Summary
This 8-K filing from American Express (AXP) provides updated delinquency and write-off statistics for its U.S. Card Services (USCS) operating segment for the months of November and December 2014, and January 2015. The data primarily focuses on the Card Member lending portfolio. Investors should note that while overall 30-day delinquency rates remained stable at 1.0% of total loans, there was a slight fluctuation in net write-off rates. Of particular importance to investors is the disclosed change in charge-off timing for certain modified loans, moving from 180 days past due to 120 days past due starting January 2015. This change, if excluded, would have kept the January 2015 net write-off rate at 1.3% instead of the reported 1.4%. The filing also includes similar statistics for the American Express Credit Account Master Trust, which may differ from the total USCS portfolio due to variations in loan characteristics and reporting methodologies.
Key Highlights
- 1Stable 30-day delinquency rate of 1.0% for the USCS Card Member lending portfolio across November 2014, December 2014, and January 2015.
- 2Net write-off rate (principal only) for USCS was 1.4% in November 2014, 1.3% in December 2014, and 1.4% in January 2015.
- 3Change in charge-off timing policy for certain modified loans from 180 to 120 days past due, effective January 2015.
- 4Excluding the timing change, the January 2015 USCS net write-off rate would have remained at 1.3%.
- 5Total loans in the USCS Card Member lending portfolio saw a slight increase from $59.9 billion in November 2014 to $62.6 billion in December 2014, before decreasing to $60.4 billion in January 2015.
- 6Credit performance data for the American Express Credit Account Master Trust is also provided, showing consistent annualized default rates.
- 7The reported statistics include both securitized and non-securitized Card Member loans within the USCS total portfolio.