Patricia Patnode

1 month ago | cei.org | Patricia Patnode

Nobody likes paying interest on a credit card bill. It may seem like an easy out to just have Congress forbid it. But what people might not realize is using government to impose a cap on those rates will do more to shrink access to credit, especially personal credit, than help people out of debt. Unfortunately, our elected representatives in Congress may not realize this, either, given the looming bills in both the House and the Senate that threaten just such an interest rate cap.

2 months ago | cei.org | Patricia Patnode

Americans have far fewer banks to choose from than they once did. The American banking industry has consolidated, with the number of U.S. banks falling from more than 8,000 to less than 5,000 between 2000 and 2014 alone. By 2023, the number of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured banks had further decreased to 4,641, marking a substantial decline despite the U.S. population growing significantly during this period.

2 months ago | issuesinsights.com | Patricia Patnode |Ari Patinkin

Americans have far fewer banks to choose from than they once did. The American banking industry has consolidated, with the number of U.S. banks falling from more than 8,000 to less than 5,000 between 2000 and 2014 alone. By 2023, the number of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured banks had further decreased to 4,641, marking a substantial decline despite the U.S. population growing significantly during this period.

Mar 27, 2025 | cei.org | Patricia Patnode

March is Women’s History Month, a time to acknowledge and celebrate many “firsts” for women in public life. One of those “firsts” is the ability for American women to open a credit card independently, without a husband or father’s cosignatory, following the passage of The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) by Congress in 1974. This bill prohibited discrimination in credit transactions based on sex or marital status and is generally considered a landmark for women’s financial independence.

Mar 14, 2025 | cei.org | Patricia Patnode

While many watchful eyes focus on the economic impacts of actions of federal lawmakers inside the Beltway, pending legislation in a statehouse 100 miles south of DC could wreak havoc for the finances of residents of Virginia and perhaps the entire nation. In our evolving financial technology landscape, Virginia Senate Bill No. 1252 poses a threat to credit access in Virginia.