Bank of America Leads on Credit Card Delinquencies

Published on Tuesday, 15 December 2009 15:03 Written by Christian Paolinetti

Charlotte, Dec 15^th (TradersHuddle.com) – Shares on Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) were deeply in the negative territory during today’s trading session.

After data that was released earlier today show that the road ahead for the credit card issuers will be bumpy as credit card delinquencies continue on the rise.

The charge-off rate reported by Bank of America is at 13%, which was the highest write-off rate in November among credit-card issuers who have reported so far. Although the rate is lower than the previous months' rates, the company has had the highest write-off rate among its peers since August

The data indicates that consumers remain stressed by high rates of joblessness. Delinquency rates, a key gauge of future losses, continue to rise for most card issuers, and losses stemming from souring credit-card loans remain elevated.

This is not a good sign for the shares of Bank of America that have been under pressure since its announcement of the capital raise to repay TARP. Traders are closely watching the $15 level in Bank of America shares, as an important support level.