Citigroup, the largest US credit card issuer, is unlikely to begin offering American Express credit cards, despite No. 2 rival MBNA Corp signing on with the credit card giant.
"I think it's unlikely we would do something like that," said Robert Willumstad, Citigroup chief operating officer, at a Credit Suisse First Boston conference monitored by Webcast.
"We've obviously been approached by American Express, and we've thought about it.... I won't say we would never do an American Express-type of transaction but (it's) not in the offing," he said.
Citigroup's credit card unit, Citi Cards, has more than 100 million customer accounts in North America.
MBNA on Jan. 29 said it would offer American Express cards, becoming the first major issuer of Visa or MasterCard credit cards to promote the rival cards in the United States. The cards would carry the American Express logo and be accepted on the American Express network.
They will not be offered until a legal battle between American Express Co. (AXP.N), Visa and MasterCard is resolved.
A New York federal appeals court last year struck down a Visa and MasterCard rule prohibiting card-issuing banks from offering cards of competitors, such as American Express or Morgan Stanley's (MWD.N) Discover. Visa and MasterCard said they planned an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Willumstad said Citigroup, rather than link up with American Express, "would really aspire to build a Citibank brand of its own."
