Credit Cards For Less Than Perfect Credit

Offers for credit cards were up during the first three months of this year.

During the recession, and even after, many lenders may have become more resistant to offering consumers loans, whether they were in the form of mortgages or credit cards.

Given some of the credit difficulties the country faced – rising credit card default and home loan foreclosure rates, for example – lenders tried to reduce their risks by being more careful to whom they gave money. Although this may still be the case, a recent report shows that financial organizations are warming up to the idea of extending credit and financial products.

According to Mintel Comperemedia, the number of direct mail offers made during the first quarter of this year hit 6.1 billion, a 16 percent increase compared to the 5.3 billion seen in the last quarter of 2009. The company noted that offers from the credit card industry and insurance companies lead the way for this rise in snail-mail offerings.

“Offers for new credit cards have increased substantially compared to last year as the economy recovers and fewer customers default on their cards,” said Mintel senior vice president Andrew Davidson.

A recent report from Moody’s Investors Services presented numbers that may further encourage companies to mail credit card offers. The company said both defaults and delinquencies on credit card debt fell in April. However, a similar report from Fitch Ratings had mixed results, with delinquencies down and charge offs increasing.

According to the Federal Reserve Board’s monthly consumer credit report, the amount of credit card debt in the country fell at an annual rate of 12 percent, continuing a trend seen for a number of quarters. However, while this may mean consumers are getting out from under credit card debt, it may also mean the lenders had to write off more accounts deemed uncollectable.