Bank of America to keep rates steady

The bank offered the pledge in a letter to House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank, who called a hearing tomorrow on a bill that would move up the effective date for the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act. Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, proposed that its provisions, including a requirement that lenders apply payments to higher-rate balances first, take effect Dec. 1 rather than in February.

Credit card lenders including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Discover Financial Services raised rates and fees after President Obama signed the law May 22. The rules, which are taking effect in stages, limit rate increases, bar double-cycle billing, and require banks to mail statements three weeks before the due date, instead of two.

Bank of America, the second-biggest credit card lender, after JPMorgan, will not change “risk- or economic-based’’ pricing in response to concerns expressed by its customers, John Collingwood, director of federal government relations for the North Carolina-based lender, said in the Monday letter to Frank.

Bank of America, which took $45 billion in US aid, reduced overdraft fees Sept. 22 amid criticism from lawmakers that the charges were too high and assessed too often.

While the lender raised interest rates on some customers in June, the notifications were sent in April “before we knew the outcome of the final legislation,’’ spokeswoman Betty Riess said.

Bank of America may raise rates for customers who are late on two or more payments within 12 months, said Riess, who confirmed Collingwood’s letter.

“Every other credit card company should follow suit,’’ Senate Banking Committee chairman Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, said. “This Congress has made it clear that abusive credit card practices are no longer acceptable.’’