According to a credit card industry analyst and consultant, credit cards have returned to being financial institutions' most profitable loan product.
Net card portfolio revenue is the highest it has been since 2008, said Robert Hammer, founder and CEO of the Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based R.K. Hammer, a bank card advisory firm with clients in 50 countries including 15 of the top 20 bank credit card issuers in the U.S, according to the company's website.
"After the brutal beating taken in recession years, capital has been replenished, dividends have been restored, marketing investment in the business has resumed and the loan losses have returned to more normalized levels. The card business is back," Hammer wrote in a statement.
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In 2013, card revenue stood at 17.1%, losses at 4.6%, yielding a risk adjusted revenue of 12.5%, according to data from Hammer's firm.
By comparison, data from 2009 showed revenue at 18.3%, losses at 9.8%, yielding a risk adjusted revenue of 8.5%.
Hammer said he expects credit card growth to continue for the rest of the year.
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