In Britain, this past week was Credit Awareness Week, during which the banking industry and financial-services firms tried to educate consumers about how they can be more prudent users of plastic.
Here in this country, meanwhile, the banking industry was voicing its opposition to legislation that would outlaw a variety of practices that lawmakers and consumer advocates say are intended solely to push people deeper into debt.
The Stop Unfair Practices in Credit Cards Act was introduced last week by Democratic Sens. Carl Levin of Michigan and Claire McCaskill of Missouri, who say their bill addresses "some of the most egregious credit card practices that unfairly deepen or prolong credit card debt held by consumers."
