S&P: Discover view to positive

Standard & Poor's said it affirmed the BBB- long-term issuer credit rating on Discover Financial Services Inc. and revised the outlook to positive from stable.

S&P also said it affirmed the BBB long-term issuer credit rating on Discover Bank and revised the outlook to positive.

The affirmation reflects the company's superior receivables growth and strong profitability through the downturn and beyond, stellar credit card asset quality, improving capital and funding position and rising merchant and cardholder acceptance of its proprietary network, said Devi Aurora, an S&P analyst.

Recent financial performance has been strong and is attributable to slightly higher asset utilization, higher net yield on interest bearing assets and a significant decline in credit costs that more than offset modest increases in operating expenses, Aurora said in a press release.

If consumer spending increases modestly and the company maintains underwriting discipline, good earnings could continue for some time, although the pace of growth is expected to decelerate.

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