Finally, Bill Will Force Banks to Tell Real Interest
For almost 30 years, Morse - the father of truth-in-savings legislation - has been badgering Congress to force banks to tell you, straight, how much you're earning on savings accounts. All too often, you're getting substantially less than you think.</br></br>Morse's dream has finally came to pass. When President Bush signs the new banking bill, truth in savings will become the law of the land. Rep. Esteban Torres (D-Calif.) fought off all the last-minute attempts to bury the proposal.</br></br>"Usually, monsters rise up in the night to devour consumer legislation," says Edward Mierzwinski, a consumer advocate for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group in Washington and himself a persistent lobbyist for the law. "This time the consumer won."</br></br>Truth in savings won't take effect for at least 15 months, while the Federal Reserve writes regulations for it. During that process, Morse will stay on the lookout for monsters.</br></br>But the principle has been won. By mid-1993, many savers will learn - for the first time - what their bank accounts are really yielding and how that compares with other banks in the community. Even before that date, the shiftier institutions will doubtlessly clean up their act.