Credit card issuer CompuCredit Corp. said Tuesday it expects to be charged with deceptive marketing practices by federal regulators.
The Federal Trade Commission and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will announce legal action against a credit card marketer Tuesday afternoon, though they did not name the company.
Tom Donahue, a CompuCredit spokesman, said the company "expects that we will be involved in the announcement."
The agencies said they would charge the company "with using deceptive marketing practices and abusive debt collection tactics."
The FDIC also plans to announce charges against banks that issued the company's credit cards.
The Wall Street Journal late Monday reported CompuCredit would be a target of the probe, sending the Atlanta-based company's shares down $1.80, or 20.5 percent, to $6.99 in Tuesday morning trading. The Journal said regulators would seek $100 million in fines and penalties from CompuCredit and the banks.
CompuCredit said in a regulatory filing last month that it was the subject of probes by the FTC and FDIC that began in 2006.
The agencies are investigating whether the company's marketing misrepresented fees and credit limits and "whether servicing and collection practices were conducted in accordance with applicable law," the filing said.
CompuCredit issues credit cards and auto loans to consumers with spotty credit histories. The company's shares have been pounded in the last year in the wake of the credit crisis.
FDIC spokesman David Barr declined to comment Tuesday morning. FTC spokeswoman Claudia Bourne Farrell couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
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