American Express Company 8-K Summary
Business Context and Reporting Period
This Form 8-K, filed on December 15, 2022, serves as a Regulation FD disclosure providing monthly delinquency and write-off statistics for American Express Company's U.S. Consumer and U.S. Small Business Card Member lending portfolios. The data covers the months ended September 30, October 31, and November 30, 2022.
Key Financial Metrics
The filing details credit performance metrics for total Card Member loans (U.S. Consumer and U.S. Small Business combined) and the American Express Credit Account Master Trust (Lending Trust).
| Metric | Nov 2022 | Oct 2022 | Sep 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Card Member Loans (Billions) | $91.8 | $89.5 | $87.0 |
| U.S. Consumer Net Write-off Rate | 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.8% |
| U.S. Small Business Net Write-off Rate | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.7% |
| U.S. Consumer 30+ Days Past Due | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% |
| U.S. Small Business 30+ Days Past Due | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.7% |
| Lending Trust Annualized Default Rate | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.6% |
Note: Net write-off rates are based on principal only, excluding interest and fees.
Material Changes
- Loan Growth: Total Card Member loans increased sequentially from $87.0 billion in September to $91.8 billion in November.
- Credit Deterioration: Net write-off rates for both U.S. Consumer and U.S. Small Business portfolios rose each month from September through November 2022.
- Delinquency Trends: The percentage of loans 30 days past due remained stable for U.S. Consumer (0.9%) but increased slightly for U.S. Small Business (from 0.7% to 0.8%) over the three-month period.
- Lending Trust: The annualized default rate for the securitized Lending Trust portfolio increased from 0.6% in September to 0.8% in November.
Outlook, Risks, and Commentary
The filing does not provide forward-looking guidance, management commentary on future performance, or specific risk factors beyond the presentation of historical credit data. The document notes that the credit performance of the Lending Trust may differ from the total portfolio due to differences in loan mix, vintage, aging, and calculation mechanics (end-of-period balances vs. average balances).
Investor Verification Checklist
- Verify the trend of rising net write-off rates in the U.S. Consumer and Small Business portfolios against broader economic indicators.
- Compare the Lending Trust default rates with the total portfolio rates to assess the impact of securitization on reported credit quality.
- Review subsequent quarterly earnings reports to determine if the November 2022 credit deterioration trend persisted into 2023.
- Confirm the specific composition of the "Total Card Member loans" to understand the weighting between Consumer and Small Business segments.