Monday, October 15, 2007

Will Banks Dip Into Interchange Cookie Jar to Help Earnings? (WayTooHigh.com)

We can't help but raise warning signs that the banks might look toward again reaching into their $40 billion annual interchange cookie jar to help fund their other disastrous fiscal flops. Citigroup, which is one of our named defendants in the multi-billion-dollar merchant interchange litigation just announced its its third-quarter profits slumped 57%. Will the banking giant and the thousands of other member banks seek to further choke retailers and consumers by scheming to further raise interchange fees? Remember, merchants overseas are also fuming over paying even less than half the U.S. interchange fees. We are poised and tracking our mail to see whether their hostility against their core business and consumer customers continues.

[Commentary: WayTooHigh.com]