Providian Must Disclose Documents

Providian Financial Corp. must disclose documents about how it markets credit cards, a California appellate court ruled Wednesday.

The court rejected Providian’s argument that the documents contain trade secrets, upholding a lower court’s decision to unseal memos filed in class-action suits against Providian that said the company deceived cardholders and charged hefty fees.

Hearst Corp., owner of the San Francisco Chronicle, had sought to have the documents unsealed, arguing that consumers have a right to know how Providian, which specializes in issuing credit cards to people with poor credit histories, attracted customers.

A spokesman for San Francisco-based Providian said company lawyers were reviewing the opinion and had not decided whether to appeal to the California Supreme Court.

Separately, Providian reached a deal to sell $565 million in British credit card loans to Barclays for a “low double-digit” percent premium. Providian would get about $79 million for the loans if the British bank paid a 14% premium.

Providian shares fell 1 cent to close at $4.07 on the New York Stock Exchange, before news of the court ruling was announced.