Synchrony

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.

Synchrony Financial designed its first voice assistant technology for Amazon Alexa around Amazon’s store card, serving as a template for the private-label card issuer’s other retail clients.

U.S. banks are sitting on a $1.03 trillion mountain of credit card loans. More borrowers are starting to default. Yet lenders know they can't sell souring debt to just any collector.

The Stamford, Conn.-based credit card issuer saw improvement in late payments by its customers, but the pace of loan growth also slowed during the fourth quarter.

In a year of political upheaval and weak commercial credit growth, lenders sought to capitalize on an economic bright spot — consumer spending — by reviving the personal loan, allying with fintechs and exiting traditional business lines that no longer made sense.

Some are in new roles or replacing legends, others are embracing new strategies or eyeing big deals and at least one is currently out of banking — but could soon resurface. Here are the industry executives to keep an eye on in 2018.

Mnuchin’s former business associate is likely to be sworn in next week; Mulvaney, as a congressman, called the CFPB a “joke” and co-sponsored a bill to kill it.

The deal for PayPal’s consumer loan portfolio will make Synchrony a bigger player in e-commerce. And the agreement helps the Silicon Valley payments giant achieve its goal of reducing its exposure to the credit cycle.

The store-branded credit card issuer reported that more borrowers fell behind on their payments in the third quarter. Still, net earnings were stronger than expected.

Margaret Keane is mapping out Synchrony Financial's future.

Synchrony Financial and Alliance Data Systems are particularly vulnerable to recent shifts in Americans’ shopping habits, according to new research from Moody’s Investors Service.

The agency recently sent a letter to nine banks urging them to stop offering deferred interest cards, arguing that consumers are often unaware of the risks involved.

Some investors have raised questions about the credibility of the firm’s leadership since credit card issuer announced that its loss reserves would surge this year.