Discover sees profits more than double with delinquency declines

The rate at which consumers fell so far behind in paying down their credit card debt slipped appreciably in the third quarter for one of the nation's largest lenders as Americans took more steps to reduce debt.

Discover Financial Services recently said that it saw profits more than double on a year-over-year basis during the third quarter of the year as it dealt with more card use by consumers and fewer delinquencies and defaults, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. Card sales volume climbed 9 percent to a record $26.3 billion in the three-month period, while its delinquency rate slipped to 2.43 percent, a 25-year low.

"We achieved record results again this quarter as a result of further improvements in credit performance and record sales volume," said David Nelms, chairman and chief executive, told the newspaper. "We think we're back in growth mode so I would hope that we can sustain a year-over-year growth rate in receivables going forward."

Many of the nation's top lenders have seen instances of both delinquency and default drop considerably in the last year, leading to higher profits for nearly all of the banking industry.