Asset Quality
Credit Card Loans
Also known as Credit Cards
Credit Card Loans are unsecured revolving consumer loans accessed via a card network (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover). The asset class generates the highest yields and highest charge-off rates of any major US bank product.
Formula
Credit Card Loans include all balances on consumer credit card accounts, whether transactor balances that are paid off monthly or revolving balances that carry forward. Some banks include private-label cards (store cards serviced by the bank); others report them separately.
Why it matters
Credit cards are the highest-yielding major bank asset (15-25% APR on revolving balances) and the highest-loss asset (3-7% annualized charge-offs in normal times, 6-10%+ in recessions). The economics depend on a small set of dominant issuers: Chase, Capital One, Citi, Bank of America, Amex, Discover, and Wells Fargo together hold over 70% of US credit-card receivables.
How to interpret
For most community and regional banks, credit-card loans are zero or trivial. Credit-card loans above 5% of total loans indicates a meaningful card business; above 30% indicates the bank is a card-led institution (Capital One, Synchrony, Discover).
Thresholds
| Range | Label | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| 0–5% of loans | Light | Typical for non-card banks. |
| 5–15% | Active | Established card business; not core. |
| 15–30% | Major | Card-focused bank within a diversified portfolio. |
| > 30% | Card-led | Card-dominant business model. |
Worked example
Frequently asked
Why are credit-card charge-offs so much higher than other lending?
Because the loans are unsecured. There is no collateral to repossess on default — the lender's recovery is whatever it can collect from the borrower's other resources. The high yield is the compensation for this loss profile.
Are credit-card loans risk-weighted higher?
Yes. Under Basel III standardized approach, credit-card loans receive a 100% risk weight versus 50% for residential mortgages — recognizing both the unsecured nature and historical loss rate.
How did the 2024 CFPB credit-card late-fee rule affect issuers?
The rule capped late fees at $8 (down from $32 average) for the largest issuers. Issuers responded with annual-fee increases, APR increases, and tighter underwriting for newer customers. The full earnings impact phased in through 2025.
Sources
- FFIEC Call Report Schedule RC-C, Line 6.a
- Federal Reserve G.19 — Consumer Credit Outstanding
See Credit Cards across 4,335 US banks
BankRegReports ranks every FDIC-insured institution by Credit Cards, refreshed quarterly within 48 hours of FFIEC release.