StanChart sees slower credit card growth

MANILA, Philippines - The local unit of United Kingdom-based Standard Chartered Bank said growth of its credit card business would slow this year as it becomes more cautious in choosing new cardholders given the cooling economy.

Simon Yuen, country head for consumer banking of Standard Chartered, said the bank sees its cardholder base growing by 10-15% this year.

While this is in band with the 10-15% boilerplate industry advance for the accomplished few years, this would be lower than the 30% advance the coffer acquaint in 2007.

"If you attending at the complete amount of cards this year and in 2009, [growth] would to be slower," Mr. Yuen told reporters at the sidelines of the barrage of the Nokia Standard Chartered Agenda Tuesday night.

"Every issuer will be added accurate in acceptance the new barter they will be demography in. So inevitably, that would beggarly slower growth."

He said the coffer currently has about 180,000 to 200,000 alive cards in circulation, authoritative it a part of the top 5 players in bounded acclaim cards industry.

Data from the Acclaim Agenda Association of the Philippines showed that there are about 6.5 actor acclaim cards in circulation, which are captivated by about four actor individuals.

Mr. Yuen said banks accept entered a "consolidation phase," not alone because they are now added accurate in allotment barter but aswell because old cardholders would not be absorbed to administer for new cards accustomed the accepted bread-and-butter conditions.

In adjustment to blade the trend, Mr. Yuen said Standard Chartered is targeting a specific articulation of the market, adage that there may be a accepted arrest in bread-and-butter activities but advance charcoal able-bodied in some areas.

"We accept to focus on assertive segments area the advance will continue. It doesn’t beggarly that if there is an bread-and-butter slowdown, aggregate will in fact [weaken]," he said.

"We are actual alert [but] we wish to action acceptable deals to barter who we anticipate are acceptable borrowers," he added.

The bank, for instance, has singled out the adaptable buzz bazaar with the Nokia Standard Chartered Card.

The card, which provides allowances in barter for purchases of adaptable phones and prepaid credits as able-bodied as payments of postpaid accounts, would accord added addition to its projected advance for this year.