Javelin's top card issuers for identity safety

— Javelin Strategy & Research ranked the top U.S. credit card issuers methods for protecting customers from identity fraud in a study released Tuesday.

Here's the top finishers, along with their size.

Issuer: Purchase Volume, 2010 (rank)(asterisk)

1. Bank of America $237.51 billion (3)

2. Discover 92.47 billion (6)

3. U.S. Bank 73.57 billion (7)

4. USAA 28.24 billion (11)

5. Capital One 98.34 billion (5)

6. JPMorgan Chase 331.13 billion (2)

7. American Express 460.49 billion (1)

8. HSBC 30.64 billion (9)

9. (tie) Citibank 192.48 billion (4)

9. (tie) Wells Fargo 49.10 billion (8)

(asterisk)source: The Nilson Report