Synchrony Financial - Quarter Report: 2018 June (Form 10-Q)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

x QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended June 30, 2018

o TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from to

001-36560

(Commission File Number)

SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)



Delaware		51-0483352
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)



777 Long Ridge Road
Stamford, Connecticut		06902
(Address of principal executive offices)		(Zip Code)

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code) (203) 585-2400

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ý No ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ý No ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):



Large accelerated filer	ý	Accelerated filer	o

Non-accelerated filer	o (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)	Smaller reporting company	o

		Emerging growth company	o

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ¨ No ý

The number of shares of the registrant’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share, outstanding as of July 23, 2018 was 740,686,112.

Synchrony Financial



PART I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION	Page
Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	6

Item 1. Financial Statements:

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017	31

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017	32

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Position at June 30, 2018 and at December 31, 2017	33

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Changes in Equity for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017	34

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017	35

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements	36

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	57

Item 4. Controls and Procedures	57

PART II - OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Legal Proceedings	58
Item 1A. Risk Factors	58
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds	58
Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities	58
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures	58
Item 5. Other Information	58
Item 6. Exhibits	59
Signatures	60

Certain Defined Terms

Except as the context may otherwise require in this report, references to:


•	“we,” “us,” “our” and the “Company” are to SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL and its subsidiaries;


•	“Synchrony” are to SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL only;


•	“GE” are to General Electric Company and its subsidiaries;


•	the “Bank” are to Synchrony Bank (a subsidiary of Synchrony);


•	the “Board of Directors” are to Synchrony's board of directors;


•	the “Tax Act” are to P.L. 115-97, commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, signed into law on December 22, 2017;


•	“Separation” are to Synchrony's separation from GE in November 2015 when Synchrony became a stand-alone savings and loan holding company following the completion of GE's exchange offer, in which GE exchanged shares of GE common stock for all the remaining shares of our common stock it owned; and


•	“FICO” are to a credit score developed by Fair Isaac & Co., which is widely used as a means of evaluating the likelihood that credit users will pay their obligations.

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, in our business and in this report, we refer to as our “partners.” The terms of the programs all require cooperative efforts between us and our partners of varying natures and degrees to establish and operate the programs. Our use of the term “partners” to refer to these entities is not intended to, and does not, describe our legal relationship with them, imply that a legal partnership or other relationship exists between the parties or create any legal partnership or other relationship. The “average length of our relationship” with respect to a specified group of partners or programs is measured on a weighted average basis by interest and fees on loans for the year ended December 31, 2017 for those partners or for all partners participating in a program, based on the date each partner relationship or program, as applicable, started.

Unless otherwise indicated, references to “loan receivables” do not include loan receivables held for sale.

For a description of certain other terms we use, including “active account” and “purchase volume,” see the notes to “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis—Results of Operations—Other Financial and Statistical Data” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 (our “2017 Form 10-K”). There is no standard industry definition for many of these terms, and other companies may define them differently than we do.

“Synchrony” and its logos and other trademarks referred to in this report, including CareCredit®, Quickscreen®, Dual Card™, Synchrony Car Care™ and SyPI™, belong to us. Solely for convenience, we refer to our trademarks in this report without the ™ and ® symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights to our trademarks. Other service marks, trademarks and trade names referred to in this report are the property of their respective owners.

On our website at www.synchronyfinancial.com, we make available under the "Investors-SEC Filings" menu selection, free of charge, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to these reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after such reports or amendments are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. The SEC maintains an Internet site at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information that we file electronically with the SEC.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:

Various statements in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q may contain “forward-looking statements” as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), which are subject to the “safe harbor” created by those sections. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “targets,” “outlook,” “estimates,” “will,” “should,” “may” or words of similar meaning, but these words are not the exclusive means of identifying forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions, and are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. As a result, actual results could differ materially from those indicated in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include global political, economic, business, competitive, market, regulatory and other factors and risks, such as: the impact of macroeconomic conditions and whether industry trends we have identified develop as anticipated; retaining existing partners and attracting new partners, concentration of our revenue in a small number of Retail Card partners, promotion and support of our products by our partners, and financial performance of our partners; cyber-attacks or other security breaches; higher borrowing costs and adverse financial market conditions impacting our funding and liquidity, and any reduction in our credit ratings; our ability to grow our deposits in the future; our ability to securitize our loan receivables, occurrence of an early amortization of our securitization facilities, loss of the right to service or subservice our securitized loan receivables, and lower payment rates on our securitized loan receivables; changes in market interest rates and the impact of any margin compression; effectiveness of our risk management processes and procedures, reliance on models which may be inaccurate or misinterpreted, our ability to manage our credit risk, the sufficiency of our allowance for loan losses and the accuracy of the assumptions or estimates used in preparing our financial statements; our ability to offset increases in our costs in retailer share arrangements; competition in the consumer finance industry; our concentration in the U.S. consumer credit market; our ability to successfully develop and commercialize new or enhanced products and services; our ability to realize the value of acquisitions and strategic investments; our ability to realize the benefits of and expected capital available from strategic options; reductions in interchange fees; fraudulent activity; failure of third-parties to provide various services that are important to our operations; disruptions in the operations of our computer systems and data centers; international risks and compliance and regulatory risks and costs associated with international operations; alleged infringement of intellectual property rights of others and our ability to protect our intellectual property; litigation and regulatory actions; damage to our reputation; our ability to attract, retain and motivate key officers and employees; tax legislation initiatives or challenges to our tax positions and/or interpretations and state sales tax rules and regulations; a material indemnification obligation to GE under the Tax Sharing and Separation Agreement with GE if we cause the split-off from GE or certain preliminary transactions to fail to qualify for tax-free treatment or in the case of certain significant transfers of our stock following the split-off; regulation, supervision, examination and enforcement of our business by governmental authorities, the impact of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) and the impact of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (the “CFPB”) regulation of our business; impact of capital adequacy rules and liquidity requirements; restrictions that limit our ability to pay dividends and repurchase our common stock and restrictions that limit the Bank’s ability to pay dividends to us; regulations relating to privacy, information security and data protection; use of third-party vendors and ongoing third-party business relationships; and failure to comply with anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing laws.

For the reasons described above, we caution you against relying on any forward-looking statements, which should also be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included elsewhere in this report and in our public filings, including under the heading “Risk Factors” in our 2017 Form 10-K. You should not consider any list of such factors to be an exhaustive statement of all of the risks, uncertainties, or potentially inaccurate assumptions that could cause our current expectations or beliefs to change. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as otherwise may be required by the federal securities laws.

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this quarterly report and in our 2017 Form 10-K. The discussion below contains forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from these expectations. See “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”

Introduction and Business Overview

____________________________________________________________________________________________

We are a premier consumer financial services company delivering customized financing programs across key industries including retail, health, auto, travel and home, along with award-winning consumer banking products. We provide a range of credit products through our financing programs which 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.” For the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, we financed $34.3 billion and $63.9 billion of purchase volume, respectively, and had 69.3 million and 70.5 million average active accounts, respectively, and at June 30, 2018, we had $78.9 billion of loan receivables.

We offer our credit products primarily through our wholly-owned subsidiary, the Bank. In addition, 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 significantly expanded our online direct banking operations in recent years and our deposit base serves as a source of stable and diversified low cost funding for our credit activities. At June 30, 2018, we had $59.0 billion in deposits, which represented 73% of our total funding sources.

Our Sales Platforms

_________________________________________________________________

We conduct our operations through a single business segment. Profitability and expenses, including funding costs, loan losses and operating expenses, are managed for the business as a whole. Substantially all of our operations are within the United States. We offer our credit products through three sales platforms (Retail Card, Payment Solutions and CareCredit). Those platforms are organized by the types of products we offer and the partners we work with, and are measured on interest and fees on loans, loan receivables, new accounts and other sales metrics.

Retail Card

Retail Card is a leading provider of private label credit cards, and also provides Dual Cards, general purpose co-branded credit cards and small- and medium-sized business credit products. We offer one or more of these products primarily through 28 national and regional retailers with which we have ongoing program agreements. The average length of our relationship with these Retail Card partners is 21 years. Retail Card’s revenue primarily consists of interest and fees on our loan receivables. Other income primarily consists of interchange fees earned when our Dual Card or general purpose co-branded credit cards are used outside of our partners' sales channels and fees paid to us by customers who purchase our debt cancellation products, less loyalty program payments. In addition, the majority of our retailer share arrangements, which generally provide for payment to our partner if the economic performance of the program exceeds a contractually-defined threshold, are with partners in the Retail Card sales platform. Substantially all of the credit extended in this platform is on standard terms.

Payment Solutions

Payment Solutions is a leading provider of promotional financing for major consumer purchases, offering primarily private label credit cards and installment loans. Payment Solutions offers these products through participating partners consisting of national and regional retailers, local merchants, manufacturers, buying groups and industry associations. Substantially all of the credit extended in this platform is promotional financing. Payment Solutions’ revenue primarily consists of interest and fees on our loan receivables, including “merchant discounts,” which are fees paid to us by our partners in almost all cases to compensate us for all or part of foregone interest income associated with promotional financing.

CareCredit

CareCredit is a leading provider of promotional financing to consumers for health and personal care procedures, products or services. We have a network of CareCredit providers and health-focused retailers, the vast majority of which are individual or small groups of independent healthcare providers, through which we offer a CareCredit branded private label credit card and our CareCredit Dual Card offering. Substantially all of the credit extended in this platform is promotional financing. CareCredit’s revenue primarily consists of interest and fees on our loan receivables, including merchant discounts.

Our Credit Products

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Through our platforms, we offer three principal types of credit products: credit cards, commercial credit products and consumer installment loans. We also offer a debt cancellation product.

The following table sets forth each credit product by type and indicates the percentage of our total loan receivables that are under standard terms only or pursuant to a promotional financing offer at June 30, 2018.



			Promotional Offer
Credit Product	Standard Terms Only		Deferred Interest		Other Promotional		Total
Credit cards	66.3	%	15.5	%	14.2	%	96.0	%
Commercial credit products	1.7		—		—		1.7
Consumer installment loans	—		—		2.2		2.2
Other	0.1		—		—		0.1
Total	68.1	%	15.5	%	16.4	%	100.0	%

Credit Cards

We typically offer the following principal types of credit cards:

•

Private Label Credit Cards. Private label credit cards are partner-branded credit cards (e.g., Lowe’s or Amazon) or program-branded credit cards (e.g., Synchrony Car Care or CareCredit) that are used primarily for the purchase of goods and services from the partner or within the program network. In addition, in some cases, cardholders may be permitted to access their credit card accounts for cash advances. In Retail Card, credit under our private label credit cards typically is extended on standard terms only, and in Payment Solutions and CareCredit, credit under our private label credit cards typically is extended pursuant to a promotional financing offer.

•

Dual Cards and General Purpose Co-Brand Cards. Our patented Dual Cards are credit cards that function as private label credit cards when used to purchase goods and services from our partners and as general purpose credit cards when used elsewhere. We also offer general purpose co-branded credit cards that do not function as private label cards. Credit extended under our Dual Cards and general purpose co-branded credit cards typically is extended under standard terms only. Dual Cards and general purpose co-branded credit cards are primarily offered through our Retail Card platform. At June 30, 2018, we offered these credit cards through 21 of our 28 ongoing Retail Card programs, of which the majority are Dual Cards.

