Dan Geldon

Why is Anyone Listening to Ed Yingling?

Let me get this straight.

In the years leading up to the crisis, Ed Yingling - the head lobbyist for the American Bankers Association (ABA) and all the big banks - successfully lobbied against every real effort to regulate consumer credit products.

Operating under the lax regulation and weak rules that Yingling and his army of lobbyists helped create, the industry got reckless and, in the process, brought the economy to its knees. Millions of Americans went through foreclosure after signing onto mortgages that never should have been offered, and millions more lost their jobs as a result of the subprime meltdown. One…

Don’t believe the hype! Credit card sharks still hate the taste of plain vanilla

The credit card industry appears to be embracing the ‘plain vanilla’ products that provide simple, clear terms to consumers. But, as Roosevelt Institute Fellow Dan Geldon explains, they’re only pretending in order to deceive Congress, kill the CFPA, and fool the public.

On Sept. 16, Bank of America joined an industry trend in announcing a new credit card that will have a one-page explanation of terms and conditions. Bank of America intends this new card to cater to consumer demand for simpler and more transparent credit products.

At the same time, Bank of America has joined industry efforts to pour millions of dollars…