According to bank analysts, bids for the $31 billion Sears credit-card portfolio will draw bids from Bank One, Citigroup, General Electric, Morgan Stanley, and Household International.
Analysts are forecasting that the private-label Sears card -- which carries about $18 billion in receivables -- will be split from the Sears gold MasterCard unit.
Any purchaser of the unit will have to weed out defaulting customers; It is thought the portfolio is likely to report a loss rate topping 7% in the second half of this year.
