RIVERWOODS, Ill. – Discover Financial Services on Tuesday reported a 55% decline in third quarter earnings to $260.6 million, from last year’s $577.5 million, which included a $287 million gain from the company’s antitrust settlements with MasterCard and Visa.
The company’s Payment Services division processed a record $39 billion in transactions as Discover card sales volume rose 5% on an annualized basis to $24 billion. Write-offs for loans deemed uncollectible fell $102 million from the second quarter as Discover released $187 million from an account to cover future loan losses.
The company, which owns the PULSE EFT network, last week agreed to buy Citigroup’s Student Loan Corp. in a $600 million deal that would make Discover the third-biggest U.S. provider of private student loans.
