NEW YORK — At a time when a newly Democrat-controlled Congress seems poised to take on a searching and critical review of major card issuers' card account management practices, Citigroup, a leader in the industry, has announced that it is abandoning one of the most controversial procedures.

So-called "universal default" is the practice of increasing interest rates for individual cardholders if they pay late on bills from other creditors. Citi said that it had allowed cardholders in the past to "opt out" of this procedure, but now it is eliminating the practice altogether.

A company press release also said that it would abandon the practice of changing the rates and fees on card accounts "at any time and for any reason." Now the company will change the rate on general cards with up to date payments only when the card renews, Citi said. Cards whose rates are tied to the prime interest rate will continue to see their card rates rise and fall with the prime, the company added.