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Regulating Consumer Financial Products: Evidence from Credit Cards

Author

Listed:
  • Sumit Agarwal
  • Souphala Chomsisengphet
  • Neale Mahoney
  • Johannes Stroebel

Abstract

We analyze the effectiveness of consumer financial regulation by considering the 2009 Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act. We use a panel data set covering 160 million credit card accounts and a difference-in-differences research design that compares changes in outcomes over time for consumer credit cards, which were subject to the regulations, to changes for small business credit cards, which the law did not cover. We estimate that regulatory limits on credit card fees reduced overall borrowing costs by an annualized 1.6% of average daily balances, with a decline of more than 5.3% for consumers with FICO scores below 660. We find no evidence of an offsetting increase in interest charges or a reduction in the volume of credit. Taken together, we estimate that the CARD Act saved consumers $11.9 billion a year. We also analyze a nudge that disclosed the interest savings from paying off balances in 36 months rather than making minimum payments. We detect a small increase in the share of accounts making the 36-month payment value but no evidence of a change in overall payments. JEL Codes: D0, D14, G0, G02, G21, G28, L0, L13, L15.

Suggested Citation

  • Sumit Agarwal & Souphala Chomsisengphet & Neale Mahoney & Johannes Stroebel, 2015. "Regulating Consumer Financial Products: Evidence from Credit Cards," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(1), pages 111-164.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:qjecon:v:130:y:2015:i:1:p:111-164
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/qje/qju037
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    JEL classification:

    • D0 - Microeconomics - - General
    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • G0 - Financial Economics - - General
    • G02 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Behavioral Finance: Underlying Principles
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • L0 - Industrial Organization - - General
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • L15 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Information and Product Quality

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    This item is featured on the following reading lists, Wikipedia, or ReplicationWiki pages:
    1. Do Banks Pass through Credit Expansions to Consumers Who want to Borrow? (QJE 2018) in ReplicationWiki

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