It appears that central to the Obama administration's desire to reform the credit card industry is the marketing of the cards.
In a
Meet The Press appearance, National Economic Council Director Larry Summers linked credit card marketing to consumers' "
addiction" to the cards. He also said that consumers had been "
deceived" into paying higher rates—perhaps a veiled swipe at marketing.
Today, as the President met with credit card executives at the White House today, the House was
working on a bill that included, among other provisions, a prohibition on marketing the cards to minors.
The President, in
remarks after the meeting, spoke about ending "fine print" and "confusing terms and conditions" — the latter term (minus the confusing part) familiar to consumers who have seen credit card ads.