ARLINGTON, Va. — Five years ago, the attitude of many credit unions toward their credit card portfolios resembled that of some farmers toward their cattle. The farmers turned the animals loose on acreage and, as long as the fences were mended and there was plenty of water, more or less forgot about them until it was time to sell them. In much the same way, credit unions would set up their card portfolios and not have to think about them all that much.

No longer. Competition from banks which only issue cards and specialize in the business, combined with the risk of card fraud and the demand for more sophisticated rewards programs has meant that credit unions have had to start actively learning the card business and managing their card portfolios. For many in the credit union industry, that was the bad news.

The good news is that better card management and education has started to show results as credit unions begin to see growth in their card assets and improvement in their abilities to serve their members' card needs. As the graphs here indicate, credit card assets, both generally and as a percentage of total credit card assets, were up last year over 2005 and all indications are that they are continuing to grow this year.