Providian Financial Corporation

Providian
Apply for a Providian Visa, open a savings account, and register for ... information for your financial life, whether it's understanding your FICO® score ...
www.providian.com

Providian - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Providian Financial Corporation. Type. Defunct; formerly ... www.providian.com. Providian Financial Corporation was one of the leading credit card issuers in ...
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Providian Financial Corporation: Information from Answers.com
Company Perspectives: Key to Providian's future success will be the ... Providian Financial Corporation is one of the leading issuers of credit cards in ...
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PROVIDIAN FINANCIAL CORPORATION 2003 ANNUAL REPORT
PROVIDIAN FINANCIAL CORPORATION. 2003 ANNUAL REPORT. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Page ... 1994 and to Providian Financial Corporation in 1997. ...
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Providian Financial Sucks - My own personal credit card nightmare
Visit this web site to see how Providian Financial Corporation has screwed me over regarding an unauthorized charge to my account.
providianfinancialsucks.com

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{{Infobox_Company | company_name = Providian Financial Corporation | company_type = [Defunct; formerly [Public company ([NYSE: PVN)| company_slogan = Providing More| foundation = | location = [San Francisco, California| key_people = [Joseph W. Saunders, [Chairman, [President, & [chief executive officer
[Anthony F. Vuoto, Vice Chairman & [chief financial officer
[Warren Wilcox, Vice Chairman of [Planning and [Marketing| num_employees = 3,500| industry = [Finance and Insurance| products = [Financial Services| revenue = $2.6 billion United States dollar ([)| homepage = http://www.providian.com/ www.providian.com -->

Providian Financial Corporation was one of the leading credit card issuers in the United States. It was headquartered in San Francisco, California, Providian had more than 10 million card holders and was ranked as the ninth largest credit card issuer. In October 2005, Providian was sold to Washington Mutual for approximately $6.5 billion. Washington Mutual will run the company as a wholly owned subsidiary, continuing to operate out of its San Francisco headquarters. The company employed approximately 3,000 employees nationwide. Providian had significant operations in California, New Hampshire, and Texas.

History In 1984 Andrew Kahr founded a credit card company called First Deposit Corp. The Ascendancy of the Credit Card Industry by Robin Stein, Frontline, PBS.org

Providian was a company that sold credit in the "subprime market." People in that market are those who can't get credit cards from the major companies. They are people with low incomes and bad credit histories. Providian was providing financial solutions to the lowest income group, by permitting them to get credit at high interest rates. The annual percentage rates (APR) charged by Providian was as high as 29.9 percent.

In a March 1999 memorandum published by the San Francisco Chronicle, the founder of the company, Andrew Kahr, asked company executives about its customers: "Is any bit of food too small to grab when you're starving and when there is nothing else in sight? The trick is charging a lot, repeatedly, for small doses of instrumental credit." Many critics contended that the extended credit makes the borrower poorer than before the credit was extended, having the opposite effect on officers and directors of the company. It made them conspicuously wealthier. David Alvarez, former president of the integrated-card unit, made a $12.2 million profit selling his stock before the company disclosed that it was in deep trouble. Larry Thompson sold all his stock having a value of approximately $4.7 million following his confirmation hearing and a short time before Providian's financial problems became public information and the stock price plummeted.

Class Action Suit Beginning in mid-1999, a number of class-action suits were filed against the company regarding aggressive sales tactics for various "credit protection" services being sold to Providian credit card holders.

On November 7, 2001, the Hon. Stuart R. Pollak of the Superior Court of California, the City and County of San Francisco, granted final approval to a settlement agreement in the case, and certified a settlement class. The settlement required Providian to pay over $100 million in cash, credits, and other benefits to the Class, and to stop certain practices that were at issue in the class actions. Combined with an earlier settlement with governmental entities, the award constitutes the largest settlement ever against a credit card company for alleged widespread unlawful business practices.

References External Links

Providian Financial website
How Providian misled card holders, San Fransico Chronicle, May 5, 2002
How Providian misled card holders, SFGate.com, May 5, 2002
Providian Gripe Site - One Cardholders Nightmare, ProvidianFinancialSucks.com