Running a credit-card portfolio is a banking business. Retailers make lousy bankers ... so receivables tend to be inert in their hands.

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Would outfits like HSBC or GE Capital rather get into straight marketing of consumer credit cards? Sure they would. But that game is cooling off. So they're looking for ancillary businesses.

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Customers would much rather use a rewards card that will get them air miles or a Discover card that will get them cash back. So the odds that they'll use a private-label card are dimmer.

110