Discover Financial Services reported an increase in credit card loans of 4 percent to $48.1 billion for its fiscal third quarter which ended August 31.
In addition, the sales volume of purchases made with Discover cards rose 4 percent from year-ago levels to $27.2 billion.
"Card sales and receivables grew in a challenging environment while credit quality continued to improve," Chief Executive David Nelms said in a statement.
Discover also reported historic lows for both delinquency and charge-off rates. Both of these rates are among the lowest of all major credit card issuers, second only to American Express.
The delinquency rate, a reflection of balances that are 30+ days past due, was 1.81 percent versus 2.43 percent a year ago. The charge-off rate, the percentage of accounts that Discover does not expect to collect, was 2.43 percent versus 3.85 percent during the third quarter of 2011.