BofA: Card losses increase in Dec.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Bank of America Corp. says its U.S. credit card losses increased in December, but late payments appeared to be declining slightly.
The bank’s annual net charge-off rate climbed to 13.53 percent last month from 13 percent in November, according to regulatory filings. At the same time, however, the percentage of payments at least 30 day past due lowered from 7.69 percent in November to 7.44 percent last month, Bank of America said.
Delinquency rates – an indicator of potential defaults – declined at five of the six companies that reported December credit card data earlier this month.
Four of the six companies also reported a decline in charge-offs, loans that financial institution are assuming will not be repaid.
The rise in charge-offs for Bank of America, which last week reported a fourth-quarter loss of $5.2 billion, reversed a three-month decline.
Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) is one of the world’s largest financial institutions. Additional information is available at www.BankofAmerica.com.