Commercial Credit Products

We offer private label cards and Dual Cards for commercial customers that are similar to our consumer offerings. We also offer a commercial pay-in-full accounts receivable product to a wide range of business customers. We offer our commercial credit products primarily through our Retail Card platform to the commercial customers of our Retail Card partners.

Installment Loans

In Payment Solutions, we originate installment loans to consumers (and a limited number of commercial customers) in the United States, primarily in the power products market (motorcycles, ATVs and lawn and garden). Installment loans are closed-end credit accounts where the customer pays down the outstanding balance in installments. Installment loans are assessed periodic finance charges using fixed interest rates.

Business Trends and Conditions

____________________________________________________________________________________________

We believe our business and results of operations will be impacted in the future by various trends and conditions. For a discussion of certain trends and conditions, see “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Business Trends and Conditions” in our 2017 Form 10-K. For a discussion of how certain trends and conditions impacted the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, see “—Results of Operations.”

Seasonality

____________________________________________________________________________________________

In our Retail Card and Payment Solutions platforms, we experience fluctuations in transaction volumes and the level of loan receivables as a result of higher seasonal consumer spending and payment patterns that typically result in an increase of loan receivables from August through a peak in late December, with reductions in loan receivables occurring over the first and second quarters of the following year as customers pay their balances down.

The seasonal impact to transaction volumes and the loan receivables balance typically results in fluctuations in our results of operations, delinquency metrics and the allowance for loan losses as a percentage of total loan receivables between quarterly periods.

In addition to the seasonal variance in loan receivables discussed above, we also experience a seasonal increase in delinquency rates and delinquent loan receivables balances during the third and fourth quarters of each year due to lower customer payment rates resulting in higher net charge-off rates in the first and second quarters. Our delinquency rates and delinquent loan receivables balances typically decrease during the subsequent first and second quarters as customers begin to pay down their loan balances and return to current status resulting in lower net charge-off rates in the third and fourth quarters. Because customers who were delinquent during the fourth quarter of a calendar year have a higher probability of returning to current status when compared to customers who are delinquent at the end of each of our interim reporting periods, we expect that a higher proportion of delinquent accounts outstanding at an interim period end will result in charge-offs, as compared to delinquent accounts outstanding at a year end. Consistent with this historical experience, we generally experience a higher allowance for loan losses as a percentage of total loan receivables at the end of an interim period, as compared to the end of a calendar year. In addition, despite improving credit metrics such as declining past due amounts, we may experience an increase in our allowance for loan losses at an interim period end compared to the prior year end, reflecting these same seasonal trends.

Results of Operations

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Highlights for the Three and Six Months Ended June 30, 2018

Below are highlights of our performance for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 compared to the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, as applicable, except as otherwise noted.


•	Net earnings increased 40.3% to $696 million and 34.3% to $1,336 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively, driven by higher net interest income and lower provision for income taxes, partially offset by increases in other expense. The increase for the three months ended June 30, 2018 was also driven by lower provision for loan losses.


•	Loan receivables increased 4.5% to $78,879 million at June 30, 2018 compared to June 30, 2017, primarily driven by higher purchase volume and average active account growth.


•	Net interest income increased 2.7% to $3,737 million and 4.9% to $7,579 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively, primarily due to higher average loan receivables.

•

Retailer share arrangements decreased 2.4% to $653 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018, primarily due to the impact from the Toys "R" Us bankruptcy. Retailer share arrangements increased 1.5% to $1,373 million for the six months ended June 30, 2018, primarily as a result of growth of the programs in which we have retailer share arrangements, partially offset by the impact from the Toys "R" Us bankruptcy.


•	Over-30 day loan delinquencies as a percentage of period-end loan receivables decreased 8 basis points to 4.17% at June 30, 2018 from 4.25% at June 30, 2017, and net charge-off rate increased 55 basis points to 5.97% and 69 basis points to 6.06% for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively.

•

Provision for loan losses decreased by $46 million, or 3.5%, for the three months ended June 30, 2018, primarily due to a lower loan loss reserve build, partially offset by higher net charge-offs. Provision for loan losses remained relatively flat for the six months ended June 30, 2018, as the increase in net charge-offs was largely offset by a lower loan loss reserve build. Our allowance coverage ratio (allowance for loan losses as a percent of end of period loan receivables) increased to 7.43% at June 30, 2018, as compared to 6.63% at June 30, 2017.


•	Other expense increased by $64 million, or 7.0%, and $144 million, or 7.9%, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively, primarily driven by business growth and strategic investments, as well as preparing for the expansion of the PayPal Credit portfolio.


•	Provision for income taxes decreased by $96 million, or 32.9%, and $172 million, or 29.9%, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively, primarily due to the reduction in the corporate tax rate included in the Tax Act.


•	At June 30, 2018, deposits represented 73% of our total funding sources. Total deposits increased 4.5% to $59.0 billion at June 30, 2018, compared to December 31, 2017, driven primarily by growth in our direct deposits of 8.2% to $46.2 billion, partially offset by a reduction in our brokered deposits.

•

On May 17, 2018, the Board announced plans to increase our quarterly dividend to $0.21 per share commencing in the third quarter of 2018 and approval of a share repurchase program of up to $2.2 billion through June 30, 2019. During the six months ended June 30, 2018, we repurchased $901 million of our outstanding common stock, and declared and paid cash dividends of $0.30 per share, or $227 million.


•	In June 2018, we completed our acquisition of Loop Commerce, a provider of digital and in-store gifting services.

2018 New and Extended Partner Agreements

•

On July 2, 2018, we completed our acquisition of $7.6 billion of loan receivables, comprising of PayPal's U.S. consumer credit portfolio, which totaled $6.8 billion, as well as approximately $0.8 billion in participation interests held by unaffiliated third parties. We also extended our existing co-brand credit card program with PayPal and Synchrony Bank is now PayPal’s exclusive issuing bank for the PayPal Credit consumer financing program in the United States.


•	On July 26, 2018, we announced that we will not be renewing our Retail Card program agreement with Walmart, which expires July 31, 2019. See “Our Sales Platforms — Retail Card" in our 2017 Form 10-K for further information on our current program with Walmart.


•	We announced our new partnership with Crate and Barrel in our Retail Card sales platform.


•	We extended our Payment Solutions program agreements with American Signature Furniture, Ashley HomeStore, Briggs & Stratton, Havertys, Nationwide Marketing Group, Robbins Brothers and Sleep Number and announced our new partnerships with Furniture Row, Mahindra and jtv.


•	In our CareCredit sales platform, we renewed LCA Vision and expanded our network to include American Med Spa Association, The Good Feet Store, the Spa Industry Association and the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Summary Earnings

The following table sets forth our results of operations for the periods indicated.



	Three months ended June 30,						Six months ended June 30,
($ in millions)	2018			2017			2018			2017
Interest income	$	4,174		$	3,970		$	8,418		$	7,883
Interest expense	437			333			839			659
Net interest income	3,737			3,637			7,579			7,224
Retailer share arrangements	(653		)	(669		)	(1,373		)	(1,353		)
Net interest income, after retailer share arrangements	3,084			2,968			6,206			5,871
Provision for loan losses	1,280			1,326			2,642			2,632
Net interest income, after retailer share arrangements and provision for loan losses	1,804			1,642			3,564			3,239
Other income	63			57			138			150
Other expense	975			911			1,963			1,819
Earnings before provision for income taxes	892			788			1,739			1,570
Provision for income taxes	196			292			403			575
Net earnings	$	696		$	496		$	1,336		$	995

Other Financial and Statistical Data

The following table sets forth certain other financial and statistical data for the periods indicated.



	At and for the						At and for the
	Three months ended June 30,						Six months ended June 30,
($ in millions)	2018			2017			2018			2017
Financial Position Data (Average):
Loan receivables, including held for sale	$	77,853		$	74,090		$	78,468		$	74,111
Total assets	$	96,214		$	89,394		$	95,962		$	89,431
Deposits	$	57,573		$	52,054		$	57,117		$	52,062
Borrowings	$	20,935		$	20,146		$	21,069		$	20,114
Total equity	$	14,407		$	14,442		$	14,342		$	14,383
Selected Performance Metrics:
Purchase volume⁽¹⁾	$	34,268		$	33,476		$	63,894		$	62,356
Retail Card	$	27,340		$	27,101		$	50,722		$	50,053
Payment Solutions	$	4,288		$	3,930		$	8,111		$	7,616
CareCredit	$	2,640		$	2,445		$	5,061		$	4,687
Average active accounts (in thousands)⁽²⁾	69,344			68,635			70,540			69,307
Net interest margin⁽³⁾	15.33		%	16.20		%	15.69		%	16.19		%
Net charge-offs	$	1,159		$	1,001		$	2,357		$	1,975
Net charge-offs as a % of average loan receivables, including held for sale	5.97		%	5.42		%	6.06		%	5.37		%
Allowance coverage ratio⁽⁴⁾	7.43		%	6.63		%	7.43		%	6.63		%
Return on assets⁽⁵⁾	2.9		%	2.2		%	2.8		%	2.2		%
Return on equity⁽⁶⁾	19.4		%	13.8		%	18.8		%	14.0		%
Equity to assets⁽⁷⁾	14.97		%	16.16		%	14.95		%	16.08		%
Other expense as a % of average loan receivables, including held for sale	5.02		%	4.93		%	5.04		%	4.95		%
Efficiency ratio⁽⁸⁾	31.0		%	30.1		%	30.9		%	30.2		%
Effective income tax rate	22.0		%	37.1		%	23.2		%	36.6		%
Selected Period-End Data:
Loan receivables	$	78,879		$	75,458		$	78,879		$	75,458
Allowance for loan losses	$	5,859		$	5,001		$	5,859		$	5,001
30+ days past due as a % of period-end loan receivables⁽⁹⁾	4.17		%	4.25		%	4.17		%	4.25		%
90+ days past due as a % of period-end loan receivables⁽⁹⁾	1.98		%	1.90		%	1.98		%	1.90		%
Total active accounts (in thousands)⁽²⁾	69,767			69,277			69,767			69,277

______________________


(1)	Purchase volume, or net credit sales, represents the aggregate amount of charges incurred on credit cards or other credit product accounts less returns during the period. Purchase volume includes activity related to our portfolios classified as held for sale.


(2)	Active accounts represent credit card or installment loan accounts on which there has been a purchase, payment or outstanding balance in the current month.


(3)	Net interest margin represents net interest income divided by average interest-earning assets.


(4)	Allowance coverage ratio represents allowance for loan losses divided by total period-end loan receivables.


(5)	Return on assets represents net earnings as a percentage of average total assets.


(6)	Return on equity represents net earnings as a percentage of average total equity.


(7)	Equity to assets represents average equity as a percentage of average total assets.


(8)	Efficiency ratio represents (i) other expense, divided by (ii) net interest income, after retailer share arrangements, plus other income.


