With the financial regulatory reform bill signed into law by President Obama, the collection industry is bracing for the expected impact of the broad and complex legislation. 

“We are disheartened by provisions in the financial regulatory reform bill that are all-inclusive without a clear understanding by lawmakers of the impact of their actions,” says Rozanne M. Andersen, CEO at ACA International, a collection industry association. 

“Collection agencies do not sell or offer financial products and services. In our opinion, all financial services industries are not created equal and to include the debt collection industry in this new law is overreaching,” she says.

Pawn shops in Reno are like teenage girls at a Justin Beiber concert: everywhere.

After the recession forced credit card companies to purge their rosters of the riskiest loans, the industry is facing a new problem: customers who are too good.

Card issuers have long found their bread and butter in penalty fees and high interest rates paid by consumers who carry a balance. But that business model has been upended by the legions of consumers who were overwhelmed by debt when the recession hit, forcing the industry to write off billions of dollars in loans. In addition, new federal laws limit how much card companies can charge risky customers.

Now, frugal-minded consumers are charging less on their credit cards, paying down their balances and steering clear of penalty fees — steps that are financially responsible but have the industry scrambling to find new ways to make money.

The Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA) said today that it supports the efforts of the Consumer Federation of America and the Consumers Union to protect recipients of Social Security and other government benefits from lenders who access their directly deposited checks through sub-account arrangements.

According to a Wall Street Journal story on July 20, “The Social Security Administration has been depositing benefits directly into accounts controlled by storefront lenders, which repay themselves from the benefits before remitting the rest of the money to beneficiaries.”

Lynn DeVault, board chair of CFSA, said she knows of no payday advance companies that engage in this practice and that the industry strongly supports efforts to block all lenders from gaining access to a borrower’s bank account through these sub-account arrangements.

“Citizens receiving government benefits are among the most vulnerable members of society,” DeVault said. “We agree with the consumer groups that the Treasury Department should stop banks from giving lenders access to bank accounts through these sub-account arrangements.”

Bank of America Corp plans to offer an online bank account that charges an $8.95 monthly fee for paper statements and using tellers, as it looks for ways to make up for income lost because of new regulations.

As part of the new account targeted at primarily online users, Bank of America customers would be steered toward using automated teller machines and online banking for basic services like making deposits and withdrawals that would be free to use with the account.

New U.S. banking rules implemented July 1 cap overdraft fees, among others, spurring some analysts to speculate that free checking accounts may be doomed to extinction.

“The reality is that even our employees occasionally seek payday loans, and we want them to have the best alternative in the marketplace,” said Scott Simpson, president of the Utah League of Credit Unions.

But the Coalition of Religious Communities wants credit unions to pull these types of loans.

“Credit unions that are supposed to be looking out for the people are offering payday loan products to their customers that are between 254 and 318 percent interest,” said Linda Hilton, with the Coalition of Religious Communities.