We are one of the premier consumer financial services companies in the United
States. Our roots in consumer finance trace back to 1932, and today we are the
largest provider of private label credit cards in the United States based on
purchase volume and receivables. We provide a range of credit products through
programs we have established with a diverse group of national and regional retailers,
local merchants, manufacturers, buying groups, industry associations and healthcare
service providers, which we refer to as our “partners.” Through
our partners’ over 350,000 locations across the United States and Canada,
and their websites and mobile applications, we offer their customers a variety
of credit products to finance the purchase of goods and services.
Our business benefits from longstanding and collaborative relationships with
our partners, including some of the nation’s leading retailers and manufacturers
with well-known consumer brands, such as Lowe’s, Walmart, Amazon and Ethan
Allen. We believe our partner-centric business model has been successful because
it aligns our interests with those of our partners and provides substantial
value to both our partners and our customers. Our partners promote our credit
products because they generate increased sales and strengthen customer loyalty.
Our customers benefit from instant access to credit, discounts and promotional
offers. We seek to differentiate ourselves through deep partner integration
and our extensive marketing expertise. We have omni-channel (in-store, online
and mobile) technology and marketing capabilities, which allow us to offer and
deliver our credit products instantly to customers across multiple channels.
We conduct our operations through a single business segment. Our revenue activities
are managed through three sales platforms: Retail Card, Payment Solutions and
CareCredit. Retail Card is a leading provider of private label credit cards,
and also provides Dual Cards and small- and medium-sized business credit products.
Payment Solutions is a leading provider of promotional financing for major consumer
purchases, offering primarily private label credit cards and installment loans.
CareCredit is a leading provider of promotional financing to consumers for elective
healthcare procedures or services, such as dental, veterinary, cosmetic, vision
and audiology.
We offer our credit products primarily through our wholly-owned subsidiary,
the Bank. Through the Bank, we offer, directly to retail and commercial customers,
a range of deposit products insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(“FDIC”), including certificates of deposit, individual retirement
accounts (“IRAs”), money market accounts and savings accounts. We
also take deposits at the Bank through third-party securities brokerage firms
that offer our FDIC-insured deposit products to their customers. We have expanded
and continue to expand our online direct banking operations to increase our
deposit base as a source of stable and diversified low cost funding for our
credit activities.
Synchrony is a holding company for the legal entities that historically conducted
GE’s North American retail finance business. Synchrony was incorporated
in Delaware on September 12, 2003, but prior to April 1, 2013 conducted no business.
During the period from April 1, 2013 to September 30, 2013, as part of a regulatory
restructuring, substantially all of the assets and operations of GE’s
North American retail finance business, including the Bank, were transferred
to Synchrony. The remaining assets and operations of that business subsequently
were transferred to Synchrony in connection with our initial public offering
(the “IPO”), which closed in 2014. Following the IPO, GE owned approximately
84.6% of our common stock.
We received approval from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
(the "Federal Reserve Board") to become a stand-alone savings and
loan holding company, to retain control of the Bank and to retain control of
our nonbank subsidiaries following the completion of GE’s offer to exchange
shares of GE common stock for all of our shares of our common stock owned by
GE (the “exchange offer”). On November 17, 2015, we announced the
completion of the exchange offer and our separation from GE (the "Separation").
Following the Separation, GE no longer owns any of our outstanding common stock.
As a savings and loan holding company, the Company is subject to regulation,
supervision and examination by the Federal Reserve Board. In addition, as a
large provider of consumer financial services, the Company is subject to regulation,
supervision and examination by the CFPB.
The Bank is a federally chartered savings association and therefore is subject
to regulation, supervision and examination by the Office of the Comptroller
of the Currency of the U.S. Treasury (the “OCC”), which is its primary
regulator, and by the CFPB. In addition, the Bank, as an insured depository
institution, is supervised by the FDIC.
Retail Card is a leading provider of private label credit cards, and also provides
Dual Cards and small and medium-sized business credit products.
Payment Solutions is a leading provider of promotional financing for major
consumer purchases, offering private label credit cards and installment loans.
CareCredit is a leading provider of promotional financing to consumers for
elective healthcare procedures, products or services, such as dental, veterinary,
cosmetic, vision and audiology.