Advanta Reports 2008 Results

Advanta Corp. (NASDAQ: ADVNB; ADVNA) today reported a full year 2008 net loss of $43.8 million or $1.08 per diluted share for Class A and Class B shares combined. Reflecting the impact of an eroding economy, the Company’s 2008 results included $86.2 million pretax, or $1.37 per share after tax, of balance sheet charges and reserve build associated with worsening credit trends and wider market credit spreads. Through this year of challenging economic events, the Company has increased its cash and liquid investments to $2.6 billion dollars at year end and has strong capital levels.

Specific to the fourth quarter of 2008, the Company incurred a net loss of $46.9 million or $1.16 per combined diluted share. These results include $47.8 million pretax, or $0.77 per share after tax, of balance sheet charges and reserve build.

Other noteworthy activity and detail for the fourth quarter include:

• Cash and liquid investments increased by $0.8 billion while deposits grew by $0.5 billion. At year end, cash and liquid investments were 53% of aggregate owned and securitized receivables.
• Advanta Bank Corp. total risk-based and Tier 1 capital ratios increased to 38.4% and 35.4%, respectively.
• Advanta Corp. equity together with subordinated debt for trust preferred securities to managed receivables increased slightly to 12.2% and to owned receivables increased to 120.7%.
• The fair value estimates of the Company’s retained interests in securitizations decreased by $36.4 million with about two-thirds of the adjustment related to increased market credit spreads that resulted in higher discounts on these assets.
• The allowance for receivable losses increased to 20.3% of Business Cards owned receivables at quarter end, after building reserves for credit losses on principal receivables by $11.4 million.
• Business Cards ending managed receivables decreased to $5.0 billion with owned receivables decreasing to $0.5 billion.
• Business Cards managed net interest yield expanded to 12.45% and owned net interest yield declined to 7.04%.
• Customer transaction volume declined to $2.9 billion.
• Business Cards managed net credit loss rate rose to 12.0% and owned net credit loss rate rose to 14.1%.
• Business Card operating expenses include a $3.3 million asset impairment charge related to certain acquisition-related software and other assets based on the Company’s expectations for future account originations.
• The consolidated results include the impact of a $2.2 million reserve reduction for the Company’s proportionate share of the amounts funded by Visa in Visa’s litigation escrow.

The Company also announced that it is taking actions in response to the continued economic downturn.

The Board of Directors has approved a reduction in the Company’s regular quarterly cash dividends. The new rates will apply to its next dividend declaration. As a result of this action, future quarterly dividends declared for its Class A Common Stock will decrease from 17.71 cents to 2 cents per share and future quarterly dividends declared for its Class B Common Stock will decrease from 21.25 cents to 2.5 cents per share.

In addition, the Company is taking steps to significantly reduce operating expenses to a level that is more commensurate with its anticipated portfolio size and scale of business activities in 2009. Cost reductions will result from actions such as slowing marketing activities, structuring the organization to be more efficient and reducing staffing levels beyond those previously announced related to its offshoring initiative. Flowing from this, the Company will have approximately 300 fewer employees and operating expenses for 2009 are expected to be between 20% and 25% lower than those reported for 2008.

Conference Call Details

Advanta management will hold a conference call with analysts and institutional investors today, January 29, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time, to review the fourth quarter and full year results for 2008. The call can be accessed by dialing 877-857-6173 and referring to confirmation code 4034997. At the same time, the call will be webcast via a Vcall link on Advanta’s website or at www.investorcalendar.com. Those interested in listening to the webcast should go to the website at least ten minutes before the call to register and download any necessary software. Beginning at about 11:00 this morning, a replay of the call will be available on the Internet at the same sites as the original webcast. The conference call may include a discussion of non-GAAP financial measures, which are reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures in the Company’s press releases or the statistical supplements also available on the Company’s website.

About Advanta

Advanta is one of the nation’s largest credit card issuers (through Advanta Bank Corp.) in the small business market today. Advanta’s exclusive focus on this market as well as its size, experience, and commitment to developing meaningful product offerings and a high level of service tailored to the needs of small businesses differentiates the company from other issuers. Founded in 1951, Advanta has long been an innovator in developing and introducing many of the marketing techniques that are common in the financial services industry today. Learn more about Advanta at www.advanta.com.

This Press Release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those projected. The most significant of these risks and uncertainties are: (1) political conditions, social conditions, monetary and fiscal policies and general economic and other environmental conditions, including the impact of the ongoing disruption in the capital markets and deterioration of the U.S. economy, as well as the potential for further deterioration and disruption, and the impact of these factors on the level of new account originations, customer spending, delinquencies, charge-offs, the value of and ability to realize expected returns on its investments, and other results of operations; (2) factors affecting fluctuations in the number of accounts or receivable balances, including the retention of customers after promotional pricing periods have expired, changes in terms on their accounts, or changes in programs or product offerings; (3) interest rate and credit spread fluctuations; (4) factors affecting its level of costs and expenses; including difficulties achieving expected operating cost reductions due to, among other things, operational delays associated with new systems and processes, changes in personnel, changes in timing for our plans for implementation of our outsourcing initiatives and changes in the estimated timing for completion of a reduction in workforce; (5) factors affecting its level of liquidity, including funding decisions, the potential timing of the securitizations of its receivables and its ability to monetize its investments; (6) government regulation of banking and finance businesses, including the effects of and changes in the level of scrutiny, regulatory requirements and regulatory initiatives, certain mandatory and possibly discretionary action by state and federal regulators, restrictions and limitations imposed by banking laws, regulators, examinations and reviews, and the effects of, and changes in, regulatory policies, guidance, interpretations and initiatives and agreements between the Company and its regulators; (7) effect of legal and regulatory developments relating to the legality of certain business methods, practices and policies of credit card issuers and the ultimate resolution of industry-related judicial proceedings relating to the legality of certain interchange rates; (8) the amount and cost of financing available to it; (9) the ratings on the debt of Advanta Corp. and its subsidiaries; and (10) the impact of litigation and legal, regulatory, administrative or other claims, investigations or proceedings including judgments, settlements and actual or anticipated insurance recoveries for costs or judgments. Additional risks that may affect the Company’s future performance are detailed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

In addition to the GAAP results provided throughout this document, the Company has provided managed receivable data and other non-GAAP financial measurements. Management believes that the non-GAAP financial measures used to manage the business may provide users additional useful information. The tables attached to this press release include a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures and a description of why the non-GAAP financial measures are useful to investors.

  - Statistical Supplement available at www.advanta.com -