Synchrony

When many of Synchrony's employees in Puerto Rico where unable to work after Hurricane Maria struck the island last year, CEO Margaret Keane made sure that their paychecks kept coming.

The card issuer Synchrony will continue to manage three cards for the national hardware chain. The timing is good as Synchrony recently lost a deal issuing cards for Walmart.

The Stamford, Conn., issuer of store credit cards has two potential options after the retail giant chose to partner with Capital One. But the decision over which path to take is out of its hands.

Synchrony Financial said its credit-card deal with Walmart won't be renewed and will expire next year. The largest issuer of store cards said Thursday that it's evaluating whether to sell the $10 billion in balances or retain the portfolio and convert qualifying customers to general purpose credit cards.

With Walmart reportedly weighing bids from Capital One alongside incumbent Synchrony Financial to handle its private-label credit card account, Synchrony's use of data and artificial intelligence are more important than ever.

The final sale price came it at $6.9 billion, or about $900 million more than what the two firms agreed upon when the deal was announced in November.

Dark clouds may not yet be on the horizon, but industry executives are sending the message to investors that they know a turn in the credit cycle is coming, and they are planning accordingly.

It’s not just weaker underwriting and higher household debt levels that are driving past-due rates to their highest levels in seven years.

The post-recession boom in auto loans and credit cards for borrowers with marred credit histories has been winding down in recent months.

Citigroup, Synchrony and other banks are using so-called "journey analytics" to spot weaknesses along the entirety of a customer's interactions with the bank.