ARLINGTON, Va. — Credit unions should continue to build their credit card portfolios even in the current economic downturn, analysts said, but they should be careful to target growth efforts.

"There has been a very strong emphasis on card growth for some time," observed Ondine Irving, a card consultant who acknowledged that she has strongly advised CUs in the past to take steps to grow their card portfolios. "I still think card growth is important, but I am unsure about whether it might be more prudent to put some card growth strategies on hold for a few months."

Irving and other analysts are concerned that consumer behavior regarding credit cards is changing during a time when the economy is slowing and other sources of liquidity, such as a home equity, have been drying up or disappearing. These changing conditions, Irving and others suggest, might make credit unions reconsider some tried and true card portfolio growth tactics like credit line increases, upgrades in the card platforms, balance transfer programs or other card marketing incentives.