WASHINGTON -- Facing losses because of defaulting loans, banks are boosting credit-card rates, USA Today reports. With delinquencies on mortgages and other consumer loans rising, banks also jack up fees, while constricting rules on other consumer loans to stem their losses.

“Banks will want to make up that income somewhere,” said William McCracken of Synergistics Research. “They’re going to be much more aggressive. Everyone is going to see some (price) increase unless they have perfect credit.”

Hiking rates and fees just enough to avoid pushing borrowers into default, lenders are attempting a “delicate financial balance,” said Robert Manning, a finance professor at Rochester Institute of Technology. “They can’t squeeze too hard that they’re going to kill their client. But they have to squeeze more revenue out of their current portfolios.”

Bank fees, such as late fees, balance-transfer fees and ATM fees, have been on the upswing for years. But as loan losses mount, banks have been even faster at increasing certain fees and rates, analysts said. Last year, lenders raked in a record $18.1 billion in penalty fees from credit cards, up a whopping 69 percent from 2003.

USA Today also ran an editorial about the practices of credit-card companies in Friday’s edition. The newspaper said that “money from fees, usurious rates is recycled as political contributions. The economy’s sinking. Maxed-out consumers are struggling to pay bills. And credit card issuers? They’re busy trying to wring more money out of their customers.”

The editorial pointed out that banks have “gotten away with such practices [as hiking rates and fees] because they’ve known how to invest their money — or should we say, your money — wisely,” namely into the coffers of political party committees and candidates for federal offices.

“The donors have gotten their money’s worth,” the editorial continued. “For years, Congress ignored consumer outrage as the industry flooded the public with solicitations, then squeezed customers with escalating fees and usurious rates.”

But finally, there are signs that Congress is starting to take notice. According to the newspaper: “In December, Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) put banks on the hot seat at a hearing. On Thursday, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) proposed a sensible measure to curb some of the abuses. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) who chairs the Senate Banking Committee, promises to push similar changes.”