New Bank Credit Card Originations Rise More than 28 Percent

New bankcard growth has returned, with year-over-year total originations (Feb. 2011 vs. Feb. 2010) up by more than 28 percent — according to Equifax’s April National Credit Trends Report.

Notable within the data is that lenders continue to expand the subprime category with Feb. 2011 subprime bankcard originations* up by more than 75 percent over Feb. 2010 numbers, and total new subprime bankcard credit up by more than 66 percent.

Total new bankcard credit limits increased by more than 27 percent YOY, reflective of the increase in total new bankcard volume. Other key findings:

• Individual new bankcard average credit limit decreased slightly from the previous year (Feb. 2011 average of $4,008 vs. Feb. 2010 average of $4,086)

• Average subprime bankcard credit limit has decreased slightly as well, from $1,025 (Feb. 2010) to $977 (Feb. 2011)

“The latest Equifax Credit Trends Report indicates a market reversal relative to bankcard originations,” said Michael Koukounas, Senior Vice President – Special Client Services for Equifax. “The industry experienced significant credit limit contraction of almost $1 trillion during the Great Recession, driven by aggressive risk management and high levels of inactive account closures. With the latest data, we are seeing some loosening of credit overall, particularly among subprime bankcard originations compared to this time last year.”

*defined as those with Equifax credit scores less than 660

Equifax is a global leader in commercial and consumer information solutions, leveraging one of the largest sources of business credit intelligence, portfolio management, income, employment and wealth verification, identity authentication/fraud detection and marketing demographic data worldwide. Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., Equifax Inc. spans four continents and 16 countries, is a member of Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500® Index and its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EFX.