Saturday, December 15, 2012

BAC, Amex Echo JP Morgan’s Credit Card Optimism

A day after JP Morgan Chase (JPM) signaled credit card defaults are set to decline going forward, American Express (AXP) and Bank of America (BAC) both reported improving trends

Amex said delinquencies 30 days past due fell from 3.6% of outstanding loans in March to 3.3%, the company said in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, while charge-offs rose to 7.5% from February’s 7.4%. Charge-offs for the quarter as a whole were at 7.2%, according to a preliminary estimate, which compares to favorably to the 8% level at the end of Q4, and 9.8% in Q3.

The rise in charge-offs in the month was consistent with AMEX’s previous comments, and the company said that based on current trends in past-due accounts, recoveries, and bankruptcies, it expects charge-offs to fall in Q2.

Bank of America, meanwhile, said charge-offs fell to 12.5% from 13.5% in February. Delinquencies dropped, as well, to 7.1% from 7.23%, the company said.

The announcement by BAC comes the day before the bank is to report Q1 earnings, before the bell on Friday.

BAC shares today are up 16 cents, or 0.8%, at $19.56, while Amex is down 12 cents at $46.34.

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