8-KRegulation FD

AMERICAN EXPRESS CO 8-K Report, Regulation FD Disclosure (Apr 15, 2022)

Filed April 15, 2022For Securities:AXP

Summary

This 8-K filing from American Express (AXP) provides preliminary credit performance statistics for its U.S. Consumer and U.S. Small Business Card Member lending portfolios for the periods ending January 31, February 28, and March 31, 2022, as well as the three months ended March 31, 2022. The report focuses on delinquency and write-off rates, offering insights into the credit quality of the company's loan portfolios. Overall, the data indicates stable and relatively low delinquency and net write-off rates for both consumer and small business segments during the first quarter of 2022. The total outstanding U.S. Consumer and U.S. Small Business Card Member loans showed a consistent increase throughout the period. Investors can use this information to assess potential credit risk and the company's ability to manage its loan portfolio effectively in the prevailing economic environment.

Key Highlights

  • 1Preliminary delinquency and write-off statistics for U.S. Consumer and U.S. Small Business Card Member lending portfolios are provided for Q1 2022.
  • 2Total U.S. Consumer and U.S. Small Business Card Member loans increased from $73.2 billion in January to $77.2 billion by March 2022.
  • 3The 30-day past due rate for U.S. Consumer Card Member loans remained stable at 0.8% across the reported months.
  • 4The net write-off rate for U.S. Consumer Card Member loans (principal only) was 0.8% for the three months ended March 31, 2022, showing slight variation from month to month (0.7%-0.9%).
  • 5The 30-day past due rate for U.S. Small Business Card Member loans was consistently at or below 0.6% for the reported periods.
  • 6The net write-off rate for U.S. Small Business Card Member loans (principal only) was 0.6% for the three months ended March 31, 2022, with monthly rates ranging from 0.5% to 0.7%.
  • 7Separate data is provided for the American Express Credit Account Master Trust, showing its credit performance metrics like annualized default rate and 30+ days delinquent amounts.

Frequently Asked Questions

The filing reports preliminary statistics on '30 days past due loans as a % of total' and 'Net write-off rate – principal only' for both the U.S. Consumer and U.S. Small Business Card Member lending portfolios. It also provides 'Defaulted amount' and 'Annualized default rate, net of recoveries' for the American Express Credit Account Master Trust.

Delinquency rates remained stable. The 30-day past due rate for U.S. Consumer Card Member loans was consistently 0.8%, and for U.S. Small Business Card Member loans, it was 0.6% for January and February, and 0.6% for March. The three-month average was also 0.8% for consumer and 0.6% for small business.

Net write-off rates for principal only remained relatively low and stable. For U.S. Consumer loans, the quarterly rate was 0.8%, with monthly rates fluctuating between 0.7% and 0.9%. For U.S. Small Business loans, the quarterly rate was 0.6%, with monthly rates ranging from 0.5% to 0.7%.

The filing notes that the Card Member loans securitized through the Lending Trust do not have identical characteristics to the total U.S. Consumer or U.S. Small Business Card Member loan portfolios. Differences in loan mix, vintage, aging, and calculation methodologies (e.g., end-of-period vs. average loan balances for write-off rates) can lead to variations in reported credit performance between the overall portfolios and the securitized trust.