PETERBOROUGH, N.H. – Two more credit unions sold their credit card portfolios in the third quarter.
Year-to-date, of the nearly 2,200 credit unions with credit card programs with balances of $1 million or more, a total of seven sold their portfolios through the end of the third quarter, according to TRK Advisors. Total credit card balances for this quarter’s sales were $23 million and year-to-date sold receivables now total $85 million within the credit union market, the company said.
TRK Advisors said its expectations are that this year will finish with total sales of more than $100 million for the first time since 2009. Sales volumes are expected to remain below the high water marks of 2004-2007 when more than 60 portfolios per year were sold. It is uncertain if sales will rebound further from current levels.
“Though improving purchase prices are not approaching levels seen pre-recession and are not expected to return to those levels in the foreseeable future,” TRK Advisors said. “To help maximize their returns, some sellers have had success improving their sale prices by aggressively negotiating third party brokerage commissions and retain more of the buyer’s purchase offer instead of accepting industry standard commissions. Whether this will result in a wholesale realignment of the portfolio brokerage business remains to be seen.”
