PORTLAND, Ore., Aug. 20, 2008 – AssetExchange, the credit union community’s leading credit card portfolio advisory and brokerage firm, has analyzed 2nd quarter 2008 credit union credit card portfolio trends.

For the roughly 2,100 credit unions with credit card portfolios of $1 million and larger:

•   Credit union credit card assets grew 14% between June 2007 and June 2008 to $30.1 billion, more than twice the growth rate of total credit union assets. Card accounts grew about 3% over the same period.

•   The percentage of portfolios that grew more than the rate of inflation during the previous 12 months increased from 71% in June 2007 to 76% in June 2008.

•   Total card assets for portfolios over $1 million continued to increase as a percentage of total assets, increasing from 4.49% in June 2007 to 4.80% in June 2008.

•   The average balance per account increased 10% from June 2007 to June 2008 to $2,509.

•   A preliminary analysis indicates five credit unions with portfolios greater than $1 million sold their portfolios in the 2nd quarter of 2008 with about $20.5 million in combined balances. In the 2nd quarter of 2007, 21 credit unions sold their portfolios representing $132 million in balances.

Data provided in this press release is for credit card portfolios larger than $1 million in each time period and is based on NCUA call report data.  Inflation values are from the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (5.02% between June 2007 and June 2008).