In Brief: Nov. Card Chargeoffs Rose 12 Basis Points

Credit card chargeoffs rose in November, to 6.73% of outstandings from 6.61% in October, according to Standard & Poor's Corp.

The ratings agency, which tracks the performance of $230 billion of securitized receivables, said the November results were mixed: Chargeoffs increased at half the banks monitored and decreased at the other half.

Alison Emmerich, a Standard & Poor's analyst, said issuers typically reported "a lessening of bankruptcy-related losses in October, and they picked up in November."

Recent monthly fluctuations in chargeoff rates have been small but ominous, Ms. Emmerich said.

"It's relatively stable-but it's not getting better anymore."

Citicorp, the largest card issuer, had chargeoffs exceeding 6% in November, and the portfolio it agreed to acquire last week, AT&T Universal Card Services, came in at less than 5%, Ms. Emmerich said.

- Jennifer Kingson Bloom

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