American Express Co

American Express Co. won approval Monday from the Federal Reserve to become a commercial bank, opening the door for the credit card giant to accept deposits and permanently access financing from the Fed. The Fed said it had approved the application for American Express and a related company, American Express Travel Related Services Co., to become bank holding companies.

American Express Co., the fourth-largest credit card issuer, is expected to announce as early as today that it is buying British-based Threadneedle Asset Management for $567 million in cash, sources familiar with the deal said. For New York-based American Express, this would be its first major entry into the asset management market outside the U.S. The deal is expected to be approved by Zurich Financial Services, Threadneedle's parent and the largest Swiss insurer, the sources said.

American Express Co. is paying some cardholders $300 each to close accounts so the lender can reduce the risk of defaults as the recession deepens. People who got the offer to "simplify" their finances must pay off their entire credit card balance by April 30, according to New York-based American Express. Enrolling in the program cancels a customer's account and may lead to the forfeiture of reward points or rebates, the company said.

Credit card companies American Express Co. and Capital One Financial Corp. on Wednesday disclosed deepening woes from the growing failure of consumers to repay their debts. American Express, the third-largest U.S. credit card network, said that it would take a fourth-quarter charge of $275 million to cover rising customer defaults and that earnings this quarter would fall below what analysts on average had estimated. Shares hit a 52-week low of $46.

American Express Co. on Monday reported that stronger holiday shopping and a reduction in bankruptcy write-offs helped lift fourth-quarter profit 24%. The New York-based financial and travel services company reported a profit of $922 million, or 75 cents a share, compared with $745 million, or 59 cents, a year earlier. Revenue increased 13% to $7.21 billion. The quarterly results cap a transformative year for American Express, which in 2005 spun off its Ameriprise Financial Inc.

American Express Co. will allow consumers to charge monthly mortgage payments, making them eligible for perks including reward points on airline travel and hotels. The American Express Rewards Mortgage program is starting with American Home Mortgage Corp. of Melville, N.Y. Pasadena-based IndyMac Bancorp Inc. will join the program later this year, and the New York-based company is recruiting other lenders in the more than $1-trillion U.S.

Visa, the world's largest credit card network, has agreed to settle a 3-year-old antitrust lawsuit with rival American Express Co. for about $2.1 billion, Visa said Wednesday. The settlement stems from a 2004 suit American Express filed against Visa, MasterCard and eight banks that claimed the card associations' "anticompetitive practices" prevented 20,000 U.S. banks from using its credit card products. The settlement must be approved by Visa's members.

American Express Co. said Monday that quarterly profit fell 17%, but results still met expectations as strong spending by consumer, small-business and corporate cardholders more than offset a jump in bankruptcy-related losses. The fourth-largest U.S. credit card issuer said it earned $745 million, or 59 cents a share, during the fourth quarter, down from $896 million, or 71 cents, a year ago.

China's biggest lender, state-owned Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, on Friday signed a $3.78-billion investment deal with Goldman Sachs Group Inc., American Express Co. and Germany's Allianz. The deal, aimed at building "strategic partnerships" in banking, insurance and credit card businesses, will involve the purchase of newly issued shares in the Beijing-based bank, known as ICBC, the companies said. The deal is subject to regulatory approval.

American Express Co. said operating earnings rose 18% in the first quarter after the company lured new customers by issuing cards through lenders such as Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. Profit from continuing operations climbed to $876 million, or 70 cents a share, from $745 million, or 59 cents, a year earlier, New York-based American Express said. Revenue rose 12% to $6.33 billion. American Express added 1.5 million cardholders in the quarter, bringing the total to 72.