Company Overview

American Express has a hand in such diverse businesses as charge and credit cards, online banking, travel, and publishing (magazines it publishes include Departures, Food & Wine, and Travel & Leisure). Amex is the world’s largest travel agency, with some 2,200 locations and one of the biggest charge and credit card companies around. It is also the largest issuer of travelers checks. The company has two units: the Global Consumer and Business-to-Business groups. 

In 2008, the company sold the international operations of American Express Bank to Stanchart. Last year it purchased the portion of Farrington American Express Travel Services Limited that it didn’t already own. In 2007, it also reached a $2.5 billion settlement with Visa and other defendants dropping them from a lawsuit that alleged they tried keep American Express out of the bank-issued card business in the U.S.

In a busy 2005, the company sold off its Tax and Business Services division to H&R Block and its British-based American Express Financial Services Europe to TD Waterhouse (now TD Ameritrade). Amex also parted ways with its equipment leasing business, selling it off to Key Equipment Finance.

The company is able to issue cards in cooperation with banks that previously had issued the other cards exclusively. Amex has deals to issue cobranded cards with credit card giants MBNA and Citigroup; the first card from the MBNA-Amex partnership, the no-annual-fee Bank of America Rewards American Express card, was released on June 30, 2006.