Discover profits drop despite increased spending

Discover Financial Services said its profits in the second quarter fell 55 percent from the same period a year prior, thanks in large part to its settling an antitrust lawsuit with Visa and MasterCard, a report from the Associated Press said. However, those profits, which totaled $258.2 million, were still higher than industry experts had forecast because of an unforeseen rise in consumers more willing to take on credit card debt.

Credit card sales volume rose 5 percent in the quarter, the report said. In addition, Discover saw a decrease in credit card debt that had fallen to 30 days or more behind, and charge offs fell as well. But the settlement, which saw the company pay out $287 million, was too much to fully recover from.

Consumers have made a more concerted effort to pay off their credit card debt in recent months, but the increase in card transactions is a new trend observed after months of declines.