(9)	Based on customer statement-end balances extrapolated to the respective period-end date.

Average Balance Sheet

The following tables set forth information for the periods indicated regarding average balance sheet data, which are used in the discussion of interest income, interest expense and net interest income that follows.



	2018							2017
Three months ended June 30 ($ in millions)	Average Balance			Interest Income / Expense		Average Yield / Rate⁽¹⁾		Average Balance			Interest Income/ Expense		Average Yield / Rate⁽¹⁾
Assets
Interest-earning assets:
Interest-earning cash and equivalents⁽²⁾	$	13,097		$	59	1.81	%	$	10,758		$	28	1.04	%
Securities available for sale	6,803			34		2.00	%	5,195			15		1.16	%
Loan receivables⁽³⁾:
Credit cards, including held for sale	74,809			4,010		21.50	%	71,206			3,858		21.73	%
Consumer installment loans	1,648			37		9.01	%	1,461			34		9.33	%
Commercial credit products	1,346			34		10.13	%	1,378			34		9.90	%
Other	50			—		—	%	45			1		NM
Total loan receivables	77,853			4,081		21.03	%	74,090			3,927		21.26	%
Total interest-earning assets	97,753			4,174		17.13	%	90,043			3,970		17.68	%
Non-interest-earning assets:
Cash and due from banks	1,161							829
Allowance for loan losses	(5,768		)					(4,781		)
Other assets	3,068							3,303
Total non-interest-earning assets	(1,539		)					(649		)
Total assets	$	96,214						$	89,394
Liabilities
Interest-bearing liabilities:
Interest-bearing deposit accounts	$	57,303		$	273	1.91	%	$	51,836		$	202	1.56	%
Borrowings of consolidated securitization entities	11,821			80		2.71	%	12,213			63		2.07	%
Senior unsecured notes	9,114			84		3.70	%	7,933			68		3.44	%
Total interest-bearing liabilities	78,238			437		2.24	%	71,982			333		1.86	%
Non-interest-bearing liabilities:
Non-interest-bearing deposit accounts	270							218
Other liabilities	3,299							2,752
Total non-interest-bearing liabilities	3,569							2,970
Total liabilities	81,807							74,952
Equity
Total equity	14,407							14,442
Total liabilities and equity	$	96,214						$	89,394
Interest rate spread⁽⁴⁾						14.89	%						15.82	%
Net interest income				$	3,737						$	3,637
Net interest margin⁽⁵⁾						15.33	%						16.20	%




	2018							2017
Six months ended June 30 ($ in millions)	Average Balance			Interest Income / Expense		Average Yield / Rate⁽¹⁾		Average Balance			Interest Income/ Expense		Average Yield / Rate⁽¹⁾
Assets
Interest-earning assets:
Interest-earning cash and equivalents⁽²⁾	$	12,768		$	106	1.67	%	$	10,656		$	49	0.93	%
Securities available for sale	6,197			59		1.92	%	5,204			30		1.16	%
Loan receivables⁽³⁾:
Credit cards, including held for sale	75,492			8,109		21.66	%	71,285			7,669		21.69	%
Consumer installment loans	1,610			73		9.14	%	1,425			66		9.34	%
Commercial credit products	1,316			70		10.73	%	1,348			68		10.17	%
Other	50			1		4.03	%	53			1		3.80	%
Total loan receivables	78,468			8,253		21.21	%	74,111			7,804		21.23	%
Total interest-earning assets	97,433			8,418		17.42	%	89,971			7,883		17.67	%
Non-interest-earning assets:
Cash and due from banks	1,179							816
Allowance for loan losses	(5,689		)					(4,595		)
Other assets	3,039							3,239
Total non-interest-earning assets	(1,471		)					(540		)
Total assets	$	95,962						$	89,431
Liabilities
Interest-bearing liabilities:
Interest-bearing deposit accounts	$	56,832		$	522	1.85	%	$	51,833		$	396	1.54	%
Borrowings of consolidated securitization entities	12,114			154		2.56	%	12,267			128		2.10	%
Senior unsecured notes	8,955			163		3.67	%	7,847			135		3.47	%
Total interest-bearing liabilities	77,901			839		2.17	%	71,947			659		1.85	%
Non-interest-bearing liabilities:
Non-interest-bearing deposit accounts	285							229
Other liabilities	3,434							2,872
Total non-interest-bearing liabilities	3,719							3,101
Total liabilities	81,620							75,048
Equity
Total equity	14,342							14,383
Total liabilities and equity	$	95,962						$	89,431
Interest rate spread⁽⁴⁾						15.25	%						15.82	%
Net interest income				$	7,579						$	7,224
Net interest margin⁽⁵⁾						15.69	%						16.19	%

______________________


(1)	Average yields/rates are based on total interest income/expense over average balances.


(2)	Includes average restricted cash balances of $365 million and $464 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively, and $567 million and $578 million for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively.


(3)	Interest income on loan receivables includes fees on loans of $595 million and $625 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively, and $1,239 million and $1,253 million for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively.


(4)	Interest rate spread represents the difference between the yield on total interest-earning assets and the rate on total interest-bearing liabilities.


(5)	Net interest margin represents net interest income divided by average total interest-earning assets.

For a summary description of the composition of our key line items included in our Statements of Earnings, see Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in our 2017 Form 10-K.

Interest Income

Interest income increased by $204 million, or 5.1%, and by $535 million, or 6.8%, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, driven primarily by growth in our average loan receivables.

Average interest-earning assets



Three months ended June 30 ($ in millions)	2018		%		2017		%
Loan receivables, including held for sale	$	77,853	79.6	%	$	74,090	82.3	%
Liquidity portfolio and other	19,900		20.4	%	15,953		17.7	%
Total average interest-earning assets	$	97,753	100.0	%	$	90,043	100.0	%




Six months ended June 30 ($ in millions)	2018		%		2017		%
Loan receivables, including held for sale	$	78,468	80.5	%	$	74,111	82.4	%
Liquidity portfolio and other	18,965		19.5	%	15,860		17.6	%
Total average interest-earning assets	$	97,433	100.0	%	$	89,971	100.0	%

The increases in average loan receivables of 5.1% and 5.9% for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively, were driven primarily by higher purchase volume of 2.4% and 2.5% and average active account growth of 1.0% and 1.8%, respectively.

Average active accounts increased to 69.3 million and 70.5 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively, and the average balance per active account increased 4.0% for both periods.

Yield on average interest-earning assets

The yield on average interest-earning assets decreased for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018. The decreases were primarily due to a lower percentage of interest-earning assets attributable to loan receivables as a result of the pre-funding strategy for the PayPal Credit portfolio acquisition.

Interest Expense

Interest expense increased by $104 million, or 31.2%, and by $180 million, or 27.3%, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively, driven primarily by higher cost of funds and the growth in our deposit liabilities. Our cost of funds increased to 2.24% and 2.17% for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively, compared to 1.86% and 1.85% for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, respectively, primarily due to higher benchmark interest rates and the pre-funding strategy for the PayPal Credit portfolio acquisition.

Average interest-bearing liabilities



Three months ended June 30 ($ in millions)	2018		%		2017		%
Interest-bearing deposit accounts	$	57,303	73.2	%	$	51,836	72.0	%
Borrowings of consolidated securitization entities	11,821		15.1	%	12,213		17.0	%
Third-party debt	9,114		11.7	%	7,933		11.0	%
Total average interest-bearing liabilities	$	78,238	100.0	%	$	71,982	100.0	%




Six months ended June 30 ($ in millions)	2018		%		2017		%
Interest-bearing deposit accounts	$	56,832	73.0	%	$	51,833	72.0	%
Borrowings of consolidated securitization entities	12,114		15.5	%	12,267		17.1	%
Third-party debt	8,955		11.5	%	7,847		10.9	%
Total average interest-bearing liabilities	$	77,901	100.0	%	$	71,947	100.0	%

The increase in average interest-bearing liabilities for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2018 was driven primarily by growth in our direct deposits.

Net Interest Income

Net interest income increased by $100 million, or 2.7%, and $355 million, or 4.9%, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively, primarily driven by higher average loan receivables.

Retailer Share Arrangements

Retailer share arrangements decreased by $16 million, or 2.4%, for the three months ended June 30, 2018, primarily due to the impact from the Toys "R" Us bankruptcy. Retailer share arrangements increased $20 million, or 1.5%, for the six months ended June 30, 2018, primarily as a result of growth of the programs in which we have retailer share arrangements, partially offset by the impact from the Toys "R" Us bankruptcy.

Provision for Loan Losses

Our allowance coverage ratio increased to 7.43% at June 30, 2018, as compared to 6.63% at June 30, 2017, reflecting an increase in forecasted losses inherent in our loan portfolio.

Other Income



	Three months ended June 30,						Six months ended June 30,
($ in millions)	2018			2017			2018			2017
Interchange revenue	$	177		$	165		$	335		$	310
Debt cancellation fees	66			68			132			136
Loyalty programs	(192		)	(206		)	(347		)	(343		)
Other	12			30			18			47
Total other income	$	63		$	57		$	138		$	150

Other income increased by $6 million, or 10.5%, for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and decreased by $12 million, or 8.0%, for the six months ended June 30, 2018. Interchange revenue increased in both periods driven by increased purchase volume outside of our retail partners' sales channels. Loyalty costs decreased for the three months ended June 30, 2018 primarily due to higher reward redemption rates experienced in the prior year, and remained relatively flat for the six months ended June 30, 2018. Other income also decreased for both current year periods due to the impact of a pre-tax gain of $18 million recognized in the three months ended June 30, 2017.

Other Expense



	Three months ended June 30,				Six months ended June 30,
($ in millions)	2018		2017		2018		2017
Employee costs	$	351	$	318	$	709	$	641
Professional fees	177		158		343		309
Marketing and business development	110		124		231		218
Information processing	99		88		203		178
Other	238		223		477		473
Total other expense	$	975	$	911	$	1,963	$	1,819

Other expense increased by $64 million, or 7.0%, and by $144 million, or 7.9%, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively, primarily due to increases in employee costs, as well as increases in professional fees and information processing.

The increases in employee costs were primarily due to new employees added to support the continued growth of the business. Information processing costs and professional fees increased primarily due to both business growth and strategic investments.

Provision for Income Taxes



	Three months ended June 30,						Six months ended June 30,
($ in millions)	2018			2017			2018			2017
Effective tax rate	22.0		%	37.1		%	23.2		%	36.6		%
Provision for income taxes	$	196		$	292		$	403		$	575

The effective tax rate for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 decreased compared to the same period in the prior year primarily due to the reduction in the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. In each period, the effective tax rate differs from the applicable U.S. federal statutory rate primarily due to state income taxes.

Platform Analysis

As discussed above under “—Our Sales Platforms,” we offer our products through three sales platforms (Retail Card, Payment Solutions and CareCredit), which management measures based on their revenue-generating activities. The following is a discussion of certain supplemental information for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, for each of our sales platforms.

