will go into effect in July 1, 2010.)
Maloney's bill would still provide consumer protections not contained in the Fed rules. It would prohibit banks from reporting an account opening to the credit bureaus until the card is activated.
