TNB Card Services Buys Four Credit Card Portfolios From Credit Unions In Iowa, Idaho, Texas

DALLAS ? TNB Card Services has purchased the credit card portfolios of four more credit unions in three states, and will operate those card programs through its agent issuer organization. TNB has bought more than 55 portfolios since it began the agent issuer program in late 2002.

Selling their portfolios were Best of Iowa Credit Union in Iowa, Advantage Plus Federal Credit Union in Idaho, and Bluebonnet Federal Credit Union and Texas Federal Credit Union, both in Texas. TNB Card Services is currently converting the portfolios.

?Beyond the trust that these credit unions place in TNB because we are owned and directed by credit unions, they are choosing us because we offer a fair price,? said Rollie Penn, executive vice president, TNB Card Services. ?They are also getting excellent references from other clients regarding the benefits their cardholder members will get with TNB operating the card program. Among these are enhanced card products, better interest rates, and unparalleled customer service.?

Best of Iowa Community Credit Union, headquartered in Hiawatha, began in 1956 as the Light Company Employees Credit Union, serving what was then Iowa Electric. It went to a community charter in 1995, and now serves anyone who lives or works in Linn County or neighboring counties. Best of Iowa has 4,700 members and assets of $33 million.

Initially reluctant to give up control of the portfolio, Best of Iowa reconsidered over time as delinquencies and bankruptcies reduced the portfolio?s profitability, explained Stan Younce, president and CEO. The credit union selected TNB as its portfolio buyer because it offered a fair price, won?t attempt to cross-sell competing products to Best of Iowa members, and because TNB is owned and directed by credit unions, Younce said.

?TNB has good products and has shown itself to be easy to work with,? Younce said. ?With them managing the portfolio, we can concentrate on other areas of lending. TNB will be out there promoting a card that is still offered under our name, and we continue to get royalties. All these things made the sale attractive.?

Advantage Plus Federal Credit Union of Pocatello, Idaho, began in 1953 as FMC Federal Employees Credit Union. Community chartered in 2000, it extends membership to those who live, work, worship, or attend school in Bannock, Power, Caribou, and Bear Lake counties in Idaho. The credit union, with 8,300 members and assets of $60 million, has a total of five branches.

Jarod Brown, vice president of lending, said Advantage Plus chose to sell its portfolio because it didn?t have the ?economies of scale? needed to compete with large issuers and give members all the benefits they would like in a credit card program. The credit union evaluated two potential buyers before choosing TNB.

?The biggest factor in TNB?s favor was the fact they are credit union owned,? Brown said. ?That assured us that they would help carry through what we stand for.?

Bluebonnet Federal Credit Union in Houston, Texas, was founded in 1935 as Gulf Oil Employees Credit Union. It now covers a variety of employee groups, mostly in the oil and gas industry, as well as people who live and work in downtown Houston and in the section of Houston known as The Heights. Bluebonnet has 13,000 members and assets of $70 million, and serves members through three branches in Houston and one in Baytown, Texas.

President and CEO Charles Maguire said Bluebonnet Federal Credit Union chose TNB as its portfolio buyer from among three potential buyers, in part because of the successful long-term relationship the credit union had with TNB as its processor.

?They offered a good price, and because we were already a processing client, we thought the conversion process would be more transparent,? Maguire explained. ?Also, we consider TNB part of the credit union movement, since it is wholly owned and run by credit unions.?

Texas Federal Credit Union, based in Dallas, has been in operation since 1947. It serves employees of federal, state, and local government agencies and their family members. The credit union, a longtime processing client of TNB, has assets of more than $55 million and nearly 18,000 members, with offices in Dallas, Longview, and DeSoto, Texas.

“TNB has provided our staff and our members with over 16 years of quality service. There was no question when TFCU decided to sell our portfolio that TNB’s staff and vision for service were the answer,” said Sandy Smith, president and CEO.