Retail Card



	Three months ended June 30,						Six months ended June 30,
($ in millions)	2018			2017			2018			2017
Purchase volume	$	27,340		$	27,101		$	50,722		$	50,053
Period-end loan receivables	$	52,918		$	51,437		$	52,918		$	51,437
Average loan receivables	$	52,427		$	50,533		$	53,047		$	50,588
Average active accounts (in thousands)	54,092			54,058			55,211			54,729

Interest and fees on loans	$	2,993		$	2,900		$	6,089		$	5,788
Retailer share arrangements	$	(644	)	$	(657	)	$	(1,358	)	$	(1,338	)
Other income	$	48		$	25		$	113		$	102

Retail Card interest and fees on loans increased by $93 million, or 3.2%, and by $301 million, or 5.2%, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively. These increases were primarily the result of growth in average loan receivables.

Retailer share arrangements decreased by $13 million, or 2.0%, for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and increased by $20 million, or 1.5%, for the six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively, primarily as a result of the factors discussed under the heading “Retailer Share Arrangements” above.

Other income increased by $23 million, or 92.0%, and by $11 million, or 10.8%, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively, primarily as a result of the changes in interchange revenue and loyalty costs discussed under the heading “Other Income” above.

Payment Solutions



	Three months ended June 30,						Six months ended June 30,
($ in millions)	2018			2017			2018			2017
Purchase volume	$	4,288		$	3,930		$	8,111		$	7,616
Period-end loan receivables	$	16,875		$	15,595		$	16,875		$	15,595
Average loan receivables	$	16,562		$	15,338		$	16,595		$	15,381
Average active accounts (in thousands)	9,433			9,031			9,492			9,061

Interest and fees on loans	$	566		$	533		$	1,128		$	1,048
Retailer share arrangements	$	(7	)	$	(9	)	$	(11	)	$	(10	)
Other income	$	4		$	6		$	6		$	10

Payment Solutions interest and fees on loans increased by $33 million, or 6.2%, and by $80 million, or 7.6%, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively. These increases were primarily driven by growth in average loan receivables.

CareCredit



	Three months ended June 30,						Six months ended June 30,
($ in millions)	2018			2017			2018			2017
Purchase volume	$	2,640		$	2,445		$	5,061		$	4,687
Period-end loan receivables	$	9,086		$	8,426		$	9,086		$	8,426
Average loan receivables	$	8,864		$	8,219		$	8,826		$	8,142
Average active accounts (in thousands)	5,819			5,546			5,837			5,517

Interest and fees on loans	$	522		$	494		$	1,036		$	968
Retailer share arrangements	$	(2	)	$	(3	)	$	(4	)	$	(5	)
Other income	$	11		$	26		$	19		$	38

CareCredit interest and fees on loans increased by $28 million, or 5.7%, and by $68 million, or 7.0%, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018. The increase was primarily driven by growth in average loan receivables.

Debt Securities

____________________________________________________________________________________________

The following discussion provides supplemental information regarding our debt securities portfolio. All of our debt securities are classified as available-for-sale at June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, and are held to meet our liquidity objectives and to comply with the Community Reinvestment Act. Debt securities classified as available-for-sale are reported in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Position at fair value.

The following table sets forth the amortized cost and fair value of our portfolio of debt securities at the dates indicated:



	At June 30, 2018				At December 31, 2017
($ in millions)	Amortized Cost		Estimated Fair Value		Amortized Cost		Estimated Fair Value
U.S. government and federal agency	$	3,756	$	3,748	$	2,419	$	2,416
State and municipal	42		41		44		44
Residential mortgage-backed	1,283		1,234		1,258		1,231
Asset-backed	1,757		1,754		781		780
U.S. corporate debt	2		2		2		2
Total	$	6,840	$	6,779	$	4,504	$	4,473

Unrealized gains and losses, net of the related tax effects, on available-for-sale debt securities that are not other-than-temporarily impaired are excluded from earnings and are reported as a separate component of comprehensive income (loss) until realized. At June 30, 2018, our debt securities had gross unrealized gains of $1 million and gross unrealized losses of $62 million. At December 31, 2017, our debt securities had gross unrealized gains of $1 million and gross unrealized losses of $32 million.

Our debt securities portfolio had the following maturity distribution at June 30, 2018.



($ in millions)	Due in 1 Year or Less			Due After 1 through 5 Years			Due After 5 through 10 Years			Due After 10 years			Total
U.S. government and federal agency	$	3,480		$	268		$	—		$	—		$	3,748
State and municipal	—			—			2			39			41
Residential mortgage-backed	—			—			135			1,099			1,234
Asset-backed	1,215			539			—			—			1,754
U.S. corporate debt	2			—			—			—			2
Total⁽¹⁾	$	4,697		$	807		$	137		$	1,138		$	6,779
Weighted average yield⁽²⁾	2.1		%	2.2		%	3.3		%	2.8		%	2.2		%

______________________


(1)	Amounts stated represent estimated fair value.


(2)	Weighted average yield is calculated based on the amortized cost of each security. In calculating yield, no adjustment has been made with respect to any tax-exempt obligations.

At June 30, 2018, we did not hold investments in any single issuer with an aggregate book value that exceeded 10% of equity, excluding obligations of the U.S. government.

Loan Receivables

____________________________________________________________________________________________

The following discussion provides supplemental information regarding our loan receivables portfolio.

Loan receivables are our largest category of assets and represent our primary source of revenue. The following table sets forth the composition of our loan receivables portfolio by product type at the dates indicated.



($ in millions)	At June 30, 2018		(%)		At December 31, 2017		(%)
Loans
Credit cards	$	75,753	96.0	%	$	79,026	96.5	%
Consumer installment loans	1,708		2.2		1,578		1.9
Commercial credit products	1,356		1.7		1,303		1.6
Other	62		0.1		40		—
Total loans	$	78,879	100.0	%	$	81,947	100.0	%

Loan receivables decreased by $3,068 million, or 3.7%, at June 30, 2018 compared to December 31, 2017, primarily driven by the seasonality of our business.

Loan receivables increased by $3,421 million, or 4.5%, at June 30, 2018 compared to June 30, 2017, primarily driven by higher purchase volume and average active account growth.

On July 2, 2018, we completed our acquisition of PayPal's U.S. consumer credit portfolio. See Note 14. Subsequent Events to our condensed consolidated financial statements for further details.

Our loan receivables portfolio had the following geographic concentration at June 30, 2018.



($ in millions)	Loan Receivables Outstanding		% of Total Loan Receivables Outstanding
State	Loan Receivables Outstanding		% of Total Loan Receivables Outstanding
Texas	$	8,079	10.2	%
California	$	8,019	10.2	%
Florida	$	6,619	8.4	%
New York	$	4,380	5.6	%
Pennsylvania	$	3,301	4.2	%

Impaired Loans and Troubled Debt Restructurings

Our loss mitigation strategy is intended to minimize economic loss and at times can result in rate reductions, principal forgiveness, extensions or other actions, which may cause the related loan to be classified as a Troubled Debt Restructuring (“TDR”) and also be impaired. We use long-term modification programs for borrowers experiencing financial difficulty as a loss mitigation strategy to improve long-term collectability of the loans that are classified as TDRs. The long-term program involves changing the structure of the loan to a fixed payment loan with a maturity no longer than 60 months and reducing the interest rate on the loan. The long-term program does not normally provide for the forgiveness of unpaid principal, but may allow for the reversal of certain unpaid interest or fee assessments. We also make loan modifications for some customers who request financial assistance through external sources, such as a consumer credit counseling agency program. The loans that are modified typically receive a reduced interest rate but continue to be subject to the original minimum payment terms and do not normally include waiver of unpaid principal, interest or fees. The determination of whether these changes to the terms and conditions meet the TDR criteria includes our consideration of all relevant facts and circumstances.

Loans classified as TDRs are recorded at their present value with impairment measured as the difference between the loan balance and the discounted present value of cash flows expected to be collected, discounted at the original effective interest rate of the loan.

Interest income from loans accounted for as TDRs is accounted for in the same manner as other accruing loans. We accrue interest on credit card balances until the accounts are charged-off in the period the accounts become 180 days past due. The following table presents the amount of loan receivables that are not accruing interest, loans that are 90 days or more past-due and still accruing interest, and earning TDRs for the periods presented.



($ in millions)	At June 30, 2018		At December 31, 2017
Non-accrual loan receivables	$	3	$	5
Loans contractually 90 days past-due and still accruing interest	1,558		1,864
Earning TDRs⁽¹⁾	996		940
Non-accrual, past-due and restructured loan receivables	$	2,557	$	2,809

______________________

(1)

At June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, balances exclude $104 million and $103 million, respectively, of TDRs which are included in loans contractually 90 days past-due and still accruing interest on the balance. See Note 4. Loan Receivables and Allowance for Loan Losses to our condensed consolidated financial statements for additional information on the financial effects of TDRs for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017.



	Three months ended June 30,				Six months ended June 30,
($ in millions)	2018		2017		2018		2017
Gross amount of interest income that would have been recorded in accordance with the original contractual terms	$	65	$	53	$	127	$	104
Interest income recognized	12		11		24		23
Total interest income foregone	$	53	$	42	$	103	$	81

Delinquencies

Over-30 day loan delinquencies as a percentage of period-end loan receivables decreased to 4.17% at June 30, 2018 from 4.25% at June 30, 2017, and decreased from 4.67% at December 31, 2017. The 8 basis point decrease compared to the same period in the prior year includes the impact in the current year from certain underwriting refinements. The decrease as compared to December 31, 2017 was primarily driven by the seasonality of our business, as well as the factors referenced above.

Net Charge-Offs

Net charge-offs consist of the unpaid principal balance of loans held for investment that we determine are uncollectible, net of recovered amounts. We exclude accrued and unpaid finance charges and fees and third-party fraud losses from charge-offs. Charged-off and recovered finance charges and fees are included in interest and fees on loans while third-party fraud losses are included in other expense. Charge-offs are recorded as a reduction to the allowance for loan losses and subsequent recoveries of previously charged-off amounts are credited to the allowance for loan losses. Costs incurred to recover charged-off loans are recorded as collection expense and included in other expense in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings.

The table below sets forth the ratio of net charge-offs to average loan receivables, including held for sale, for the periods indicated.



	Three months ended June 30,				Six months ended June 30,
	2018		2017		2018		2017
Ratio of net charge-offs to average loan receivables, including held for sale	5.97	%	5.42	%	6.06	%	5.37	%

Allowance for Loan Losses

The allowance for loan losses totaled $5,859 million at June 30, 2018, compared with $5,574 million at December 31, 2017 and $5,001 million at June 30, 2017, representing our best estimate of probable losses inherent in the portfolio. Our allowance for loan losses as a percentage of total loan receivables increased to 7.43% at June 30, 2018, from 6.80% at December 31, 2017 and 6.63% at June 30, 2017, which reflects the increase in forecasted net charge-offs over the next twelve months. The increase from December 31, 2017 also includes the effects of the seasonality of our business. See "Business Trends and Conditions — Asset Quality" in our 2017 Form 10-K for discussion of the various factors that contribute to forecasted net charge-offs over the next twelve months.

