Synchrony Financial
 |
 | |
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | September 12, 2003[1] |
| Headquarters | |
| Key people |
|
| Products | Credit cards Payment systems |
| Revenue |  US$24.17 billion (2024)[4] |
| US$3.427 billion (2024)[4] | |
| Total assets | US$119.5 billion (2024)[4] |
| Total equity | US$16.58 billion (2024)[4] |
Number of employees | 20,000 (2024)[4] |
| Website | synchrony |
Synchrony Financial is an American consumer financial services company with its headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.[2] The company offers consumer financing products including credit, promotional financing, loyalty programs, and installment lending to both industries and consumers through Synchrony Bank, its wholly owned online bank subsidiary.[4][5]
Synchrony owns CareCredit, a credit card for medical and veterinary expenses.[6]
History
[edit]Previously named GE Capital Retail Finance Corporation, Synchrony was incorporated in Delaware in 2003. The company was inactive until 2013.[7][8][9][10] Centered on co-branded credit products, Synchrony went public in July 2014 and raised $2.88 billion in its initial public offering.[10]
Synchrony acquired GPShopper in 2017.[11][12] In 2018, it acquired Loop Commerce, which provides a digital gifting platform called GiftNow.[13][14] The same year, it acquired PayPal's $7.6 billion credit receivables portfolio[15][16] and became the exclusive issuer for the PayPal Credit point-of-sale financing program in the United States through 2028.[17]
GIC Private Limited, the sovereign wealth fund of Singapore, owned 7.72% of Synchrony's stock in 2019.[18] GIC exited its position in 2023.[19]
Regulatory and legal issues
[edit]In June 2014, shortly before Synchrony's New York Stock Exchange debut, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Department of Justice reached a $225 million settlement with the company after it entered into a consent decree with the CFPB. The settlement stated that while operating as GE Capital Bank, the company had engaged in deceptive and discriminatory credit card practices, primarily surrounding deceptive enrollment practices for add-on programs such as financial hardship relief.[20][21]
In 2020, consumer advocacy groups urged the CFPB and Comptroller of the Currency to investigate the use of PayPal Credit to pay tuition at for-profit schools, where students are generally ineligible for lower-cost federal loans.[22] The advocacy groups classified the 24% interest rates, $40 late fees, and aggressive collection practices as "predatory."[23]
In August 2024, a class action suit was filed in New York alleging that CareCredit's interest rates of 32.99% violate state usury laws.[24]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Synchrony Financial on the Forbes Global 2000 List". Forbes. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- 1 2 "Synchrony Bank". www.fdic.gov.
- ↑ Bishop, Sue. "Synchrony Promotes Brian Doubles To President". PR Newswire (Press release). Synchrony. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Synchrony 2024 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 7, 2025. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
- ↑ "Factsheet". Sychrony. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
- ↑ Semuels, Alana (January 14, 2025). "How Doctors Are Pushing Medical Credit Cards on Patients". TIME. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
- ↑ "All SEC Filings". Synchrony Financial. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
- ↑ Shah, Aman (March 13, 2014). "GE files to spin off credit card unit". Reuters. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
- ↑ De La Merced, Michael (March 13, 2014). "G.E. Files to Spin Off Retail Finance Unit". New York Times.
- 1 2 "GE credit card unit Synchrony Financial prices IPO at $23 per share". Reuters. July 30, 2014.
- ↑ "BRIEF-Synchrony Financial to buy GPShopper". Reuters. March 20, 2017.
- ↑ Rogers, Bruce. "Maya Mikhailov's Journey From Russia To Co-Founder Of GPShopper". Forbes. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
- ↑ "Synchrony To Acquire Loop Commerce". PARTNERSHIPS / ACQUISITIONS. PYMNTS. May 10, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
- ↑ Zacks. "Synchrony Financial Braces Portfolio With Loop Commerce Buy". www.nasdaq.com. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
- ↑ "SYNCHRONY 2018 Form 10K Annual Report". www.sec.gov. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
- ↑ PayPal (July 3, 2018). "PayPal and Synchrony Complete Consumer Credit Receivables Sale". PayPal.
- ↑ Perez, Sarah (July 3, 2018). "PayPal sells its consumer credit portfolio to Synchrony for $7 billion". TechCrunch.
- ↑ "Synchrony proxy statement". sec.gov. Securities and Exchange Commission.
- ↑ "SCHEDULE 14A - Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934" (PDF). investors.synchrony.com.
- ↑ "CFPB Orders GE Capital to Pay $225 Million in Consumer Relief for Deceptive and Discriminatory Credit Card Practices" (Press release). Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. June 19, 2014.
- ↑ Schneier, Cogan (June 14, 2019). "GE Capital arm to pay record credit card settlement". USA Today.
- ↑ Carrns, Ann (August 21, 2020). "Consumer Groups Take PayPal to Task Over Student Loan Credit Line". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
- ↑ Douglas-Gabrielle, Danielle (August 21, 2020). "Consumer groups alarmed by PayPal's role in education finance want regulators to investigate". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
- ↑ Semuels, Alana (January 14, 2025). "How Doctors Are Pushing Medical Credit Cards on Patients". TIME. Retrieved March 21, 2025.
External links
[edit]- Business data for Synchrony: