Regulation

The Ohio Supreme Court yesterday suspended the law license of a Columbus, Ohio collection lawyer, who stole $32,600 from a check-cashing business he represented.

The House Financial Services Committee does not plan to pursue interchange legislation this year, according to committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass.

The Federal Trade Commission yesterday announced new rules that require prominent disclosures in advertisements for "free credit reports." The guidelines require companies marketing these services to be more clear that they differ from the government-approved Web site AnnualCreditReport.com, which offers free reports with no strings attached, according to the FTC.

President Obama welcomed implementation of the new credit card law on Monday.

Several credit card issuers this month are taking more “positive, promotional” approaches to introducing new policies and billing-statement changes mandated by a federal law that goes into effect next week, according to new research by Corporate Insight, a New York-based market-research firm.

Starting Feb. 22, lenders must comply with changes in Regulation Z, part of the Credit CARD Act of 2009. This regulation is designed to promote the informed use of consumer credit by requiring disclosures about its terms and cost. It also regulates certain credit card practices and provides a means for fair and timely resolution of credit billing disputes.

Debit card customers of Dutch Bangla Bank Ltd. face paying a 3 taka fee (43 U.S. cents or 31 euro cents) for taking a transaction receipt at the bank’s ATMs under a new policy that took effect last month, an official from the Bangladesh-based bank tells PaymentsSource.

Visa Europe said Wednesday that it plans to go to Hungary's Constitutional Court to appeal a bill passed in December by the Hungarian parliament that restricts bank card transaction commissions, reports Dow Jones.

Credit card issuers are scrambling to add new software-based consumer income-estimation tools to their account-approval processes following the Federal Reserve Board’s release last week of the final rules implementing the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act.

The two leading candidates in the race to become Florida's next governor are arguing over who should take on the task of regulating the state's collection agencies. Both, in this, an election year, say they want the job. Last year, each candidate said the other had failed to investigate rogue agencies even though their current political roles require them to do so.