What Happens to a Card Agent Deal After a Merger?

ATLANTA – What happens to a credit card deal between a credit union and its card issuing partner when the credit union merges with another credit union that also has a card program? Well, in the case of the $225 million Capital Community Credit Union, headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, it meant eventually expanding the deal with InfiCorp, its current issuer. “Capital Community Credit Union sold its credit card portfolio in 2002 and established a credit card lending alliance with InfiCorp. In 2003, Capital Community and LSI Credit Union merged. LSI owned a credit card portfolio at the time of merger,” explained Kurt Thelen, CEO of Capital Community. “InfiCorp was extremely flexible with us and demonstrated a true partnership approach prior to, during and after the merger. In 2005, we re-evaluated our LSI credit card strategy and decided that the collective membership of Capital Community Credit Union and LSI would be best served by expanding our existing partnership with InfiCorp,” Thelen added. InfiCorp, one of the leaders in the market for credit union credit card portfolios says, in addition to the Capital portfolio expansion, it purchased 10 new portfolios in the first four months of 2005 and entered into agent relationships with them. These brought it over $100 million in new card balances, the firm reported.