A credit (card company) crunch: state consumer laws push card issuers out; up to 3,000 jobs may cash out.

To avoid Wisconsin's consumer protection laws, credit card companies are considering charging out of the state - taking thousands of jobs with them.

"Between 1,500 and 3,000 (jobs) are at risk in the state if the credit card issuing environment doesn't change," said James Johannes, chairman of the finance, investment and banking department of the School of Business at University of Wisconsin-Madison, which will complete a study on credit cards later this month.

"Every major credit card issuer in the state is pondering moving somewhere else."

After preparing to relocate for more than a year, Firstar Corp. filed an application in February with Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to open Firstar Credit Card Bank N.A. in Gurnee, Ill. The Milwaukee-based bank holding company hopes to make the move by mid-summer.

Currently, Firstar services its 1 million-plus credit card accounts through Elan Financial Services, Milwaukee, a division of Firstar Bank Milwaukee N.A.

Firstar Corp. plans to shift credit decision powers, payment processing and sales strategy planning to the …