Despite various warnings, many young adults feel empowered by credit card and student loan debt, suggests a recent national study by a team of sociology researchers examining the connection between debt and self-esteem.

The average consumer credit card default rate for most large issuers declined again in May, likely bringing the charge-off rate close to 7%, suggest preliminary data from Moody’s Investors Service.

Regions Financial Corp. may not be the only bank planning to buy back its credit card portfolio now that the worst of the recession’s damage is receding, according to one expert who tracks credit card portfolio sales.

The twin effects of lenders keeping a tight rein on credit card lines and consumers borrowing less with cards in April drove the average card-account default rate down to levels not seen since February 2009, according data Fitch Ratings released Friday.

GE Capital Retail Finance and Alliance Data Systems Corp. on May 24 each announced extensions to long-term proprietary card programs.

The average U.S. consumer credit card charge-off rate fell again in April, underscoring a noteworthy decoupling of the unemployment rate and the number of credit card accounts lenders deem uncollectible, Moody’s Investors Service said in a May 23 report.

In another sign that U.S. consumer credit card issuers are beginning to see some new-account growth following the recession, Equifax Inc. on May 20 reported new bankcard accounts in February were up 28% compared with a year earlier.

Dramatic reductions in credit card bad-debt and total expenses, plus gains in customer use of private-label cards within its stores driven by a 5% rewards discount launched in October, helped boost fiscal first quarter profitability within Target Corp.’s Credit Card segment.

The average U.S. credit card charge-off rate in April likely fell again as it headed toward historic lows, suggest preliminary monthly account-default data from the nation’s top credit card issuers Moody’s Investors Service analyzed.

Consumer demand for credit is rising just as credit card issuers are relaxing their lending criteria, making way for new opportunities in credit card marketing, according to Federal Reserve Board data cited in a Tower Group report “Business Strategies for Credit Card Issuers to Address New Regulation and Increase Profits”.

The steady decline in credit card charge-offs that continued through the first quarter helped make issuers’ earnings look good, but that trend cannot continue forever, Fitch Ratings Inc. warned in a May 6 special report.

Borrowing on credit cards is close to bottoming out, according to lenders, but the nation's biggest players have had to cede market share during the sharpest contraction in the industry's history. Now they are increasingly fighting for the same kinds of customers.

Citing convenience and low interest rates, many credit cardholders prefer to leave a balance on one or more credit cards and accept revolving as a way of life, and this is helping issuers to generate more interest income, new research suggests.

Combining targeted online marketing with social media, Discover Financial Services will begin paying a $50 bounty during the first week of May for each referral who becomes a cardholder, according to a company executive.

Capital Access Network Inc.'s (CAN) Data Services Division reports that the nation’s "Main Street" brick-and-mortar retailers and service providers experienced a 3.09% decline in same store credit and signature debit card sales in Q1 2011 as compared to Q1 2010.

The average charge-off rate on U.S. consumer credit cards fell in March, resuming its general trend of improvement after a slight uptick in February, and account-delinquencies also declined, according to new data Moody’s Investors Service released April 25.

American Express Co. earned first quarter net income of $1.2 billion, up 35.6% from $885 million during the same period in 2010. Total revenues net of interest expense rose 6.1%, to $7 billion from $6.6 billion, the company announced April 20.

As the average credit card charge-off rate has declined sharply over the past six months, so has demand for collection agencies’ services.

Early data show consumers survived the holidays with less financial distress than in previous few years, and the average U.S. credit card charge-off rate for most major issuers is on track to decline for at least the next few months, according to analysts at Moody’s Investors Service.

Citing increased consumer spending and improving economic conditions, Bank of America Corp.’s Global Card Services unit posted a sharp profit-increase during the first quarter ended March 31.