Financial institutions helping out

In the wake of Katrina, numerous financial organizations are easing their rules and restrictions on car payments and mortgages for affected customers. Credit-card issuers like American Express, Bank of America and MBNA, are waiving fees, relaxing payments or increasing credit limits.

The people hardest hit will not be penalized, at least for a while, if they cannot make payments, and their interest rates will be eased.

Listed below are the top-10 credit issuers and their customer-relief efforts. You can find information on other cards at the Financial Services Roundtable.

Capital One -- Working with customers on case-by-case basis to waive past-due, over-limit and pay-by-phone fees and interest charges for customers in affected areas. Giving consideration to waiving the fees for customers in areas outside of the Federal Emergency Management Agency/ U.S. Postal Service-designated impacted areas, in special circumstances, upon customer requests.

MBNA -- Declared two-month payment holiday for customers in impacted area of Hurricane Katrina. Customers will not have to pay on their cards in September and October. Additionally MBNA is waiving late fees and eliminating cash withdrawal fees. No fees will be charged for issuing overnight replacement cards. MBNA is also working with customers to increase credit limits and extend credit-protection insurance. In addition, MBNA is postponing any changes in the minimum-payment strategies.

Bank of America -- Credit card customers can receive assistance with waiving late fees, over-limit fees and finance charges, and customers can receive emergency credit line increases. For home loan and home equity loan customers, a 90-day moratorium has been activated.

American Express -- Allowing a one-month grace period and allowing people to exceed their credit limit by $1,000. They are also offering emergency replacement cards and emergency personal identification numbers.

Discover Card -- Discover Financial Services has committed "significant support for card members, merchants and others affected by the disaster," according to a representative.

Citibank/Citigroup -- Waiving interest and finance fees for three months. Working on business-specific initiatives, including deferred- and eliminated-interest and payments, elimination of fees, no foreclosures on mortgages and other solutions.

JP Morgan Chase Card Services -- Deferring payments for at least 30 days, waiving late and over-limit fees, and will not file any negative credit bureau reports for 90 days for affected cardholders. For home mortgages and home equity loans and lines of credit: deferred payments for up to 90 days, waived late fees for 90 days and will not file negative credit bureau reports for 90 days.

HSBC -- Waiving late, over-limit and cash advance fees for 30 days for affected cardholders. Instituted various programs designed to assist borrowers with mortgage payments.

Wells Fargo -- Home equity line of credit increases up to $25,000 for existing home-equity customers affected, offering extended term and deferred payments on a case-by-case basis. Offering payment deferrals on federal student loans.

Providian Financial Group -- Enacting disaster-relief measures for affected cardholders, stopping late and over-limit fees and finance charges, stabilizing accounts already in collections, and preventing accounts from entering collection. Hardship line increases will be offered on a case-by-case basis.