DALLAS ? June 6, 2005 ? 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 60 portfolios since it began the agent issuer program in late 2002.
Selling their portfolios were Delaware First Federal Credit Union of Wilmington, Delaware; County Credit Union of Clayton, Missouri; Cosden Federal Credit Union of Big Spring, Texas; and Texas Health Resources Credit Union of Dallas. TNB Card Services is currently completing its conversion of the four portfolios.
?TNB had been doing the card processing for three of the four credit unions in this most recent round of purchases,? noted Glen Lee, first senior vice president, TNB Card Services. ?Their satisfaction with our services was key to their decisions to sell to us. They also have tremendous trust in TNB because we are, and always have been, owned and directed by credit unions.?
Delaware First Federal Credit Union of Wilmington, Delaware, serves all of New Castle County after being community chartered in 2003. The credit union was formed in 1961 to serve employees of a General Motors assembly plant in Wilmington. With 6,000 members, Delaware First Federal has $38 million in assets.
?Wilmington is pretty much a credit card capital,? President and CEO Sharon Schaeffer said, explaining why Delaware First decided to sell its card program. ?There are so many huge companies here, and they can offer so much on their cards that we can?t, because we?re too small.?
TNB was the only company considered for the sale, Schaeffer said, primarily because it had been doing such a good job as the credit union?s card processor for the past several years. ?I had already been through one conversion with them when we changed processors,? Schaeffer said of TNB. ?That was a smooth conversion and they handled it well, so I knew there would be no problems.?
County Credit Union of Clayton, Missouri, is 35 years old, and serves primarily the government employees of St. Louis County, as well as people who live and work in Clayton and an adjacent area. The credit union has 5,100 members and assets of more than $19 million.
County Credit Union had been considering selling its portfolio for several years, explained President Mike Fernandez, because of the difficulty in scaling the program to the point it could compete with national credit card issuers. The credit union?s board decided to sell to TNB for two primary reasons: TNB?s credit union ownership and a strong recommendation from another TNB agent client in the area.
?When we analyzed the total costs and revenues and netted it all down, we made more on the sale than the card portfolio earned in the last 15 years, or what it would have earned in the next five to 15 years,? Fernandez said. ?While TNB?s credit union ownership was the key, it was also important for us to be able to offer our members viable products to compete in today?s marketplace.?
Cosden Federal Credit Union in Big Spring, Texas, is a 65-year-old organization that began to serve what was then known as the Cosden Oil Refinery. It now serves everyone who lives and works in Howard County, in west Texas. Cosden has 4,300 members and assets of $21 million.
TNB had been the card processor for Cosden prior to buying the portfolio, which was a big factor in how smoothly and quickly the portfolio sale went, said CEO Manny Puga, who has been at the helm of Cosden since February.
?We are just too small to really compete in the credit card market,? said Puga, who led another credit union that sold its card program before he joined Cosden. ?It is time consuming for a credit union our size to handle a card portfolio. Now we can use our time and resources to do other things.?
Texas Health Resources Credit Union of Dallas began in 1969 serving Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas. It now serves employees of the parent company of Presbyterian and Harris hospitals along with a small community-chartered area in Dallas. The credit union has 4,200 members and assets of more than $15 million.
TNB was already doing card processing for Texas Health Resources, said Suzanne Chism, president and CEO of the credit union, which helped give TNB an edge over two other companies bidding on the card program. What clinched the deal for Texas Health Resources was TNB?s ownership by credit unions.
?I might have been able to make a little more money selling to someone else, but TNB is owned by credit unions and I felt strongly about staying dedicated to that philosophy,? Chism said. ?My focus wasn?t making the most money, but doing what is best for the members. They come first in every decision we make.? Now, she adds, members will see a wider range of credit card products and a ?superior? level of service.
Contact:
Jan Dailey, SVP, Marketing Manager
972-391-6191, jan.dailey@tnbcard.com
Kristine Tanzillo, Dux Public Relations
972-889-9577, kristine@duxpr.com
