Credit card companies post profits despite new regulations

Card companies had initially suffered various setbacks due to the new regulatory laws that took effect recently. As per the new laws that had been passed there were restrictions with regard to the fees being charged (by the issuers) every time the consumer uses the card to make a purchase or a transaction. Investors have kept a close watch and are monitoring the situation as companies make adjustments to the new regulations. Consumer borrowing patterns have declined sharply, the new regulations seem to have adversely affected the card companies, and hence the companies have had to develop new avenues to regain lost revenue.

There were another lot of hurdles for the credit card industry from the Justice Department earlier this month. A suit had been filed earlier this month, by the Justice Department against MasterCard, Visa, and AmEx accusing them of breaching the antitrust laws. While MasterCard and Visa agreed to settle the issue and abide by the rules that were laid down, AmEx decided to battle it out in court as it had a different standpoint on the whole issue.

While the Justice Department claimed that the card companies had prevented merchants from promoting the usage of cheaper cards as well as other forms of payment while offering discounts to the customers who do so, Visa as well as MasterCard agreed to allow merchants and retailers to promote cheaper cards and other modes of payments and avail discounts.

The Bedford Report (an independent research portal) offers its market analysis reports and regular updates with regard to the credit card industry, in order to facilitate investors to make the right choice. This enables investors to make informed decisions and plan investments in order to maximize the returns on their investment.

Based on the analyst research provided by the Bedford Report the focus is on the value, growth opportunities, as well as the potential returns. It constantly updates the information by creating newsletters as well as research reports, for the benefit of the investors. However, one has to proceed with caution as all investments entail certain risks that are inherent and cannot be avoided. It also examines the outlook of companies in the credit card industry and provides information based on its research (Capital One Financial Corp, MasterCard etc). COF announced an $803 million third quarter earnings and a share price of $1.76 per share and a net income of around $394 million and claimed the profits earned were due to the decline in the credit card delinquencies.