New York Subpoenas JPMorgan Chase, Citi

Units of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. have been subpoenaed as part of a probe into alleged predatory lending practices involving health care credit cards, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Monday, according to a Dow Jones report.

 Last week, Cuomo announced he had subpoenaed a number of health care providers and General Electric Co.'s GE Money unit over its CareCredit health care credit card program (see story). Cuomo claims some health care providers are using "fast-talking sales pitches" to pressure consumers into applying for health care credit cards, including those offered by JPMorgan Chase, Citi and GE.

Cuomo claims health care providers are charged a fee for the right to offer the cards and then a portion of the fee is rebated to them based on the amount of money generated through CareCredit sales. He claims this amounts to a "kickback arrangement."