Wells Fargo may be among the suitors, said Fox, with the company possibly interested in Amex due chiefly to a desire to build out a credit card business. No comment came to Fox from Wells Fargo; Amex, for its part, said it is not for sale.
As has been well-documented, the current CEO’s struggles are ongoing, as Chenault has sought to gain traction with a $1 billion cost-cutting effort, announced last month, that has done relatively nothing for the stock price.
Separately, Amex has lost its 16-year relationship with retailing firm Costco, which has opted instead to partner with Visa, in a spat over fees. Among other companies that have jumped ship from Amex is JetBlue, which is now partnering with Barclays and MasterCard. Starwood Hotels was bought by Marriott, which has a partnership in place with Chase, so that relationship with Amex may conceivably be severed.
Also, separately, Fox noted that the invitation-only card product known as the “Black Card” (formally, the “Centurion Card”) is having difficulty, as users want relatively better fees.
