BANKING

AT&T; Mulls Credit Card Partners: American Telephone & Telegraph Co., which jumped into the credit card business with much fanfare last year, is considering taking on partners for its Universal card, AT&T; chief financial officer Alex Mandl said in a telephone interview. “We are not considering exiting the card business.” Rather, he said, the New York-based phone giant is exploring selling its receivables or forming a joint venture for the card. Mandl stressed that the sale of receivables would be preferable and that no final decisions have been made. Receivables are the amount of money owed a company, in this case by the customers.