Is Your Credit Card Issued By A Publicly-Traded Company_ _American Express Transcript Now Available_

In the past, I have mentioned that I try to catch all of the earnings conference calls for the companies that issue my credit cards. It’s not unusual, on the question-and-answer portion of the calls, to hear discussions about charge-off rates, FICO scores, etc. Listening to these calls seems like a no brainer — especially if I want to stay abreast of the latest information from my card issuers. These days, I often read the transcripts instead of listening to the calls, though. It’s a heck of a lot faster, too. I think my readers would benefit from reading the transcripts, so I’ve decided to link my site to all of the transcripts that are currently available.Seeking Alpha is great for transcripts. And they’re free. What follows is a list of transcripts from the banks that do a substantial amount of credit-card business (the list is not exhaustive, though). As companies report their earnings, and complete their conference calls, I will update this post by bumping it to the top of the site. American Express (call on April 23, 2009): Transcript here.Wells Fargo (call on April 22, 2009). Transcript here.Capital One (call on April 21, 2009): Transcript here.U.S. Bancorp. (call on April 21, 2009): Transcript here.Bank of America (call on April 20, 2009): Transcript here.Citigroup (call on April 17, 2009): Transcript here.JPMorgan Chase (call on April 16, 2009): Transcript here. Discover Financial Services (call on March 19, 2009): Transcript here.HSBC (call on March 2, 2009): Transcript here.If you’re not familiar with conference calls, here’s how they work. The first part of the call contains prepared remarks made by the company. The company will talk about its most recent quarter — the good and the bad (though companies emphasize the high points more than the low points). The most valuable part of the call takes place in the Q&A. That’s when analysts and investors (some times) get a chance to ask questions about the quarter (and the future). This is where I often find the best material. I try to read the transcripts from the companies I’ve listed. I like to stay informed. I find that going through these transcripts allows me to stay current on the industry. I’m hoping that you’ll read through at least one or two — even if you don’t read all of them.