Card Issuing

Services Offered

Partnership Finance: One of our flagship offerings, our Partnership Finance service offering includes co-brand, affinity, agent, private label credit card arrangements as well as other financial products offered in partnership with a financial institution. We have formed, restructured, or renewed the largest and most prominent card partnerships in the industry. Our expertise spans most major card segments—agent banking, retail, travel, manufacturer, professional groups, trade membership organizations, financial institutions, and others. We offer analytically-based insights, a unique perspective of contractual and economic trade-offs, and an ability to create partnerships that generate lasting value.

Strategy/Product Development: First Annapolis supports issuers in the development of successful business strategies and products. Our assistance in this area includes providing market assessments, competitive analysis, primary and secondary research, financial business casing, and implementation planning and support. These services are designed to leverage our industry experience and analytical expertise to help issuers create and deploy winning strategies and tactics.

Portfolio & Risk Management: First Annapolis has built a specialized portfolio and risk management team with years of industry experience at companies such as Fair Isaac and Capital One, Our support in this area involves developing strategies across the credit lifecycle (front-end through back-end), conducting best practices reviews and portfolio diagnostics, and providing implementation support. Our team is tactically-oriented with a depth of expertise in credit policy, account management, fraud, and collections.

Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory Support: First Annapolis leverages its deep knowledge of the credit card industry and card portfolio performance to provide specialized M&A support to issuers divesting or acquiring card portfolios and related assets. We can manage the full portfolio divestiture process or provide targeted valuation, diligence, negotiation, or fairness opinion support. In order to help clients maximize value in transaction situations, First Annapolis leverages proprietary analytical tools, experience with complex transactions, and strong relationships with key buyers and sellers. We have developed particular expertise in structuring co-brand and agent bank portfolio transactions, selling sub-prime or impaired assets, and creating customized portfolio swaps.

Strategic Sourcing: Typically referred to as vendor selection, it is through our Strategic Sourcing practice that we bring years of experience in advising clients on large-scale sourcing projects. We bring a disciplined approach, analytical rigor, project management experience, and proven expertise on contractual matters to your benefit. Our specialized resources differentiate us from other advisory firms and make First Annapolis a perfect complement to client project teams. These specialized resources include professionals who joined First Annapolis from prestigious law firms that bring a unique combination of business and contractual acumen to our strategic sourcing assignments.

Products Covered

First Annapolis’ Card Issuing team focuses primarily on general purpose consumer credit cards and private label credit cards. Important subsets of these product categories that we support include co-branded, affinity, and rewards cards, and the loyalty programs/products that accompany them. Furthermore, First Annapolis has experience with other consumer lending products, particularly those used in the retail point-of-sale environment.

Clients Served

Through our Card Issuing practice area, First Annapolis works with the credit card issuers including banks, monolines, community and mid-size bank issuers, credit unions, and specialized finance companies. Retailers, non-bank issuers, and co-branded and affinity partners represent a significant portion of our client base. Transaction processors, service providers, loyalty companies, technology providers, and other organizations also leverage First Annapolis’ deep card issuing industry experience.