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The financial services industry did well in 1998. Personal income growth and home ownership levels increased, and these trends are continuing in 1999. This has been accomplished as inflation and interest rate levels remain low. Strong consumer spending is deemed essential for growth in 1999. However, a market correction may effect confidence levels and, subsequently, have a negative impact on finance companies.

Concern about the Asian economic crisis has spread to the US and this has affected American consumer confidence in terms of expectations over future economic conditions. However, mortgage banks should benefit from lower US interest rates and non-bank and credit card lenders should also do well, regardless of stock-market conditions. Investors, though, need to consider both safety and timeliness when evaluating financial services stocks.

Financial services companies are expected perform well through the end of 1995, due to stable interest rates and credit demand. Good prospects are forecast for credit cards and mutual funds, but several companies will attempt to increase market share through volume rather than asset quality. Several stocks have outperformed the market since 1994, but investors need to carefully select stocks for value and timeliness.

Stocks in the diverse financial services industry will probably be volatile in the near-term but will provide good long-term buying opportunities for investors willing to take risks. Profits are generally rising in the industry, despite interest rate increases, but industry growth will probably slow down in 1995. Investors should be especially careful to evaluate individual companies rather than base their investment choice on general industry trends.

The financial services industry appears to have strong prospects over the near-term and long-term. Prospects over the near-term will be influenced by rising interest rates, competition and increasing specialization. Companies such as those in the credit card and mortgage banking sectors will experience margin erosion. Companies with earnings streams from fee-based sources will experience strong growth.

The variety of businesses within the financial services category make it difficult to predict the effect of rising interest rates on the industry as a whole. Consumer finance companies can raise their interest rates to balance their higher funding costs, but they may suffer from a weak demand for credit. Life insurance companies are less vulnerable to interest rate fluctuations because they pass the risk on to policyholders. Investment in the financial services industry is still a good long term investment, but most capital is likely to be put back into the business and not paid out in dividends.

The financial services industry should do well economically in 1994. Asset management companies and brokerage firms should continue to do extremely well. Mutual funds should continue to be used heavily as investment tools. Consumer finance firms should also do well in all markets except California. Reductions in defense spending and the recent earthquake will continue to affect California's economy adversely.

The financial services field should continue to yield high investment returns in the short term. Yields were especially high in 1993 in part because of favorable interest rates and improved credit quality for consumer finance companies. American Express and Primerica have both improved their positions in the market. It is unlikely that the field can continue its current high profits until 1996-98, however.

Advanta Corp. has announced that consistent with the objectives of filing voluntary petitions for relief under chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on November 8, its Board of Directors [...]

A surge in chargeoffs and delinquencies is threatening Advanta Corp.'s survival. Analysts said that if the Spring House, Pa., card issuer's portfolio continues to worsen at the rate posted last [...]

Standard and Poor's Ratings Services raised its rating on Advanta Corp. to BB-minus/B from B-plus/B and affirmed the BB/B counterparty credit rating for Advanta Bank Corp. The decision took into [...]

The small-business credit card issuer Advanta Corp. announced Tuesday that it nearly doubled its dividends. Beginning next quarter the Spring House, Pa., company's class A shareholders will receive 21.25 cents [...]

At a time when credit card receivables growth has been slowing, issuers are touting improvements in credit quality, with some emphasizing more credit-score selectivity. Executives from two major issuers, attending [...]

Advanta Corp. announced Tuesday that its third-quarter net income rose 9.5% year over year, to $6.9 million. Earnings per diluted share were 27 cents, up 2 cents, for the Spring [...]

Advanta Corp.'s current business -- issuing credit cards to small businesses -- seems to be growing nicely: The niche company posted a second-quarter profit of $4.3 million Thursday after showing [...]

Advanta Corp. on Tuesday posted a first-quarter profit of $4.2 million, or 16 cents per share on a diluted basis, versus a net loss of $29.4 million, or $1.17 per [...]

Most chief executives would consider 20% earnings growth in a weakened economy challenging enough. But doing so with a single line product line - business cards - would require a [...]

Advanta Corp., which issues credit cards for small and midsize businesses, said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter net income rose 48%, to $11.4 million, from the year-earlier quarter. For the year [...]

In one of its first quarters as a monoline issuer of credit cards for small companies, Advanta Corp. posted results Tuesday that were sullied by losses from some of the [...]

Advanta Corp., which has been whittling down its business lines to focus exclusively on issuing commercial credit cards, on Tuesday reported a second-quarter net loss of $7.2 million, or 28 [...]

Concluding a review for downgrade on Advanta Corp., Moody's Investors Service said that the sale of the company's mortgage business has contributed to the company's positive rating outlook. Moody's has [...]

The company once was the eight-largest credit-card issuer in the nation with revenue of $1.2B a year. SPRING HOUSE -- Started in 1951 with just $30, Advanta Corp. by the [...]

Advanta Corp., which has sold its mortgage division to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and has shifted its focus to business credit cards, reported a first-quarter loss of $29 million, [...]

Despite suffering a net loss last year, Advanta Corp. anticipates that a strategic move out of the mortgage business, its new focus on the small business card market and the [...]

Advanta Corp. announced on Friday that it expects 2001 operating earnings from its business credit card and venture capital units to be $1.41 per diluted share. The company is selling [...]

Advanta Corp., which has been shedding business lines and says it will focus exclusively on issuing credit cards to companies, said last month that its business card operations earned pretax [...]

This article presents data from the sixty-fourth annual survey of finance companies by Bank One Corporation. Generally, the data from the 1999 survey of finance companies by Bank One reflects [...]

Two years after a wrenching downturn forced Advanta Corp. to sell its consumer card business, the company is in the midst of a similar upheaval; this time it is struggling [...]

Advanta Corp. Monday announced that its bank subsidiary, Advanta National Bank, signed an agreement with the Comptroller of the Currency, which could result in writedowns of more than $214 million [...]

NEW YORK - Companies doing business in the mortgage industry continue to report net income growth. As in previous quarters, only a few firms reported losses during the first quarter. [...]

Company Location 4Q99 4Q98 Net Net 4Q99 4Q98 Earnings Earnings %Chg. EPS EPS Household (HI) Prospect Heights, IL $438.80 $349.90 25% $0.92 $0.71 Associates First (AFS) Dallas, TX $408.70 $332.00 [...]

SPRING HOUSE, Pa. - Advanta Corp. last week reported it earned $14.2 million in the third quarter, including $7.9 million of income from its mortgage unit. Net income for the [...]

Brookfield, WI-Fiserv Inc. here reported $343.3 million in net income for the second quarter of 1999, up 10% from $311.2 million for the same period last year. Income per diluted [...]

By HEATHER TIMMONS Analysts have given a cautious thumbs-up to Advanta Corp.'s new strategy, saying it will help the company through the current liquidity crisis in the home equity sector. [...]