FREDERICK, Md. — The three card issuing banks which collectively control 60% of the US credit card market have only posted slow growth, according to a Web site which tracks card industry data.

Cardtrak.com (www.cardtrak.com) presents data collected by the private card research firm CardData. According to the firm's statistics, Bank of America, Chase and Citibank posted together a 3.4% increase in outstanding balances and a 2.4% increase in sales volume over the same period last year.

Many credit unions consider the brands among their most significant rivals for their card programs, because of their use of direct mail advertising and rewards programs.

At first glance the bank numbers could seem healthy, successful in fact. But when examined against a record which has seen the same issuers make double digit gains in both metrics, Cardtrak called the performance “pale” and ran the news under a headline that read Big Trouble.

The card statistic tracker noted that Citibank reported that its sales volume for the second quarter of this year was essentially flat when compared to the second quarter of 2007, rising only 3 tenths of one percent over last year's figure.