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MBNA Acquires $550 Million AmSouth Credit Card Portfolio, Signs Long-Term Marketing Agreement WILMINGTON, Del., Nov. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MBNA Corporation (NYSE:KRB), the world's largest independent credit card lender, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with AmSouth Bancorporation (NYSE:ASO) to acquire AmSouth's $550 million credit card portfolio, for an undisclosed sum. The transaction is expected to close by year-end, subject to customary approvals. As part of the agreement, MBNA will own AmSouth's credit card receivables and will manage the card program under the AmSouth brand. MBNA will also be responsible for all credit, Customer Service, Customer Assistance and operational decisions concerning the portfolio, which includes 390,000 accounts. The acquisition includes a long-term agreement under which MBNA will market credit card products and services to AmSouth's existing and future customers through AmSouth's 670 bank locations and the AmSouth web site. The characteristics of the cardholders in the AmSouth portfolio are consistent with the quality of MBNA's existing cardholders. John R. Cochran, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MBNA America Bank, N.A., said, "The quality of the AmSouth card portfolio is exceptional. As a group, AmSouth cardholders exhibit many of the same superior characteristics as our existing cardholders. At the same time, there's terrific potential for growing the portfolio, which we will do by offering AmSouth customers a wide range of credit card products and by backing those products with consistently top quality service." C. Dowd Ritter, AmSouth's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer said, "We're pleased to have reached an agreement with MBNA, which clearly recognizes the value of AmSouth's portfolio. While AmSouth has a strong portfolio, this is a non-core business for us that lacks meaningful scale - and given the increasingly competitive credit card environment - substantial additional resources are required to effectively participate in this market. We believe we can better deploy our capital, while at the same time continue to benefit from an additional revenue stream as a result of the agreement with MBNA. Moreover, our customers will continue to carry AmSouth branded cards and will also benefit from having access to enhanced features and a broader range of products." MBNA has agreements with more than 300 financial institutions to market credit card products and services through more than 15,000 branches in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Spain. About MBNA Corporation MBNA (NYSE:KRB), the largest independent credit card lender in the world and a recognized leader in affinity marketing, is an international financial services company providing lending, deposit, and credit insurance products and services. MBNA credit cards and related products and services are endorsed by more than 5,000 organizations worldwide. MBNA employs more than 28,000 people, each of whom is committed to satisfying the Customer. For more information, visit the company's web site at http://www.mbna.com/. DATASOURCE: MBNA Corporation CONTACT: Jim Donahue of MBNA Corporation, +1-302-432-1342, Web site: http://www.mbna.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/542850.html

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