Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to everyone for coming today. It's kind of interesting to look straight down the line and have this conversation with you.
Where I'm going to start is with some of the specific questions relating to the consumer side of credit cards. Of course, the merchant and the exchange fees ultimately come back to the consumer as well.
I had a figure of 50 million, but you're saying there are 68 million cards out there. You're saying that about 70% of them are paying their bills on time and never really have to worry about the interest rate.
You're the bankers, and I'm sure you can calculate the number a lot quicker in your head than I could, but 30% of 68 million is still a significant number of people across the country who are being affected in this economic downturn.
We understand that you have unsecured risks and you need to cover those costs, and you need to ensure you're still making a profit. I understand that.
When I started asking the questions in the House six months ago, we started to get inundated with phone calls and people showing us examples on their bills, saying, “I've always made my payment. Unfortunately, right now I'm watching every nickel and every dime, so I'm having to make the minimum payment this time. But I made the minimum payment two days late, and because I was two days late, my interest rate went from 18% to 24%.”
I have examples like this: a 17-year-old who has a credit card, and now the parents are being forced to pay the credit card. This was an unsolicited mailing, and the 17-year-old submitted it and got the credit card.
The concerns we have relate to the interest rates that are being charged. You're talking about there being 60 low-rate cards right now. Well, if there are 60 low-rate cards, why aren't you, as the issuers of the card, automatically giving someone a low-rate card when they start off, and then, if they so choose, they can move up, if they demonstrate good history, rather than handing out the premium cards?
I know I'm talking a lot and there are quite a few questions in there. So I'll leave those and we'll go back from there. Does anyone want to start with that?