New credit card regulations adopted under the Federal Trade Commission Act, in coordination with similar sets of new rules adopted by the Office of Thrift Supervision and the National Credit Union Administration.

The new regulations, as described on the Federal Reserve's website:

• "Protect consumers from unexpected interest charges, including increases in the rate during the first year after account opening and increases in the rate charged on pre-existing credit card balances.
• Forbid banks from imposing interest charges using the "two-cycle" billing method.
• Require that consumers receive a reasonable amount of time to make their credit card payments.
• Prohibit the use of payment allocation methods that unfairly maximize interest charges.
• Address subprime credit cards by limiting the fees that reduce the amount of available credit."