Since the peak of the credit crisis, the federal government has been doing all it can to get banks to lend money to both consumers and businesses. Despite the fact that large, American bank holding companies (BHC's) have been sitting on massive piles of cash for some months, and despite being prodded by politicians to get credit flowing through the economy, many Americans are finding it difficult to find business and student loans, credit cards and other loan products at reasonable rates. Banks are able to borrow huge sums of money at rates below 0.26%, but they aren't passing these favorable rates onto individuals and organizations. Thankfully, there are some consumer-friendly credit products on offer from a limited number of top-quality, U.S.-based financial institutions, like Iberiabank. Of all the 0% credit cards available in the current, credit-crunch and recessionary lending environment, the Iberiabank Classic Visa® credit card is the best of the best, featuring a new purchases rate of Prime Rate plus 3%, no annual fee and zero percent introductory APR on transferred balances with no balance transfer fee.

The Federal Reserve has been buying long-term Treasury securities in an effort to keep home loan rates low. This tactic has worked, as many well qualified consumers are now able to get new mortgages -- or refinance their current home loans -- at rates below 5%. But the spread between the Fed's short-term rates and the rates on short term credit products like credit cards is still comparatively high. That's because the secondary market for credit card receivables completely dried up last year, and many banks are still trying to make up for loses related to the unnumbered subprime loans made during the recent housing boom.

At the end of 2008, the Federal Reserve created the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF), a program that will lend many billions of dollars to coax the secondary market for all types of receivables back to life. But TALF will take some time to work. Until then, credit card interest rates from big banks will remain unjustifiably high.

Consumers who got used to cheap and easy loans from the big banks should look to smaller, financially sound banks and their local credit unions for favorable loans and credit cards.