The following tables provide changes in our allowance for loan losses for the periods presented:



($ in millions)	Balance at April 1, 2018		Provision charged to operations		Gross charge-offs			Recoveries		Balance at June 30, 2018

Credit cards	$	5,640	$	1,255	$	(1,375	)	$	237	$	5,757
Consumer installment loans	45		14		(12		)	4		51
Commercial credit products	52		11		(14		)	1		50
Other	1		—		—			—		1
Total	$	5,738	$	1,280	$	(1,401	)	$	242	$	5,859



($ in millions)	Balance at April 1, 2017		Provision charged to operations		Gross charge-offs			Recoveries		Balance at June 30, 2017

Credit cards	$	4,585	$	1,301	$	(1,194	)	$	214	$	4,906
Consumer installment loans	40		1		(11		)	4		34
Commercial credit products	50		24		(16		)	2		60
Other	1		—		—			—		1
Total	$	4,676	$	1,326	$	(1,221	)	$	220	$	5,001




($ in millions)	Balance at January 1, 2018		Provision charged to operations		Gross charge-offs			Recoveries		Balance at June 30, 2018

Credit cards	$	5,483	$	2,589	$	(2,747	)	$	432	$	5,757
Consumer installment loans	40		30		(27		)	8		51
Commercial credit products	50		23		(26		)	3		50
Other	1		—		—			—		1
Total	$	5,574	$	2,642	$	(2,800	)	$	443	$	5,859




	Balance at January 1, 2017		Provision charged to operations		Gross charge- offs			Recoveries		Balance at June 30, 2017
($ in millions)
Credit cards	$	4,254	$	2,579	$	(2,378	)	$	451	$	4,906
Consumer installment loans	37		14		(25		)	8		34
Commercial credit products	52		39		(34		)	3		60
Other	1		—		—			—		1
Total	$	4,344	$	2,632	$	(2,437	)	$	462	$	5,001

Funding, Liquidity and Capital Resources

____________________________________________________________________________________________

We maintain a strong focus on liquidity and capital. Our funding, liquidity and capital policies are designed to ensure that our business has the liquidity and capital resources to support our daily operations, our business growth, our credit ratings and our regulatory and policy requirements, in a cost effective and prudent manner through expected and unexpected market environments.

Funding Sources

Our primary funding sources include cash from operations, deposits (direct and brokered deposits), securitized financings and third-party debt.

The following table summarizes information concerning our funding sources during the periods indicated:



	2018						2017
Three months ended June 30 ($ in millions)	Average Balance		%		Average Rate		Average Balance		%		Average Rate
Deposits⁽¹⁾	$	57,303	73.2	%	1.9	%	$	51,836	72.0	%	1.6	%
Securitized financings	11,821		15.1		2.7		12,213		17.0		2.1
Senior unsecured notes	9,114		11.7		3.7		7,933		11.0		3.4
Total	$	78,238	100.0	%	2.2	%	$	71,982	100.0	%	1.9	%


(1)	Excludes $270 million and $218 million average balance of non-interest-bearing deposits for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Non-interest-bearing deposits comprise less than 10% of total deposits for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017.




	2018						2017
Six months ended June 30 ($ in millions)	Average Balance		%		Average Rate		Average Balance		%		Average Rate
Deposits⁽¹⁾	$	56,832	73.0	%	1.9	%	$	51,833	72.0	%	1.5	%
Securitized financings	12,114		15.5		2.6		12,267		17.1		2.1
Senior unsecured notes	8,955		11.5		3.7		7,847		10.9		3.5
Total	$	77,901	100.0	%	2.2	%	$	71,947	100.0	%	1.8	%

______________________


(1)	Excludes $285 million and $229 million average balance of non-interest-bearing deposits for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Non-interest-bearing deposits comprise less than 10% of total deposits for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017.

Deposits

We obtain deposits directly from retail and commercial customers (“direct deposits”) or through third-party brokerage firms that offer our deposits to their customers (“brokered deposits”). At June 30, 2018, we had $46.2 billion in direct deposits and $12.8 billion in deposits originated through brokerage firms (including network deposit sweeps procured through a program arranger that channels brokerage account deposits to us). A key part of our liquidity plan and funding strategy is to continue to expand our direct deposits base as a source of stable and diversified low-cost funding.

Our direct deposits include a range of FDIC-insured deposit products, including certificates of deposit, IRAs, money market accounts and savings accounts.

Brokered deposits are primarily from retail customers of large brokerage firms. We have relationships with 10 brokers that offer our deposits through their networks. Our brokered deposits consist primarily of certificates of deposit that bear interest at a fixed rate and at June 30, 2018, had a weighted average remaining life of 2.7 years. These deposits generally are not subject to early withdrawal.

Our ability to attract deposits is sensitive to, among other things, the interest rates we pay, and therefore, we bear funding risk if we fail to pay higher rates, or interest rate risk if we are required to pay higher rates, to retain existing deposits or attract new deposits. To mitigate these risks, our funding strategy includes a range of deposit products, and we seek to maintain access to multiple other funding sources, including securitized financings (including our undrawn committed capacity) and unsecured debt.

The following table summarizes certain information regarding our interest-bearing deposits by type (all of which constitute U.S. deposits) for the periods indicated:



Three months ended June 30 ($ in millions)	2018						2017
Three months ended June 30 ($ in millions)	Average Balance		% of Total		Average Rate		Average Balance		% of Total		Average Rate
Direct deposits:
Certificates of deposit (including IRA certificates of deposit)	$	26,906	46.9	%	1.9	%	$	21,825	42.1	%	1.6	%
Savings accounts (including money market accounts)	18,206		31.8		1.6		17,607		34.0		1.1
Brokered deposits	12,191		21.3		2.5		12,404		23.9		2.3
Total interest-bearing deposits	$	57,303	100.0	%	1.9	%	$	51,836	100.0	%	1.6	%




Six months ended June 30 ($ in millions)	2018						2017
Six months ended June 30 ($ in millions)	Average Balance		% of Total		Average Rate		Average Balance		% of Total		Average Rate
Direct deposits:
Certificates of deposit (including IRA certificates of deposit)	$	26,467	46.6	%	1.8	%	$	21,532	41.6	%	1.6	%
Savings accounts (including money market accounts)	18,011		31.7		1.5		17,477		33.7		1.1
Brokered deposits	12,354		21.7		2.4		12,824		24.7		2.2
Total interest-bearing deposits	$	56,832	100.0	%	1.9	%	$	51,833	100.0	%	1.5	%

Our deposit liabilities provide funding with maturities ranging from one day to ten years. At June 30, 2018, the weighted average maturity of our interest-bearing time deposits was 1.5 years. See Note 7. Deposits to our condensed consolidated financial statements for more information on their maturities.

The following table summarizes deposits by contractual maturity at June 30, 2018.



($ in millions)	3 Months or Less		Over 3 Months but within 6 Months		Over 6 Months but within 12 Months		Over 12 Months		Total
U.S. deposits (less than $100,000)⁽¹⁾	$	7,198	$	2,267	$	5,668	$	10,470	$	25,603
U.S. deposits ($100,000 or more)
Direct deposits:
Certificates of deposit (including IRA certificates of deposit)	1,639		3,143		7,097		6,341		18,220
Savings accounts (including money market accounts)	13,582		—		—		—		13,582
Brokered deposits:
Sweep accounts	1,606		—		—		—		1,606
Total	$	24,025	$	5,410	$	12,765	$	16,811	$	59,011

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(1)	Includes brokered certificates of deposit for which underlying individual deposit balances are assumed to be less than $100,000.

Securitized Financings

We have been engaged in the securitization of our credit card receivables since 1997. We access the asset-backed securitization market using the Synchrony Credit Card Master Note Trust (“SYNCT”) through which we issue asset-backed securities through both public transactions and private transactions funded by financial institutions and commercial paper conduits. In addition, we issue asset-backed securities in private transactions through the Synchrony Sales Finance Master Trust (“SFT”) and the Synchrony Card Issuance Trust (“SYNIT”).

The following table summarizes expected contractual maturities of the investors’ interests in securitized financings, excluding debt premiums, discounts and issuance costs at June 30, 2018.



($ in millions)	Less Than One Year		One Year Through Three Years		After Three Through Five Years		After Five Years		Total
Scheduled maturities of long-term borrowings—owed to securitization investors:
SYNCT⁽¹⁾	$	1,778	$	4,663	$	1,591	$	—	$	8,032
SFT	233		2,617		—		—		2,850
SYNIT	—		1,300		—		—		1,300
Total long-term borrowings—owed to securitization investors	$	2,011	$	8,580	$	1,591	$	—	$	12,182

______________________


(1)	Excludes subordinated classes of SYNCT notes that we own.

We retain exposure to the performance of trust assets through: (i) in the case of SYNCT, SFT and SYNIT, subordinated retained interests in the loan receivables transferred to the trust in excess of the principal amount of the notes for a given series to provide credit enhancement for a particular series, as well as a pari passu seller’s interest in each trust and (ii) in the case of SYNCT, subordinated classes of notes that we own.

All of our securitized financings include early repayment triggers, referred to as early amortization events, including events related to material breaches of representations, warranties or covenants, inability or failure of the Bank to transfer loan receivables to the trusts as required under the securitization documents, failure to make required payments or deposits pursuant to the securitization documents, and certain insolvency-related events with respect to the related securitization depositor, Synchrony (solely with respect to SYNCT) or the Bank. In addition, an early amortization event will occur with respect to a series if the excess spread as it relates to a particular series or for the trust, as applicable, falls below zero. Following an early amortization event, principal collections on the loan receivables in the applicable trust are applied to repay principal of the trust's asset-backed securities rather than being available on a revolving basis to fund the origination activities of our business. The occurrence of an early amortization event also would limit or terminate our ability to issue future series out of the trust in which the early amortization event occurred. No early amortization event has occurred with respect to any of the securitized financings in SYNCT, SFT or SYNIT.

The following table summarizes for each of our trusts the three-month rolling average excess spread at June 30, 2018.



	Note Principal Balance ($ in millions)		# of Series Outstanding	Three-Month Rolling Average Excess Spread⁽¹⁾
SYNCT⁽²⁾	$	9,048	16	~14.3% to 15.3%
SFT	$	2,850	10	10.9	%
SYNIT	$	1,300	4	~18.2% to 18.4%

______________________

(1)

Represents the excess spread (generally calculated as interest income collected from the applicable pool of loan receivables less applicable net charge-offs, interest expense and servicing costs, divided by the aggregate principal amount of loan receivables in the applicable pool) for SFT or, in the case of SYNCT and SYNIT, a range of the excess spreads relating to the particular series issued within each trust, in each case calculated in accordance with the applicable trust or series documentation, for the three securitization monthly periods ended June 30, 2018.


(2)	Includes subordinated classes of SYNCT notes that we own.

Third-Party Debt

Senior Unsecured Notes

The following table provides a summary of our outstanding senior unsecured notes at June 30, 2018.



