[1] Beginning with the deregulation of financial services in the mid-1990s, credit card companies began to include universal default language in their cardholder agreements.
By the mid-2000s, approximately half of all US credit card-issuing banks had universal default language, albeit with most not enforcing them regularly or systematically.
By 2003, Congress began to consider bills to curb universal default and other abusive credit card practices.
The Bush administration followed suit, with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issuing a stern advisory letter to the credit card industry regarding practices including universal default.
[1] Under the theory and practice of risk-based pricing, the interest rate of the loan should reflect the risk of the borrower to avoid subsidizing those who default at the expense of those who always pay on time (or alternatively, to allow loans to be given to a broader range of customers, with a broad range of credit history).