TNB Card Services has purchased the credit card portfolios of five more credit unions across the U.S., and is currently converting those card portfolios to TNB’s agent issuing program. The latest purchases bring the total number of programs TNB has purchased to more than 120 since it launched its agent issuing program in 2002.

TNB now owns the programs of Potelco United Credit Union in Pocatello, Idaho; BRECO Federal Credit Union in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Northern Tier Federal Credit Union in Minot, North Dakota; KEMBA Louisville Credit Union in Louisville, Kentucky; and Salmon Falls Community Credit Union in Somersworth, New Hampshire. TNB’s purchase of the five programs netted some 5,500 card accounts with nearly $7 million in outstanding balances.

The opportunity to give its credit cardholder members a rewards program was a key reason why Potelco United Credit Union decided to sell its card portfolio to TNB.

“We want to give our members a rewards program, which they have been asking about, yet we couldn’t afford to do it on our own,” said President Brian Osberg. “We liked what TNB had to offer and the fact that the company is credit union-owned.”

Osberg said the sale will make higher credit limits and varied rates available to Potelco cardholders, making the credit union’s card more attractive to them. Proceeds from the sale, he added, will go toward other loan products and help finance a fourth branch.

Potelco United Credit Union, now 70 years old, is community chartered to serve the eastern Idaho counties of Bannock, Bingham, and Bonneville, which include two of the state’s largest cities, Pocatello and Idaho Falls. With 8,700 members, the credit union has assets of $52 million.

BRECO Federal Credit Union had been thinking about selling its card program for a couple of
years, because it just couldn’t generate a competitive product, said Ronnie Stephens, president and CEO.

“We couldn’t offer low transfer rates, teaser rates, or high credit lines,” Stephens said, and as a result the card portfolio grew stagnant. “Compliance was also becoming a burden, making it difficult to manage the program in a manner in which we could also grow it.”

Stephens said members will benefit from TNB’s ability to offer broader and more competitive products. He added that because TNB is owned by credit unions, “that gave us a real comfort level from a non-compete standpoint. Also, we know they’ll treat our members the same way we do.”


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