WILMINGTON, Del. – MBNA Corp., the second largest credit card issuer in the United States, and a purchaser of CU card portfolios, has reported that its quarterly earnings rose 17% on growth in fees and interest income and estimated that losses from bad loans would decrease over the course of the year. The Wilmington, Delaware based-company said it earned $432.5 million, or 33 cents per share, in the first quarter. This compares with $369.9 million, or 28 cents per share, it earned a year earlier. Wall Street analysts on average were expecting earnings of 31 cents a share, with their estimates ranging from 27 cents to 34 cents. The company reported it earned more non-interest income, which generally comes from fees charged to retailers on consumer credit card purchases. MBNA also reported that while loan losses jumped in January, they decreased in February and March on a month-over-month basis, and MBNA said it expects the declining trend in managed net credit loss rates to continue throughout the year.