Providian Sells Entire Card Receivables Porfolio Valued at $859 million August 4, 2003 â?? SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Providian Financial Corporation (NYSE: PVN) today announced that it has closed on the sale of a portfolio of approximately 435,000 credit card accounts with $859 million in outstanding balances. The loans receivable, which represent substantially all of the credit card loans currently owned by the Company's Providian Bank subsidiary, have been purchased by a joint venture formed by CompuCredit Corporation and Merrill Lynch. "As we stated in our recent earnings announcement, the sale of this portfolio is consistent with our efforts to prudently manage the performance and asset quality of the Company's legacy loan portfolio as we continue the repositioning of Providian Financial," said Joseph Saunders, Providian's chairman and chief executive officer. "This sale further lowers the risk profile of the Company and enhances our operational infrastructure." In anticipation of the sale, the Company had previously classified the portfolio as loans held for sale on its balance sheet and posted an after-tax charge of approximately $8 million, which was reflected in its second quarter earnings. The Company expects to transfer servicing of the portfolio by mid-August. About Providian San Francisco-based Providian Financial is a leading provider of credit cards and deposit products to customers throughout the U.S. By combining experience, analysis, technology and outstanding customer service, Providian seeks to build long-lasting relationships with its customers by providing products and services that meet their evolving financial needs.
CompuCredit are the nice people who brought you the eMerge card. Check out this link to see what kind of a $crewing you are in for. It isn't pretty. http://www.cardoffers.com/reviews/cardholders/posted/card.asp?idmin=12297
Thanks for posting this. I went to providian.com and read the transcripts from the Q2 conference call and if I read it correctly, there are two credit-card issuing branches of Providian Financial. One is Providian National Bank and one is just Providian Bank. According to the transcript and the press release the majority of the accounts held by the Providian Bank subsidiary were sold. Evidently the Providian Bank carries a higher risk ratio. My interpretation was those accounts issued by Providian National Bank were not part of the package. The reason I'm so curious is because my husband and I each have a Visa with Providian and I don't want to deal with Compucredit. I looked at our statements and it states that the card is issued by Providian National Bank. So I would think(and hope!) that I am 'safe' from this sale. Do you know much more about the structure of the two banks within Providian Financial?
Emerge pay that dog off if you can fast. Providian sold one of my accounts to Emerge the last time but not before they jacked the rate. Only time I ever got jacked and it was a perfect account.
You always get screwed when one co. sells to another it seems. I got it about 6 years ago. I had a PNC card with about $7500 on it and they sold about 600,000 accts to Direct Merchants Bank. I immediately got the shaft. I had a perfect history for 2+ yrs and they jacked my rate from 12.9 to 23.99 after the sell off.
Re: Re: Screwing in store at Providian My "PERFECTLY PAID" HOUSEHOLD M/C was sold to FLEET...they IMMEDIATELY "JACKED" it to like 24% DEFAULT RATE...I called about 5 times before they would listen to me...IT WAS CLOSED BEFORE THEY BOUGHT THE ACCOUNT...HOUSEHOLD SOLD IT IN A CLOSED STATE...AND IT WAS SOLD WITH A CONDITION IT STAYED AT PRIME -0.25% I never did get all my OVER-CHARGED interest back...I EVEN DID THE MATH FOR THEM!!! I DREW THEM A PICTURE!!! I SENT COPIES OF THE PAPERWORK THAT NOTHING WOULD CHANGE!!! After a 6 month FIGHT...I ended up paying them off with a HIGHER INTEREST RATE CARD...IT WAS JUST NOT WORTH THE HASSLE!!!
Re: Re: Screwing in store at Providian I have a Providian Visa. My old card, which expired 08/01/03, says that it is issued by Providian National Bank, Tilton, NH. My new card, which says good thru 07/03 to 08/06 (see the overlapping?) says on the back that it is issued by Providian National Bank, Tilton, NH, or Prividian Bank, Salt Lake city, UT. One thing that is different about my card is the last three numbers (that security code that you are asked for sometimes). It WAS 571 but NOW is 921. Hmmm...... OK..the 1-800 number on OLD CARD is 1-800-488-8690, but the NEW CARD is 1-800-356-0011. I pay my account on time dammit! Well...the only time that I didn't was when I paid my December payment TOO EARLY. Yep, that's what they said! Also, recently, my payment was due on a Sunday. I've always paid my account online, right? Well, when I went to pay online, the computer wouldn't accept my date and posted it to Monday instead of Sunday. SO...if you don't accept payments on Sunday, how can you expect that date to be a due date?! Only at Providian... Also, under the URGENT! call to activate sticker, my new card says Providian Visa Gold. Holy sh*t! I have a Gold Card with 23.99% (yep, they lowered it back from 29.99% a few months ago), and a credit limit of $300 (original limit). I feel so special.....
Re: Re: Screwing in store at Providian I just checked my Providian statement and it says issued by Providian Bank, Salt Lake City, UT. I hope that I'm not in the sell-off package as this is my oldest TL (1996). I have never been late, OTL or otherwise. It's Platinum, 11% APR, grace period and 12k limit. I would hate to close it (I do have a 0 balance) but I would not want to go thru that Emerge hell I have read so much about. I guess I will find out soon enough. Greg
Re: Re: Screwing in store at Providian My card is also issued by Providian National Bank. Howver, I realized recently my card was "converted" from one of those smart chip cards to a Visa Gold. Hmmmmmmmmm. When my new card came in it was no longer a smart chip card.
Re: Re: Screwing in store at Providian my dh's card as well, they said the smart chip wasn't so smart!!
Re: Re: Screwing in store at Providian I haven't heard anything from Providian and I can still access our accounts via the web site so I'm thinking that they weren't sold. I'd read on another board where people had already received letters that theirs were sold and when they called providian customer service, providian didn't have access to their accounts anymore. *whew*