($ in millions)	Maturity	Principal Amount Outstanding⁽¹⁾
Fixed rate senior unsecured notes:
Synchrony Financial
2.600% senior unsecured notes	January, 2019	$	1,000
3.000% senior unsecured notes	August, 2019	1,100
2.700% senior unsecured notes	February, 2020	750
3.750% senior unsecured notes	August, 2021	750
4.250% senior unsecured notes	August, 2024	1,250
4.500% senior unsecured notes	July, 2025	1,000
3.700% senior unsecured notes	August, 2026	500
3.950% senior unsecured notes	December, 2027	1,000
Synchrony Bank
3.000% senior unsecured notes	June, 2022	750
3.650% senior unsecured notes	May, 2021	750
Total fixed rate senior unsecured notes		$	8,850

Floating rate senior unsecured notes:
Synchrony Financial
Three-month LIBOR plus 1.23% senior unsecured notes	February, 2020	$	250
Synchrony Bank
Three-month LIBOR plus 0.625% senior unsecured notes	March, 2020	500
Total floating rate senior unsecured notes		$	750

______________________


(1)	The amounts shown exclude unamortized debt discount, premiums and issuance cost.

At June 30, 2018, the aggregate amount of outstanding senior unsecured notes was $9.6 billion and the weighted average interest rate was 3.51%.

Short-Term Borrowings

Except as described above, there were no material short-term borrowings for the periods presented.

Other

At June 30, 2018, we had more than $25.0 billion of unencumbered assets in the Bank available to be used to generate additional liquidity through secured borrowings or asset sales or to be pledged to the Federal Reserve Board for credit at the discount window.

Covenants

The indenture pursuant to which our senior unsecured notes have been issued includes various covenants. If we do not satisfy any of these covenants, the maturity of amounts outstanding thereunder may be accelerated and become payable. We were in compliance with all of these covenants at June 30, 2018.

At June 30, 2018, we were not in default under any of our credit facilities or senior unsecured notes.

Credit Ratings

Our borrowing costs and capacity in certain funding markets, including securitizations and senior and subordinated debt, may be affected by the credit ratings of the Company, the Bank and the ratings of our asset-backed securities.

Synchrony's senior unsecured debt is rated BBB- (stable outlook) by Fitch and BBB- (stable outlook) by S&P. The Bank’s senior unsecured debt is rated BBB- (stable outlook) by Fitch and BBB (stable outlook) by S&P. In addition, certain of the asset-backed securities issued by SYNCT are rated by Fitch, S&P and/or Moody’s. A credit rating is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities, may be subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating organization, and each rating should be evaluated independently of any other rating. Downgrades in these credit ratings could materially increase the cost of our funding from, and restrict our access to, the capital markets.

Liquidity

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We seek to ensure that we have adequate liquidity to sustain business operations, fund asset growth, satisfy debt obligations and to meet regulatory expectations under normal and stress conditions.

We maintain policies outlining the overall framework and general principles for managing liquidity risk across our business, which is the responsibility of our Asset and Liability Management Committee, a subcommittee of our Risk Committee. We employ a variety of metrics to monitor and manage liquidity. We perform regular liquidity stress testing and contingency planning as part of our liquidity management process. We evaluate a range of stress scenarios including Company specific and systemic events that could impact funding sources and our ability to meet liquidity needs.

We maintain a liquidity portfolio, which at June 30, 2018 had $21.5 billion of liquid assets, primarily consisting of cash and equivalents and short-term obligations of the U.S. Treasury, less cash in transit which is not considered to be liquid, compared to $15.1 billion of liquid assets at December 31, 2017. The increase in liquid assets was primarily due to deposit growth as part of our pre-funding strategy for the PayPal Credit portfolio acquisition.

As additional sources of liquidity, at June 30, 2018, we had an aggregate of $6.0 billion of undrawn committed capacity on our securitized financings, subject to customary borrowing conditions, from private lenders under our securitization programs and $0.5 billion of undrawn committed capacity under our unsecured revolving credit facility with private lenders, and we had more than $25.0 billion of unencumbered assets in the Bank available to be used to generate additional liquidity through secured borrowings or asset sales or to be pledged to the Federal Reserve Board for credit at the discount window.

As a general matter, investments included in our liquidity portfolio are expected to be highly liquid, giving us the ability to readily convert them to cash. The level and composition of our liquidity portfolio may fluctuate based upon the level of expected maturities of our funding sources as well as operational requirements and market conditions.

We rely significantly on dividends and other distributions and payments from the Bank for liquidity; however, bank regulations, contractual restrictions and other factors limit the amount of dividends and other distributions and payments that the Bank may pay to us. For a discussion of regulatory restrictions on the Bank’s ability to pay dividends, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Regulation—We are subject to restrictions that limit our ability to pay dividends and repurchase our common stock; the Bank is subject to restrictions that limit its ability to pay dividends to us, which could limit our ability to pay dividends, repurchase our common stock or make payments on our indebtedness” and “Item 1A. Business—Regulation—Savings Association Regulation—Dividends and Stock Repurchases” in our 2017 Form 10-K.

Capital

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Our primary sources of capital have been earnings generated by our business and existing equity capital. We seek to manage capital to a level and composition sufficient to support the risks of our business, meet regulatory requirements, adhere to rating agency targets and support future business growth. The level, composition and utilization of capital are influenced by changes in the economic environment, strategic initiatives and legislative and regulatory developments. Within these constraints, we are focused on deploying capital in a manner that will provide attractive returns to our stockholders.

Synchrony and the Bank are required to conduct stress tests on an annual basis. Under the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency of the U.S. Treasury's (the “OCC”) and the Federal Reserve Board's stress test regulations, the Bank and Synchrony are required to use stress-testing methodologies providing for results under various scenarios of economic and financial market stress. In addition, while as a savings and loan holding company and a financial holding company, we currently are not subject to the Federal Reserve Board's capital planning rule, we submitted a capital plan to the Federal Reserve Board in 2018.

In May 2018, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act was enacted, which among other things, includes changes to stress testing reporting thresholds based on an institution’s total consolidated assets. The Act will likely decrease the overall regulatory burden on savings and loan holding companies, though the ultimate impact will not be known until the regulators have finalized the law's implementation.

Dividend and Share Repurchases



Cash Dividends Declared	Month of Payment	Amount per Common Share		Amount
($ in millions, except per share data)
Three months ended March 31, 2018	February, 2018	$	0.15	$	114
Three months ended June 30, 2018	May, 2018	0.15		113
Total dividends declared		$	0.30	$	227

On May 17, 2018, the Board announced plans to increase our quarterly dividend to $0.21 per share commencing in the third quarter of 2018. The declaration and payment of future dividends to holders of our common stock will be at the discretion of the Board and will depend on many factors. For a discussion of regulatory and other restrictions on our ability to pay dividends and repurchase stock, see “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Regulation—We are subject to restrictions that limit its ability to pay dividends and repurchase its common stock; the Bank is subject to restrictions that limit its ability to pay dividends to Synchrony, which could limit Synchrony's ability to pay dividends, repurchase its common stock or make payments on its indebtedness” in our 2017 Form 10-K.



Shares Repurchased Under Publicly Announced Programs	Total Number of Shares Purchased	Dollar Value of Shares Purchased

($ and shares in millions)
Three months ended March 31, 2018	10.4	$	410
Three months ended June 30, 2018	14.0	$	491
Total	24.4	$	901

In May 2018, we completed our share repurchase program of up to $1.64 billion (the "2017 Share Repurchase Program"). On May 17, 2018, the Company approved a share repurchase program of up to $2.2 billion through June 30, 2019 (the "2018 Share Repurchase Program"). Through the end of the second quarter of 2018, we have repurchased approximately $281 million of common stock as part of the 2018 Share Repurchase Program and expect to complete the share repurchase program by the end of the second quarter of 2019. We made, and expect to continue to make, share repurchases subject to market conditions and other factors, including legal and regulatory restrictions and required approvals.

Regulatory Capital Requirements - Synchrony Financial

As a savings and loan holding company, we are required to maintain minimum capital ratios, under the applicable U.S. Basel III capital rules. For more information, see “Regulation—Savings and Loan Holding Company Regulation” in our 2017 Form 10-K.

For Synchrony Financial to be a well-capitalized savings and loan holding company, Synchrony Bank must be well-capitalized and Synchrony Financial must not be subject to any written agreement, order, capital directive, or prompt corrective action directive issued by the Federal Reserve Board to meet and maintain a specific capital level for any capital measure. As of June 30, 2018, Synchrony Financial met all the requirements to be deemed well-capitalized.

The following table sets forth at June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 the composition of our capital ratios for the Company calculated under the Basel III regulatory capital standards, respectively.



	Basel III
	At June 30, 2018⁽¹⁾				At December 31, 2017⁽²⁾
($ in millions)	Amount		Ratio⁽³⁾		Amount		Ratio⁽³⁾
Total risk-based capital	$	13,885	18.0	%	$	13,954	17.3	%
Tier 1 risk-based capital	$	12,858	16.6	%	$	12,890	16.0	%
Tier 1 leverage	$	12,858	13.6	%	$	12,890	13.8	%
Common equity Tier 1 capital	$	12,858	16.6	%	$	12,890	16.0	%
Risk-weighted assets	$	77,322			$	80,669

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(1)	Amounts presented do not reflect certain modifications to the regulatory capital rules proposed by the federal banking agencies in September 2017, which among other things, may increase the risk weighting of certain deferred tax assets from 100% to 250% if the proposed rule becomes effective.


(2)	Amounts at December 31, 2017 are presented in accordance with applicable transition guidelines.


(3)	Tier 1 leverage ratio represents total tier 1 capital as a percentage of total average assets, after certain adjustments. All other ratios presented above represent the applicable capital measure as a percentage of risk-weighted assets.

The increase in our Common equity Tier 1 capital ratio was primarily due to the seasonal decline in loan receivables which resulted in a corresponding decrease in risk-weighted assets in the six months ended June 30, 2018.

Regulatory Capital Requirements - Synchrony Bank

At June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the Bank met all applicable requirements to be deemed well-capitalized pursuant to OCC regulations and for purposes of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. The following table sets forth the composition of the Bank’s capital ratios calculated under the Basel III rules at June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017.



	At June 30, 2018				At December 31, 2017				Minimum to be Well- Capitalized under Prompt Corrective Action Provisions- Basel III
($ in millions)	Amount		Ratio		Amount		Ratio		Amount		Ratio
Total risk-based capital	$	11,386	17.6	%	$	10,842	16.2	%	$	6,487	10.0	%
Tier 1 risk-based capital	$	10,521	16.2	%	$	9,958	14.9	%	$	5,189	8.0	%
Tier 1 leverage	$	10,521	13.1	%	$	9,958	12.9	%	$	4,030	5.0	%
Common equity Tier 1 capital	$	10,521	16.2	%	$	9,958	14.9	%	$	4,216	6.5	%

Failure to meet minimum capital requirements can result in the initiation of certain mandatory and possibly additional discretionary actions by regulators that, if undertaken, could limit our business activities and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Regulation—Failure by Synchrony and the Bank to meet applicable capital adequacy and liquidity requirements could have a material adverse effect on us” in our 2017 Form 10-K.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements and Unfunded Lending Commitments

____________________________________________________________________________________________

We do not have any significant off-balance sheet arrangements, including guarantees of third-party obligations. Guarantees are contracts or indemnification agreements that contingently require us to make a guaranteed payment or perform an obligation to a third-party based on certain trigger events. At June 30, 2018, we had not recorded any contingent liabilities in our Condensed Consolidated Statement of Financial Position related to any guarantees. See Note 9 - Fair Value Measurements to our condensed consolidated financial statements for information on contingent consideration liabilities related to business acquisitions.

