Growing your credit portfolio starts with knowing the numbers

You’ve probably heard the saying, “the numbers don’t lie” and in the financial world, it is more than a cliché it’s usually a fact.   

So, when I’m asked about the best ways to grow a credit card portfolio, I tell bankers there isn’t one solution to move your bank’s card to top of wallet. But understanding the fundamentals, including how your program stacks up using ICBA Bancard’s Automated Card Expert or ACE tool (for FIS processed credit card issuers), can help you move the needle. 

As 2021 comes to a close and planning for 2022 begins in earnest, now is the time to strategize about your bank’s credit card program and set goals to grow it by examining your portfolio metrics using ACE.  

ACE was designed busy bankers in mind, with limited time to pull reports and comb through the numbers. Most of the data collected is sourced from reports we obtain monthly from FIS and includes data from the Executive Report and the SAP Billing statement. This applies for both the TBS and the Base 2000 processing platforms and is neatly arranged and displayed in ACE. The work is done for you. 

 ACE is divided into three sections:  

  • Report Mart provides 17 detailed reports about your portfolio 

  • Data Management allows you to slice and dice your portfolio by BIN plans, products, income/expense input and peer comparison options 

  • Strategies provides information on card marketing and ways to boost portfolio activity using acquisition and usage best practices. 

To access ACE, visit our website at www.icbabancard.org with your login credentials. For assistance contact [email protected]. 

Once you get into ACE, what should you be looking for? A healthy portfolio needs four things to be successful: new account growth, balanced revenue from interchange and finance charges, usage, and profitability.

There are three reports in ACE that I recommend banks view monthly: 

  • Comparison to Industry Summary: This report compares your numbers with other banks on the ICBA Bancard program.

  • This Year/Last Year Comparison Summary: This is my favorite report because it allows you to measure performance year over year. Are you growing by accounts, outstanding balances, and revenue?  This report has it all. 

  • Revenues/Profitability Monthly History Report: This report is your program’s Profit and Loss Statement. It shows revenue sources and processing expenses to give you a Return on Assets (ROA). You can input bank specific expenses to give you a more accurate ROA. 

ACE reports are printable and can be downloaded to popular software like Adobe, Microsoft Word, and Excel.   

Give ACE a look. If you need assistance with ACE or would like to have complete portfolio assessment, ICBA Bancard has staff resources to help. Please contact us at 800-242-4770 or [email protected] to set up a call.   

Scott Broughton is senior vice president of marketing and client engagement at ICBA Bancard.