By Lindsay Chin
The banks have made it difficult for Congressional Democrats and the White House to give stretched homeowners a stronger hand in negotiating lower monthly payments on mortgages and to prevent credit card companies from imposing higher fees and interest rates.
Having won some early skirmishes by teaming with Republican allies, the banks now appear to have the upper hand and may wind up killing — or at least substantially diluting — both pro-consumer measures.
To turn the tide, Democrats are calling in their big gun — President Obama — to pressure the executives at the largest credit card lenders. In coming weeks, officials say, the administration intends to make a major push on consumer finance issues, possibly including tough new lending standards for homeowners seeking mortgages.
Mr. Obama is set to meet at the White House on Thursday with executives from American Express, Bank of America, Capital One Financial, Citigroup, Discover Financial Services, JPMorgan Chase and others to discuss what officials say are abusive credit card fees and practices.
During the presidential campaign, Mr. Obama made an issue of what he considered excessive credit card fees, but he has been largely silent on the matter since his arrival in Washington. As a candidate, he also favored legislation to make it easier for troubled homeowners to use bankruptcy court to ease the terms of their mortgages, a proposal he again endorsed last month.
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