Former home to the Advanta Corporation, Advanta.com now only provides contact information for the bankrupt company. Advanta was an American banking company. It was initially established in 1951 to provide personal loans to schoolteachers. Advanta filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on November 8, 2009. The bank was closed in March of 2010 by the Utah Department of Financial Institution. The FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) was unable to find a buyer for the bank so they decided to mail checks to the insured depositors of up to $250,000 each. The FDIC has estimated the cost of the Advanta failure at $635.6 million.
Advanta.com instructs visitors looking for information about the bankruptcy plan for Advanta Corp to visit a separate website. People who have questions about claims against the Advanta estate are also redirected to another website. For current Advanta Bank Corp. Credit Cardholders who have questions about their accounts, a phone number and different website address are provided.
For many people, the first signs that Advanta Corporation was having difficulty were in December of 2008 when the Liberty Property Trust developer announced that they has stopped plans on the proposed $55 million,19,000 m2 (200,000 square foot) headquarters for Advanta. Then in February 2009, Advanta announced a $43.8 million loss in the fourth quarter, primarily due to credit losses. At that time, they also announced a lay-off of 300 of their 900 employees. In early 2009, Advanta notified their credit card holders that they would be raising their interest rates from the previous 6% or above to more than 30%. These rates were changed regardless of the credit scores or credit history of the Advanta customers. By March 2009, Advanta stock was down to just 24 cents per share (after a mid-2007 high of nearly $30 per share).
The contact information on Advanta.com is available to previous an current customers, creditors, and other parties interested in the Advanta Corporation in an effort to help them find answers for their questions and concerns.
