Fed OKs American Express as bank holding company

By Juan Lagorio and Patrick Rucker

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American Express Co said it won approval to become a bank holding company, in a step that could cut its borrowing costs and give it more access to government money.

American Express, the fourth-largest U.S. credit card issuer, offered more credit to more customers even as the housing crisis began last year, and is paying the price as delinquencies rise.

Adding to its difficulties, its main sources of funding have grown more expensive as secured and unsecured bond markets have shut down.

Investors are wondering whether financial companies that loan money but fund themselves mainly in the bond markets are a thing of the past. Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley both became banks in September.

As a bank holding company, American Express can issue bonds that are government guaranteed through the end of June 2012, and apply to receive money under the U.S. Treasury's $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program, which is making direct investments in banks, insurers, and possibly other financial companies.

The company will also find it easier to buy banks now, and take deposits from consumers and companies, which can be a cheap source of funding.

"Given the continued volatility in the financial markets, we want to be best positioned to take advantage of the various programs the federal government has introduced ... to support U.S. financial institutions," said Kenneth Chenault, chairman and chief executive officer of American Express, in a statement.

"With Federal Reserve oversight we should gain greater access to the capital on offer," he added.

But investors cautioned that being a bank does not solve all of American Express' difficulties. A growing number of financial institutions are looking to buy banks and gather deposits.

"There's a lot of competition for deposits now, and pricing for deposits is still high," said Blake Howells, director of equity research at Becker Capital Management in Portland, Oregon.

American Express' borrowing costs relative to a benchmark rate have risen dramatically this year. The company is paying about 1.65 percentage points more than one-month Libor to fund itself, compared with its average in recent years of 0.20 to 0.40 percentage point.

CREDIT PRESSURE, TOO

The funding pressure is combining with credit pressure. The default rate among its credit card clients in the United States almost doubled in the third quarter of 2008 from a year earlier.

"An unemployed consumer is going to be a big challenge," for American Express, Anton Schutz, president and chief investment officer at Mendon Capital, said at the Reuters Global Finance Summit, on Monday prior to the announcement.

"Their clients are hurting and, on top of that, their upper income client base isn't spending either, which is hitting the travel side of their business."