The Office of Thrift Supervision, the Federal Reserve, and the National Credit Union Administration announced new rules for credit cards on Thursday, Dec 18. The rules were coordinated so banks, thrifts, and credit unions would all have the same rules. Some opponents claim the rules will hurt the economy by reducing the amount of credit available, but the new rules don’t go into effect until July 2010. Opponents say credit card providers will raise rates and cut lines of credit before then. Consumer advocates worry the rules do not do enough or go into effect fast enough.