MyCardBlog

In the yesterday’s post, I have said that:

Given the current state of banks, we have enough reasons to believe that they will shift the aim from mortgages to other risky products. Not to mention that more than 60% Americans carry balance on their at least two credit cards every month. If you are not a profitable customer to them, you are also in the queue. In the next few months, if the credit card issuers close you credit card account or reduce your credit limit without notifying you, don’t be surprised. I also strongly suggest you guys not play AOR recently.

I also included a yahoo article. (see here)

In today’s Wall Street Journal, I find out a similar article about credit card issuers will tighten their credit standards.

Credit Cards Are Playing Harder to Get (WSJ, by Jane Kim)

The credit crunch is starting to hit consumers where it hurts — in their wallets.

As lenders tighten credit standards, many consumers have faced greater difficulty getting a mortgage or a home-equity loan or line of credit. Now, some are beginning to feel the squeeze on their credit cards — despite the dramatic cuts the Federal Reserve recently made in its benchmark Fed funds rate, including last week’s half-percentage point cut to 3%.

Big card issuers such as Citigroup Inc. are requiring higher credit scores before issuing new cards, particularly in states that have been hit hard by the housing downturn, including California, Arizona and Florida. Some lenders, including Bank of America Corp., are offering lower initial credit lines. Other lenders, such as Capital One Financial Corp., are limiting credit-line increases or reducing credit lines for existing customers if they see signs that they are suddenly applying for more credit or are having trouble paying down their balances. And many card issuers are raising late fees and other charges to help offset what they see as higher risk.

The stricter lending standards come as many banks recently reported earnings and disclosed surprisingly large losses from their consumer businesses. Among the problems: higher credit-card delinquencies and losses. The banks expect the problems to get worse as the economy slows.

A new survey of senior bank-lending officers, released yesterday by the Federal Reserve, found that of 41 banks, four, or 10%, said they have tightened standards for approving credit-card applications from individuals in the past three months. That’s up from 5% in a survey conducted in October…….(Read the full story at forum or visit wall street journal).