TNB Card Services Acquires Four More Credit Union Card Portfolios

Its purchase of four more credit card programs demonstrates that the heated pace continues for credit unions seeking an outsourced solution for their credit card portfolios, TNB Card Services announced. With these latest acquisitions, TNB now owns and operates more than 125 credit union card portfolios.

TNB’s latest purchases are the portfolios of APEX Community Federal Credit Union of Stowe, Pennsylvania; NorthRidge Community Credit Union of Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota; West Virginia Central Credit Union of Parkersburg, West Virginia; and Westminster Federal Credit Union of Westminster, Colorado. The purchase of these four portfolios netted TNB more than $3.7 million in outstanding balances.

In selecting a buyer for its card program, APEX Community Federal Credit Union wanted a partner that had strong marketing capabilities, a rewards program, flexible rates, and the ability to offer its members a competitive card product. The credit union also looked for an issuer that would enable it to expand services by offering a business card and other products such as the MasterCard® Family AccountTM.

“TNB has 15 credit union presidents on its board of directors, so we knew our members would be in good hands,” said David Cocci, president and CEO of APEX Community Federal Credit Union. “We evaluated a number of issuers, but nobody could compete with TNB’s experience, knowledge, and credit union ownership.”

Apex Community Credit Union was established in 1949 and became a community chartered credit union about three years ago. It serves Berks, Chester, and Montgomery counties in Pennsylvania and has assets of $34 million.

For more than a year, NorthRidge Community Credit Union explored various options to grow its card program. In analyzing the risk, cost of insurance, and expense of the portfolio, the credit union concluded it wasn’t yielding enough income compared with the effort it was putting into managing it.

“A credit card is a must for our members,” said Don Werdick, CEO of NorthRidge Community Credit Union, “but having a profitable and competitive product was a challenge. We knew we had to invest in the program to make it more attractive. Selling the portfolio to TNB was our way of giving our members a stronger card they would be willing to use more often.”

NorthRidge Community Credit Union has assets of $34.5 million and owns an $18 million CUSO that provides health and life insurance, brokerage, investments, financial planning, and mortgage lending. It has branches in Hoyt Lakes, Biwabik, and Virginia, Minnesota, serving 6,190 credit union members and CUSO clients.

Serving more than 350 select employee groups throughout the state of West Virginia, West Virginia Central Credit Union has more than $57 million in assets and 16,000 members.

Selling the portfolio had been a topic of discussion within the credit union for several years. After rising bond rates and the TJX security breach last year, in which the credit union had to reissue several hundred credit card accounts, selling the card portfolio became a priority.

“We believe that credit cards are an integral product for our members,” said Mike Tucker, CEO of West Virginia Central Credit Union. “It was just getting more difficult to compete, coupled with the increased risk and expense associated with the latest security breaches. The program became more than what we wanted to manage.”

Not having a rewards program was also becoming an issue, Tucker said, adding, “We polled members and the number one reason they weren’t carrying our card was because we didn’t offer rewards. Now that we’ve partnered with TNB, our members will get their reward program.”

Westminster Federal Credit Union has been in existence for 47 years. The federally chartered credit union has two locations to serve the growing Denver suburb of Westminster.

Westminster is an affluent community, so the members of the credit union have a choice in the credit card that they carry, explains the credit union’s CEO, John Burke. “Our goal has been to offer a product our members can’t refuse to carry. While our card program was profitable, the investment we could make to grow the portfolio was limited, which prohibited us from expanding the card features we could offer,” Burke said.

“TNB has deeper pockets, dedicated resources, and a wealth of knowledge to strengthen and grow our card portfolio. Our members have already benefited from the partnership with TNB through increased credit lines and more competitive rates.”