Federated Looks to Sell Credit-Card Division

Cincinnati, Following in the footsteps of Sears, The Home Depot, Saks and Circuit City in past years, Federated Department Stores, Inc. has hired an outsider to explore the possible sale of its credit-card portfolio, which it shares with GE Credit Corp. The company enlisted Credit Suisse First Boston to review alternatives for its proprietary card business, according to a report from Dow Jones. Federated’s credit-card portfolio reportedly has receivables valued at roughly $3 billion.