WASHINGTON – MBNA America Bank N.A. a noted purchaser of credit unions' credit card portfolios, announced recently that it has acquired a $1.3 billion credit card portfolio from Wachovia Corporation. In the agreement MBNA purchased the outstanding credit cards and provide service to the 550,000 portfolio customers. Wachovia Corporation is a product of a merger of First Union and Wachovia. MBNA already had a relationship with First Union through which it marketed cards to First Union's customers; this purchase will extend the companies reach to former Wachovia customers as well. More than 300 banks and credit unions, representing 12,000 branches in the U.S. and 2,700 in the United Kingdom, have agreements with MBNA Financial Institutions to market cards to their customers and members. MBNA's credit card purchases grew by 1.2 million new accounts in 2001 and this purchase means MBNA now has $14 billion in loan balances from 9 million cardholders.