Financial Roundup: New Credit Card Rules, Private Equity Eyes Banks, Bernanke Uses Same Old Ratings Agencies, Small Banks Up Tech Buys, and More

Credit card rules approved -- The Federal Reserve Board has approved a host of new credit card rules that, effective July 1, 2010, would protect consumers from unexpected interest charges, forbid "two-cycle" billing schemes and allow customers a reasonable amount of time to pay their bills. While consumer advocates criticized the late starting date, one law firm says the rules could cost banks $12 billion in revenue. [Source: The Federal Reserve]

Private equity firms eye banks -- Enticed by federal money, private equity firms are creeping back into banking. PHH Corp. is considering buying AmTrust Corp. of Cleveland and MatlinPatterson Global Advisers is investing in Flagstar Bancorpt of Troy, Mich. [Source: The Wall Street Journal]

Is Bernanke too trusting of ratings agencies? -- Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is using the very same ratings agencies that gave top grades to toxic debt as he makes assessments of how to distribute hundreds of billions of dollars in emergency lending. Instead of independent analysts, he's using the usual troika of Fitch, Moody's and Standard & Poor's. [Source: The Daily Beast]

Small banks ratchet up tech spending -- Although tech spending by banks should dip 4 percent to $52.2 billion in 2009, small banks are snapping it up. First Horizon National Corp of Memphis, for instance, is increasing tech upgrades by 10 perent to be able to grab busines from ailing large banks. [Source: American Banker]

FASB to study mark to market accounting again -- Much-maligned mark to market accounting will get another look since most public bank holding companies are trading below their net worth. The problem may be a lack of mark to market accounting which has may have led to their asset valuations being unrealistic. [Source: The Wall Street Journal]

Genworth Financial to cut 1,000 jobs -- Once part of General Electric, the Virginia-based insurer will lay off 14 percent of its 7,300 employees globally. Genworth, whose stock has slipped 87 percent this year, has sought federal bailout money. [Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch]