CREDIT-UNION PORTFOLIO SALES STRONG

Card Wire

January 8, 2004

Sales of credit-union credit card portfolios for 2003's first nine months ran well ahead of last year's pace, according to Peterborough, NH-based broker and credit-union financial advisory firm Brookwood Capital. Through Sept. 30, 43 credit unions with card portfolios of more than $1 million in receivables sold their programs, according to Brookwood, which obtained its figures by examining regulatory filings. Total balances sold were $268 million, with the largest single portfolio having just over $30 million in receivables and six exceeding $10 million. For all of 2002, credit unions sold 41 portfolios with over $1 million in outstandings, representing $285 million in balances. The average size of a portfolio sold in 2003 is $6.2 million, down from $6.9 million in 2002. Brookwood did not have detailed figures about premiums paid above the face value of the receivables, but Managing Partner Tim Kolk nonetheless says buyers are opening their wallets. "We're seeing the highest premiums we've ever seen, several over 20%," Kolk tells CardLine today. According to Brookwood, the leading buyers in 2003 are Atlanta-based InfiCorp Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of Omaha-based First National of Nebraska, Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp's Elan card unit, and Wilmington, DE-based affinity card leader MBNA Corp.

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