"American Express offers deal to some" by Bloomberg News | February 24, 2009
NEW YORK - American Express Co., the largest US credit card company by purchases, is paying some cardholders $300 each to close accounts so the lender can reduce the risk of defaults as the recession deepens.
Oh, so the DEAL is for THEM, not you!!!
People who got the offer to "simplify" their finances must pay off their entire credit card balance by April 30, according to New York-based American Express. Enrolling in the program cancels a customer's account and may lead to forfeiture of reward points or rebates, the company said on its website.
The "deal" just keeps getting better, huh? So you can TAKE that $300 and GIVE IT RIGHT BACK TO THEM as they do you the FAVOR of cutting you off!!!
"What AmEx is trying to do is move to the front of the line in terms of getting paid back" by customers who owe debts to multiple lenders, said Michael Taiano, an analyst at Sandler O'Neill & Partners with a "hold" rating on the company. "They clearly grew loans faster than their competitors in the years leading up to this financial crisis."
Here's an idea: cut up that AmEx card and don't send any more payments.
Chief executive Kenneth Chenault is shedding customers as rivals reduce credit lines, raise interest rates, and cut back on mail solicitations to brace for future losses.
I thought they were supposed to be thawing the markets, not freezing them!
The industry's defaults are set to break records and may reach as high as 11 percent by year-end in a stress scenario, reducing American Express's annual profit by about 40 percent, according to Brian Foran, an analyst at Goldman Sachs Group.
Yeah, that's what this WHOLE THING is ABOUT: PROFIT!! And yet, the paper and MSM make it seem like AmEx is DOING YOU a FAVOR, huh?
"This is an offer we made to select cardmembers to incent them to help pay down their balance," said Molly Faust, an American Express spokeswoman. She declined to say how the company picked which customers qualify for the offer.
The DOUBLESPEAK is INCRDIBLE, is it not?
Consumers are falling behind on credit card payments....
And when BANKS aren't getting paid, that's an issue for the joomedia !
Fuck you and yours!!
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