A coworker of mine received a letter from Providian stating that her credit limit would be decreased by $250 to 4750, her current balance is 4800. She has never been over the previous limit of 5000, and she has always been on time for 3 years. Her account was never in default. Has this ever happened to anyone? Will she be charged over the limit fees due to this? Should she go the PlanetFeedback route?
The same thing happened to my girlfriend... on her getsmart card.. I am planetfeedbacking them right now... Kev
Hey. Providian is under pressure from regulators right now. I don't think you'll be getting that increase. Looks like you will be the new owner of a Household card soon. Providian Up on Talk Asset Sale Is Near Friday, January 11, 2002 By Lavonne Kuykendall Providian Financial Corp.â??s stock price rose Thursday on rumors that the troubled subprime credit card issuer was moving closer to a sale of some or all of its assets. A spokesman declined to discuss the rumors but said that a full report on the San Francisco companyâ??s progress would be available Jan. 31, when it releases quarterly and annual results. â??We are comfortable that we are making satisfactory progress on our strategic initiatives, including as they relate to liquidity,â? said the spokesman, Alan Elias. Providian announced in November that to improve its cash on hand it would seek to unload about $3 billion of its lowest-quality credit card loans. A few weeks later, when Joseph W. Saunders left FleetBoston Financial Corp. to become chief executive officer of Providian, he insisted that the company itself was not for sale. Since then rumors have surfaced that Providian, which is under pressure from regulators to turn itself around, has found itself forced to offer more of its portfolio for sale. Michael Auriemma, the president of Auriemma Consulting Group Inc. of Westbury, N.Y., said he has heard that the company may be selling $8 billion of receivables rather than just $3 billion. â??My understand is there is more than one piece of the portfolio for sale,â? he said, stressing that his knowledge of the matter was second-hand. Providianâ??s spokesman would not confirm or deny the amount. More than one source repeated rumors that Household International Inc. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. were among the companies looking into buying some or all of Providianâ??s receivables. Household did not return a call for comment, and Morgan Chase said it did not comment on rumors. â??It wouldnâ??t surprise meâ? if Providian must offer some better-quality receivables in addition to the worse ones, said Robert K. Hammer, the chairman and chief executive of R.K. Hammer Investment Bankers of Thousand Oaks, Calif., who brokers portfolio deals. â??That could be easily theorized. â??I have been in the same situation, where I have been selling the bottom tier of a portfolio and it was not attractive enough for the seller to get the price he needed, so he went up a couple of notches,â? Mr. Hammer said. â??And it works.â? Providianâ??s stock closed at $4.14 per share on Thursday, up 15%. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 1997-2000, American Banker, All Rights Reserved.
