Obama pledges to support protections for credit card borrowers

— -- President Obama pledged Thursday to support legislation to protect credit card borrowers from unfair rate increases and abusive fees, and to crack down on issuers who engage in deceptive lending practices.

Obama met Thursday with 14 leading credit card executives to discuss the impact of issuers' practices on consumers and the economy. The President was joined at the White House meeting by economic adviser Lawrence Summers, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and senior adviser Valerie Jarrett.

The administration said it also wants credit card companies to use clear language in disclosures to consumers, and to provide adequate information so consumers can compare products online.

"I trust that those in the industry who want to act responsibly will engage with us in a constructive fashion, and that we're going to get this done in short order," Obama said after the meeting.

A handful of bills that seek to clamp down on credit card practices are currently pending in the House and Senate. The Federal Reserve has issued a rule that would restrict issuers' ability to raise the interest rate on existing debt, among other measures, but the rule has been widely criticized because it doesn't take effect until July 2010.

In the meantime, credit card issuers have raised rates and fees on millions of consumers as they grapple with ballooning loan losses. From March 2007 through February 2008 alone, about 70 million credit card accounts — nearly one in four accounts — had their interest rates raised, costing consumers at least $10 billion in additional finance charges, estimates Pew Charitable Trusts, a public policy group.

Also Thursday, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, and Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-CT, called on the Federal Reserve to impose an "emergency freeze" on issuers' ability to raise interest rates. USA TODAY's research has found that for a growing number of consumers, credit card rate increases — rather than mortgage troubles — are pushing them into economic distress.