We extend credit, primarily arising from agreements with customers for unused lines of credit on our credit cards, in the ordinary course of business. See Note 4 - Loan Receivables and Allowance for Loan Losses to our condensed consolidated financial statements for more information on our unfunded lending commitments.

Critical Accounting Estimates

____________________________________________________________________________________________

In preparing our condensed consolidated financial statements, we have identified certain accounting estimates and assumptions that we consider to be the most critical to an understanding of our financial statements because they involve significant judgments and uncertainties. The critical accounting estimates we have identified relate to allowance for loan losses, income taxes and fair value measurements. All of these estimates reflect our best judgment about current, and for some estimates future, economic and market conditions and their effects based on information available as of the date of these financial statements. If these conditions change from those expected, it is reasonably possible that these judgments and estimates could change, which may result in incremental losses on loan receivables and the establishment of valuation allowances on deferred tax assets and increases in our tax liabilities, among other effects. See “Management's Discussion and Analysis—Critical Accounting Estimates” in our 2017 Form 10-K, for a detailed discussion of these critical accounting estimates.

New Accounting Standards

____________________________________________________________________________________________

See Note 2. Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies — New Accounting Standards, for additional information related to recent accounting pronouncements.

Regulation and Supervision

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Our business, including our relationships with our customers, is subject to regulation, supervision and examination under U.S. federal, state and foreign laws and regulations. These laws and regulations cover all aspects of our business, including lending practices, treatment of our customers, safeguarding deposits, customer privacy and information security, capital structure, liquidity, dividends and other capital distributions, transactions with affiliates, and conduct and qualifications of personnel.

As a savings and loan holding company and a financial holding company, Synchrony is subject to regulation, supervision and examination by the Federal Reserve Board. As a large provider of consumer financial services, we are also subject to regulation, supervision and examination by the CFPB.

The Bank is a federally chartered savings association. As such, the Bank is subject to regulation, supervision and examination by 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.

See “Regulation” in our 2017 Form 10-K for additional information. See also “—Capital” above, for discussion of the impact of regulations and supervision on our capital and liquidity, including our ability to pay dividends and repurchase stock.

ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Synchrony Financial and subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings

(Unaudited)

____________________________________________________________________________________________



	Three months ended June 30,						Six months ended June 30,
($ in millions, except per share data)	2018			2017			2018			2017
Interest income:
Interest and fees on loans (Note 4)	$	4,081		$	3,927		$	8,253		$	7,804
Interest on debt securities	93			43			165			79
Total interest income	4,174			3,970			8,418			7,883
Interest expense:
Interest on deposits	273			202			522			396
Interest on borrowings of consolidated securitization entities	80			63			154			128
Interest on third-party debt	84			68			163			135
Total interest expense	437			333			839			659
Net interest income	3,737			3,637			7,579			7,224
Retailer share arrangements	(653		)	(669		)	(1,373		)	(1,353		)
Net interest income, after retailer share arrangements	3,084			2,968			6,206			5,871
Provision for loan losses (Note 4)	1,280			1,326			2,642			2,632
Net interest income, after retailer share arrangements and provision for loan losses	1,804			1,642			3,564			3,239
Other income:
Interchange revenue	177			165			335			310
Debt cancellation fees	66			68			132			136
Loyalty programs	(192		)	(206		)	(347		)	(343		)
Other	12			30			18			47
Total other income	63			57			138			150
Other expense:
Employee costs	351			318			709			641
Professional fees	177			158			343			309
Marketing and business development	110			124			231			218
Information processing	99			88			203			178
Other	238			223			477			473
Total other expense	975			911			1,963			1,819
Earnings before provision for income taxes	892			788			1,739			1,570
Provision for income taxes (Note 12)	196			292			403			575
Net earnings	$	696		$	496		$	1,336		$	995

Earnings per share
Basic	$	0.93		$	0.62		$	1.76		$	1.23
Diluted	$	0.92		$	0.61		$	1.75		$	1.23

Dividends declared per common share	$	0.15		$	0.13		$	0.30		$	0.26

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

Synchrony Financial and subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Unaudited)

____________________________________________________________________________________________



	Three months ended June 30,					Six months ended June 30,
($ in millions)	2018			2017		2018			2017

Net earnings	$	696		$	496	$	1,336		$	995

Other comprehensive income (loss)
Debt securities	(4		)	4		(24		)	3
Currency translation adjustments	(3		)	2		(6		)	1
Employee benefit plans	—			—		1			—
Other comprehensive income (loss)	(7		)	6		(29		)	4

Comprehensive income	$	689		$	502	$	1,307		$	999

Amounts presented net of taxes.

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

Synchrony Financial and subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Position

____________________________________________________________________________________________



($ in millions)	At June 30, 2018			At December 31, 2017
	(Unaudited)
Assets
Cash and equivalents	$	15,675		$	11,602
Debt securities (Note 3)	6,779			4,473
Loan receivables: (Notes 4 and 5)
Unsecuritized loans held for investment	50,884			55,526
Restricted loans of consolidated securitization entities	27,995			26,421
Total loan receivables	78,879			81,947
Less: Allowance for loan losses	(5,859		)	(5,574		)
Loan receivables, net	73,020			76,373
Goodwill	1,024			991
Intangible assets, net (Note 6)	863			749
Other assets	1,761			1,620
Total assets	$	99,122		$	95,808

Liabilities and Equity
Deposits: (Note 7)
Interest-bearing deposit accounts	$	58,734		$	56,276
Non-interest-bearing deposit accounts	277			212
Total deposits	59,011			56,488
Borrowings: (Notes 5 and 8)
Borrowings of consolidated securitization entities	12,170			12,497
Senior unsecured notes	9,551			8,302
Total borrowings	21,721			20,799
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	3,932			4,287
Total liabilities	$	84,664		$	81,574

Equity:
Common Stock, par share value $0.001 per share; 4,000,000,000 shares authorized; 833,984,684 shares issued at both June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017; 746,598,245 and 770,531,433 shares outstanding at June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively	$	1		$	1
Additional paid-in capital	9,486			9,445
Retained earnings	7,906			6,809
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss):
Debt securities	(43		)	(19		)
Currency translation adjustments	(23		)	(17		)
Other	(27		)	(28		)
Treasury Stock, at cost; 87,386,439 and 63,453,251 shares at June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively	(2,842		)	(1,957		)
Total equity	14,458			14,234
Total liabilities and equity	$	99,122		$	95,808

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

Synchrony Financial and subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Changes in Equity

(Unaudited)

____________________________________________________________________________________________



	Common Stock
($ in millions, shares in thousands)	Shares Issued	Amount		Additional Paid-in Capital		Retained Earnings			Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)			Treasury Stock			Total Equity

Balance at January 1, 2017	833,985	$	1	$	9,393	$	5,330		$	(53	)	$	(475	)	$	14,196
Net earnings	—	—		—		995			—			—			995
Other comprehensive income	—	—		—		—			4			—			4
Purchases of treasury stock	—	—		—		—			—			$	(676	)	(676		)
Stock-based compensation	—	—		22		(6		)	—			7			23
Dividends - common stock	—	—		—		(210		)	—			—			(210		)
Balance at June 30, 2017	833,985	$	1	$	9,415	$	6,109		$	(49	)	$	(1,144	)	$	14,332


Balance at January 1, 2018	833,985	$	1	$	9,445	$	6,809		$	(64	)	$	(1,957	)	$	14,234
Net earnings	—	—		—		1,336			—			—			1,336
Other comprehensive income	—	—		—		—			(29		)	—			(29		)
Purchases of treasury stock	—	—		—		—			—			(901		)	(901		)
Stock-based compensation	—	—		41		(12		)	—			16			45
Dividends - common stock	—	—		—		(227		)	—			—			(227		)
Balance at June 30, 2018	833,985	$	1	$	9,486	$	7,906		$	(93	)	$	(2,842	)	$	14,458

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

Synchrony Financial and subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(Unaudited)

____________________________________________________________________________________________



	Six months ended June 30,
($ in millions)	2018			2017
Cash flows - operating activities
Net earnings	$	1,336		$	995
Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to cash provided from operating activities
Provision for loan losses	2,642			2,632
Deferred income taxes	(11		)	(181		)
Depreciation and amortization	144			118
(Increase) decrease in interest and fees receivable	16			(96		)
(Increase) decrease in other assets	(112		)	(31		)
Increase (decrease) in accrued expenses and other liabilities	(256		)	(556		)
All other operating activities	322			323
Cash provided from (used for) operating activities	4,081			3,204

Cash flows - investing activities
Maturity and sales of debt securities	2,668			2,075
Purchases of debt securities	(5,009		)	(966		)
Acquisition of loan receivables	—			(73		)
Net (increase) decrease in loan receivables	330			(1,179		)
All other investing activities	(263		)	(297		)
Cash provided from (used for) investing activities	(2,274		)	(440		)

Cash flows - financing activities
Borrowings of consolidated securitization entities
Proceeds from issuance of securitized debt	2,121			1,570
Maturities and repayment of securitized debt	(2,451		)	(1,758		)
Third-party debt
Proceeds from issuance of third-party debt	1,244			741
Net increase (decrease) in deposits	2,484			792
Purchases of treasury stock	(901		)	(676		)
Dividends paid on common stock	(227		)	(210		)
All other financing activities	(4		)	(4		)
Cash provided from (used for) financing activities	2,266			455

Increase (decrease) in cash and equivalents, including restricted amounts	4,073			3,219
Cash and equivalents, including restricted amounts, at beginning of period	11,817			9,668
Cash and equivalents at end of period:
Cash and equivalents	15,675			12,020
Restricted cash and equivalents included in other assets	215			867
Total cash and equivalents, including restricted amounts, at end of period	$	15,890		$	12,887

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

Synchrony Financial and subsidiaries

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)

____________________________________________________________________________________________

NOTE 1. BUSINESS DESCRIPTION

Synchrony Financial (the “Company”) provides a range of credit products through programs it has established with a diverse group of national and regional retailers, local merchants, manufacturers, buying groups, industry associations and healthcare service providers. We primarily offer private label, Dual Card and general purpose co-branded credit cards, promotional financing and installment lending, loyalty programs and FDIC-insured savings products through Synchrony Bank (the “Bank”).

References to the “Company”, “we”, “us” and “our” are to Synchrony Financial and its consolidated subsidiaries unless the context otherwise requires.

NOTE 2. BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements were prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”).

Preparing financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires us to make estimates based on assumptions about current, and for some estimates, future, economic and market conditions (for example, unemployment, housing, interest rates and market liquidity) which affect reported amounts and related disclosures in our condensed consolidated financial statements. Although our current estimates contemplate current conditions and how we expect them to change in the future, as appropriate, it is reasonably possible that actual conditions could be different than anticipated in those estimates, which could materially affect our results of operations and financial position. Among other effects, such changes could result in incremental losses on loan receivables, future impairments of debt securities, goodwill and intangible assets, increases in reserves for contingencies, establishment of valuation allowances on deferred tax assets and increases in our tax liabilities.

