Alaric wrote:neversay wrote: Are banks are doing this across the board to reduce their risk exposure and support capital ratios?
NatWest did this a while back.
viewtopic.php?t=8159
Thanks . I notice in that thread that @bungeejumper said Barclaycard had done the same to him - notably on 27th Feb.
Dod101 wrote:I think all banks tend to do this from time to time. I had my limit cut on my credit card (which I do not use very much anyway) to £5,000 from £10,000. I occasionally need to remember but it has been no hardship to me. I suppose it means that the banks are reducing their risk exposure as my reduction happened at the time of the 2008/9 crisis.
Dod
Thanks too @Dod101 and @dealtn. I get the capital ratios issue during these volatile times. I was just wondering whether banks are panicking and furiously reducing credit limits right now to improve their ratios? (noting Mervyn King and the IMF opinions published today).
Just looking at my credit record, I have accumulated 7 cards (including stoozing) and have an available card credit of £55,057. I've got a perfect credit score, always pay balances off monthly, and only using cards for rewards and fraud protection. So even without the Barclaycard, it's a stupid amount of available credit so it would make sense to reduce it (besides, we are barely spending at the minute). The current cards are:
Amex Platinum £5000 - 0.5% cashback
Amex Rewards £15,000 - amex rewards for air miles
Capital One £7500 - previously for rewards, now rarely used as no benefits
Halifax Clarity £9000 - was for overseas 0%
Tesco £3000 - tesco fuel/shopping points, rarely used
HSBC £6000 - with my current account
I'm minded to ditch the Capital One card and Tesco. However, I may extend the mortgage slightly at the beginning of next year to fund a house extension, so must maintain the perfect credit score.
Is there a reliable way to tell whether the credit agencies will see the reduction in cards/limits as a positive or negative?