A provision of the Credit CARD Act of 2009 requires that the Federal Reserve issue a report examining whether credit card issuers have reduced credit limits or raised interest rates on credit card accounts based on consumers' patronage of merchants by geographic location or the type of merchant...

The Federal Credit CARD Act of 2009 made important changes to the credit card market, including a requirement that penalty fees be reasonable and proportional to the borrower's violation. In interpreting "reasonable and proportional" an understanding of the nature of penalty fees is essential....