UPDATE 1-AmEx says can issue $12.1 bln more under TALF

* American Express issued $2.25 bln under TALF

* Company says has total capacity of $14.35 bln under TALF

NEW YORK, Oct 30 (Reuters) - American Express Co (AXP.N),
the largest U.S. credit card company by purchases, said on
Friday it was eligible to issue $12.1 billion more of
securities under the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility
plan, or TALF.

The Federal Reserve launched TALF earlier this year to
breathe life into consumer and small business lending, and
eventually expanded it to encompass commercial real estate
lending.

Under the program, the Fed lends to firms that post
asset-backed securities or commercial mortgage-backed
securities as collateral. The central bank extended the program
until March 2010.

American Express issued $1.25 billion in TALF eligible
securities during September, bringing the total of the year to
$2.25 billion, according to a regulatory filing.

The credit card company became a bank last November as bond
markets closed down and lenders outside the banking system
began looking to fund themselves with deposits.

Being a bank also helped American Express win access to
$3.4 billion of capital from the government's Troubled Asset
Relief Program, which the company later repaid.
(Reporting by Juan Lagorio, editing by Matthew Lewis)