Congressman Barney Frank today released the following statement thanking the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for proposing regulatory changes that will eliminate an unintended ambiguity in the Credit Card Act that could have worked to the disadvantage of stay-at-home spouses or partners applying for credit cards.  The CFPB obtained jurisdiction of this issue in July, 2011, when regulatory supervision of Truth and Lending Act functions were transferred to the new agency.

Until the recent action by the CFPB, language intended to protect college students from unfair exploitation was not sufficiently clear and left some to conclude that partners or spouses, who were not themselves earning the family’s income, were ineligible for credit cards.  This was never the Congressional intent and I am very pleased that the CFPB has once again demonstrated its value to consumers by making that clear and by proposing a rule that will fully enable spouses and partners to receive credit cards in appropriate circumstances.

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