Posts on secured credit cards
Data shows that by the end of 2008, nearly half of banks decreased credit limits for current customers. One of the major credit card companies, AMEX, is offering money to current cardholders perceived as a credit risk to pay the balance on their cards and close their accounts. Chase Bank has increased the minimum monthly payment by 3 percent for those who typically carry big unpaid overall balances. The maximum allowed limit for many customers of Citigroup have been lowered, simply because of the shaky economic times. Some consumers who have had their credit lines decreased now carry a larger debt relative to their available credit, which has adversely affected their credit scores.