8-KRegulation FD

AMERICAN EXPRESS CO 8-K Report, Regulation FD Disclosure (May 15, 2018)

Filed May 15, 2018For Securities:AXP

Summary

This 8-K filing from American Express (AXP) provides updated delinquency and write-off statistics for its U.S. Consumer Services (USCS) and U.S. Small Business Card Member lending portfolios, as well as for the American Express Credit Account Master Trust, for the months ending February 28, March 31, and April 30, 2018. Investors should note that while the USCS and U.S. Small Business portfolios include all securitized and non-securitized loans, the Lending Trust's statistics are based only on securitized loans and may differ due to various factors. The data indicates relatively stable credit performance across both the consumer and small business segments through April 2018. Delinquency rates are holding steady or slightly improving, and write-off rates remain within a manageable range, suggesting continued credit quality control by American Express despite varying loan portfolio compositions.

Key Highlights

  • 1Provides updated delinquency and net write-off rate statistics for U.S. Consumer Services and U.S. Small Business lending portfolios for February, March, and April 2018.
  • 2Delinquency rates for U.S. Consumer Services loans remained at 1.3% or 1.4% of total loans for the period.
  • 3Net write-off rate (principal only) for U.S. Consumer Services loans was 2.3% in April 2018, a slight increase from 2.2% in prior months.
  • 4Delinquency rates for U.S. Small Business loans trended downwards from 1.4% in February to 1.2% in April 2018.
  • 5Net write-off rate (principal only) for U.S. Small Business loans increased from 1.7% in February to 1.9% in April 2018.
  • 6Presents credit performance data for the American Express Credit Account Master Trust, including annualized default rates net of recoveries ranging from 1.6% to 1.8%.
  • 7Clarifies that the Lending Trust statistics are for securitized loans only and may differ from the total USCS and U.S. Small Business loan portfolios.

Frequently Asked Questions

The main purpose of this 8-K filing is to provide investors with updated statistics on the credit performance of American Express's U.S. Consumer Services and U.S. Small Business loan portfolios, specifically focusing on delinquency and write-off rates for the months of February, March, and April 2018. It also includes data for the American Express Credit Account Master Trust.

For the U.S. Consumer Services portfolio, the 30-day delinquency rate was stable at 1.3%-1.4%, while the net write-off rate increased slightly to 2.3% in April 2018. For the U.S. Small Business portfolio, the 30-day delinquency rate showed a slight improvement, decreasing from 1.4% to 1.2%, but the net write-off rate increased from 1.7% to 1.9% over the period.

The filing explicitly states that the Lending Trust statistics pertain only to securitized Card Member loans, while the U.S. Consumer Services and U.S. Small Business statistics encompass both securitized and non-securitized loans. Differences in loan mix, vintage, aging, and calculation methodologies for write-off rates (average vs. end-of-period balances) can lead to variations between the reported figures for the Lending Trust and the broader portfolios.

For the American Express Credit Account Master Trust, the ending total principal balance was around $23.2 billion in April 2018. The annualized default rate, net of recoveries, ranged between 1.6% and 1.8% during the reported months. The total amount of loans 30+ days delinquent was $0.2 billion or $0.3 billion.