PORTLAND, Ore., February 25, 2004 (Revised March 9, 2004)– AssetExchange, the leading independent credit card brokerage firm for credit unions, has compiled data about credit union credit card portfolio trends through year-end 2003. Findings are based on NCUA call reports and the company’s observations.

For the roughly 2,300 credit unions with credit card portfolios of $1 million and larger:

• 55% of these credit union portfolios declined in size in 2003.
• Growth among larger portfolios offset the shrinkage experienced by the majority, resulting in an overall increase of credit card assets by about 4%. 
• Total assets (including credit cards) among credit unions with card portfolios larger than $1 million increased by about 12% in 2003. Credit cards, as a percentage of total credit union assets, declined from an average of 4.6% in 2002 to 4.3% in 2003.
• Average charge offs increased from 1.9% in 2002 to 2.1% in 2003.
• The fraction of credit union members with their credit union’s credit card declined to 19.0% in 2003 from 19.3% in 2002.
• About 70 credit union credit card portfolios over $1 million were sold in 2003, 12 of which were larger than $10,000,000.  Over 100 portfolios of less than $1 million were sold or terminated. 

About AssetExchange
AssetExchange is a leading credit card portfolio brokerage firm for credit unions and other financial institutions. Services include credit card portfolio brokerage, free performance assessments and market valuations, and best practices consulting. We bring multiple, competitive offers from all interested portfolio buyers so that credit unions have the best prices, terms and partnership options to consider when outsourcing their credit card products. For additional information, please visit www.AssetExchange.com or call (503) 220-0007.