AmEx profits fall 9% as customers fall behind on payments

By KEN SWEET
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — American Express saw its fourth-quarter profits fall by 9%, as the credit card giant had to set aside significantly more money to cover potentially bad loans. The company saw charge offs and delinquencies rise, a troubling sign for a company whose customer base is usually well-to-do and extremely creditworthy. The New York-based company said it earned a profit of $1.57 billion in the quarter, or $2.07 a share, that is down from $1.72 billion, or $2.18 a share, in the same period a year earlier. That is below what analysts had forecasted.