Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Advanta and Charge Offs

In a story that I believe was underreported yesterday, the nation’s 11th largest credit card issuer, Advanta (ADVNB), announced it will be suspending all credit card charges on outstanding credit cards as of June 10th in order to “dramatically limit the company’s credit loss exposure and maximize its capital and its liquidity measures.”

As of March 31st, Advanta’s charge-off rate stood at 20%.

The credit card freeze will affect all of Advanta’s almost one million existing small business credit card accounts. While Advanta does not offer personal credit cards, all of the small business accounts are backed by personal guarantees. Given that approximately 25% of the outstanding balances on Advanta’s credit cards are from small businesses in California and Florida, there is a strong possibility that the rising charge-off rate is related to declining real estate values – and that many of Advanta’s small business accounts were sole proprietors using their card ostensibly as consumer credit cards, yet with higher credit lines.

Advanta’s announcement comes less than a week after two other credit card companies, American Express (AXP) and Capital One (COF), passed the government’s stress test and were deemed sufficiently capitalized so as not to be required to raise any additional capital.

2 comments:

Eric said...

if AXP gets turned on its ear, the entirety of the stress tests could end up hurting more than helping. credit companies are in trouble. i like MA and V

Anonymous said...

Love the blog structure!

DISCLAIMER: "VIX®" is a trademark of Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated. Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated is not affiliated with this website or this website's owner's or operators. CBOE assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness or any other aspect of any content posted on this website by its operator or any third party. All content on this site is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not intended as advice to buy or sell any securities. Stocks are difficult to trade; options are even harder. When it comes to VIX derivatives, don't fall into the trap of thinking that just because you can ride a horse, you can ride an alligator. Please do your own homework and accept full responsibility for any investment decisions you make. No content on this site can be used for commercial purposes without the prior written permission of the author. Copyright © 2007-2023 Bill Luby. All rights reserved.
 
Web Analytics