We primarily conduct our operations within the United States and Canada. Substantially all of our revenues are from U.S. customers. The operating activities conducted by our non-U.S. affiliates use the local currency as their functional currency. The effects of translating the financial statements of these non-U.S. affiliates to U.S. dollars are included in equity. Asset and liability accounts are translated at period-end exchange rates, while revenues and expenses are translated at average rates for the respective periods.

Consolidated Basis of Presentation

The Company’s financial statements have been prepared on a consolidated basis. Under this basis of presentation, our financial statements consolidate all of our subsidiaries – i.e., entities in which we have a controlling financial interest, most often because we hold a majority voting interest.

To determine if we hold a controlling financial interest in an entity, we first evaluate if we are required to apply the variable interest entity (“VIE”) model to the entity, otherwise the entity is evaluated under the voting interest model. Where we hold current or potential rights that give us the power to direct the activities of a VIE that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance (“power”) combined with a variable interest that gives us the right to receive potentially significant benefits or the obligation to absorb potentially significant losses (“significant economics”), we have a controlling financial interest in that VIE. Rights held by others to remove the party with power over the VIE are not considered unless one party can exercise those rights unilaterally. We consolidate certain securitization entities under the VIE model because we have both power and significant economics. See Note 5. Variable Interest Entities.

We have reclassified certain prior-period amounts to conform to current-period presentation.

Interim Period Presentation

The condensed consolidated financial statements and notes thereto are unaudited. These statements include all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) that we considered necessary to present a fair statement of our results of operations, financial position and cash flows. The results reported in these condensed consolidated financial statements should not be considered as necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for the entire year. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with our 2017 annual consolidated financial statements and the related notes in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 (our "2017 Form 10-K").

New Accounting Standards

Newly Adopted Accounting Standards

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers. The new revenue recognition guidance became effective January 1, 2018 for the Company. The scope of ASU 2014-09 excludes interest and fee income on loans and as a result, the majority of the Company's revenue is not in the scope of the standard. The new guidance did not impact the timing or measurement of the Company's revenues, and as a result, the Company did not present any restated prior period results as a result of the standard becoming effective.

In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash, which requires restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents to be included within beginning and ending total cash amounts reported in the consolidated statements of cash flows. Disclosure of the nature of the restrictions on cash balances is required under the guidance. This standard is effective for annual and interim reporting periods for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017. We adopted the guidance retrospectively effective as of January 1, 2018. Upon adoption, changes in restricted cash, which had previously been presented as investing activities, are now included within beginning and ending cash and equivalents, including restricted amounts, balances in our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. Additionally, in August 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments, which provided guidance on certain cash flow issues. This standard is effective for annual and interim reporting periods for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017. We adopted the guidance retrospectively effective as of January 1, 2018, which did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Effective January 1, 2018, we have adopted the provisions of ASU 2016-01, Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities, which require equity investments (except those accounted for under the equity method of accounting or that result in consolidation of the investee) to be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings. However, in accordance with the new guidance, the company has elected to measure certain equity investments that do not have readily determinable fair values at cost minus impairment, if any, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes for similar investments of the issuer. The adoption of this new guidance did not have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

Recently Issued But Not Yet Adopted Accounting Standards

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). The ASU requires lessees to recognize most leases on their balance sheet. Leases which are identified as capital leases currently, will generally be identified as financing leases under the new guidance but otherwise their accounting treatment will remain relatively unchanged. Leases identified as operating leases currently, will generally remain in that category under the new standard, but both a right-of-use asset and a liability for remaining lease payments will now be required to be recognized on the balance sheet. This guidance will be effective for the Company on January 1, 2019. Management does not expect this guidance to have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses: Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. This ASU replaces the existing incurred loss impairment guidance with a new impairment model known as the Current Expected Credit Loss ("CECL") model, which is based on expected credit losses. The CECL model requires, upon origination of a loan, the recognition of all expected credit losses over the life of the loan based on historical experience, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts. This standard is effective for annual and interim reporting periods for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted for annual and interim periods for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018. The amendments in this standard will be recognized through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the guidance is effective. While we are evaluating the effect that ASU 2016-13 will have on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures, this standard is expected to result in an increase to the Company's allowance for loan losses given the change to expected losses for the estimated life of the financial asset. The extent of the increase will depend on the asset quality of the portfolio, and economic conditions and forecasts at adoption.

See Note 2. Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to our 2017 annual consolidated financial statements in our 2017 Form 10-K, for additional information on our significant accounting policies, including discussion of the nature of the restrictions on our cash balances.

NOTE 3. DEBT SECURITIES

All of our debt securities are classified as available-for-sale and are held to meet our liquidity objectives or to comply with the Community Reinvestment Act. Our debt securities consist of the following:



	June 30, 2018									December 31, 2017
			Gross		Gross							Gross		Gross
	Amortized		unrealized		unrealized			Estimated		Amortized		unrealized		unrealized			Estimated
($ in millions)	cost		gains		losses			fair value		cost		gains		losses			fair value
U.S. government and federal agency	$	3,756	$	—	$	(8	)	$	3,748	$	2,419	$	—	$	(3	)	$	2,416
State and municipal	42		—		(1		)	41		44		—		—			44
Residential mortgage-backed^(a)	1,283		1		(50		)	1,234		1,258		1		(28		)	1,231
Asset-backed^(b)	1,757		—		(3		)	1,754		781		—		(1		)	780
U.S. corporate debt	2		—		—			2		2		—		—			2
Total	$	6,840	$	1	$	(62	)	$	6,779	$	4,504	$	1	$	(32	)	$	4,473

_______________________


(a)	All of our residential mortgage-backed securities have been issued by government-sponsored entities and are collateralized by U.S. mortgages. At June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, $328 million and $344 million of residential mortgage-backed securities, respectively, are pledged by the Bank as collateral to the Federal Reserve to secure Federal Reserve Discount Window advances.


(b)	All of our asset-backed securities are collateralized by credit card loans.

The following table presents the estimated fair values and gross unrealized losses of our available-for-sale debt securities:



	In loss position for
	Less than 12 months					12 months or more
			Gross					Gross
	Estimated		unrealized			Estimated		unrealized
($ in millions)	fair value		losses			fair value		losses
At June 30, 2018
U.S. government and federal agency	$	2,605	$	(8	)	$	—	$	—
State and municipal	34		(1		)	3		—
Residential mortgage-backed	299		(5		)	870		(45		)
Asset-backed	1,570		(3		)	—		—
Total	$	4,508	$	(17	)	$	873	$	(45	)

At December 31, 2017
U.S. government and federal agency	$	2,416	$	(3	)	$	—	$	—
State and municipal	—		—			29		—
Residential mortgage-backed	142		(1		)	1,026		(27		)
Asset-backed	626		(1		)	—		—
Total	$	3,184	$	(5	)	$	1,055	$	(27	)

We regularly review debt securities for impairment using both qualitative and quantitative criteria. We presently do not intend to sell our debt securities that are in an unrealized loss position and believe that it is not more likely than not that we will be required to sell these securities before recovery of our amortized cost.

There were no other-than-temporary impairments recognized during the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017.

Contractual Maturities of Investments in Available-for-Sale Debt Securities



	Amortized		Estimated
At June 30, 2018 ($ in millions)	cost		fair value

Due
Within one year	$	4,701	$	4,697
After one year through five years	$	815	$	807
After five years through ten years	$	137	$	137
After ten years	$	1,187	$	1,138

We expect actual maturities to differ from contractual maturities because borrowers have the right to prepay certain obligations.

There were no material realized gains or losses recognized for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017.

Although we generally do not have the intent to sell any specific securities held at June 30, 2018, in the ordinary course of managing our debt securities portfolio, we may sell securities prior to their maturities for a variety of reasons, including diversification, credit quality, yield, liquidity requirements and funding obligations.

NOTE 4. LOAN RECEIVABLES AND ALLOWANCE FOR LOAN LOSSES



($ in millions)	June 30, 2018		December 31, 2017

Credit cards	$	75,753	$	79,026
Consumer installment loans	1,708		1,578
Commercial credit products	1,356		1,303
Other	62		40
Total loan receivables, before allowance for losses^(a)(b)	$	78,879	$	81,947

_______________________


(a)	Total loan receivables include $28.0 billion and $26.4 billion of restricted loans of consolidated securitization entities at June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively. See Note 5. Variable Interest Entities for further information on these restricted loans.


(b)	At June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, loan receivables included deferred expense, net of deferred income, of $107 million and $97 million, respectively.

Allowance for Loan Losses



($ in millions)	Balance at April 1, 2018		Provision charged to operations		Gross charge-offs			Recoveries		Balance at June 30, 2018

Credit cards	$	5,640	$	1,255	$	(1,375	)	$	237	$	5,757
Consumer installment loans	45		14		(12		)	4		51
Commercial credit products	52		11		(14		)	1		50
Other	1		—		—			—		$	1
Total	$	5,738	$	1,280	$	(1,401	)	$	242	$	5,859



($ in millions)	Balance at April 1, 2017		Provision charged to operations		Gross charge-offs			Recoveries		Balance at June 30, 2017

Credit cards	$	4,585	$	1,301	$	(1,194	)	$	214	$	4,906
Consumer installment loans	40		1		(11		)	4		34
Commercial credit products	50		24		(16		)	2		60
Other	1		—		—			—		$	1
Total	$	4,676	$	1,326	$	(1,221	)	$	220	$	5,001



($ in millions)	Balance at January 1, 2018		Provision charged to operations		Gross charge-offs			Recoveries		Balance at June 30, 2018

Credit cards	$	5,483	$	2,589	$	(2,747	)	$	432	$	5,757
Consumer installment loans	40		30		(27		)	8		51
Commercial credit products	50		23		(26		)	3		50
Other	1		—		—			—		$	1
Total	$	5,574	$	2,642	$	(2,800	)	$	443	$	5,859



($ in millions)	Balance at January 1, 2017		Provision charged to operations		Gross charge-offs			Recoveries		Balance at June 30, 2017

Credit cards	$	4,254	$	2,579	$	(2,378	)	$	451	$	4,906
Consumer installment loans	37		14		(25		)	8		34
Commercial credit products	52		39		(34		)	3		60
Other	1		—		—			—		1
Total	$	4,344	$	2,632	$	(2,437	)	$	462	$	5,001

Delinquent and Non-accrual Loans



At June 30, 2018 ($ in millions)	30-89 days delinquent			90 or more days delinquent			Total past due			90 or more days delinquent and accruing			Total non-accruing

Credit cards	$	1,683		$	1,543		$	3,226		$	1,543		$	—
Consumer installment loans	19			3			22			—			3
Commercial credit products	30			15			45			15			—
Total delinquent loans	$	1,732		$	1,561		$	3,293		$	1,558		$	3
Percentage of total loan receivables	2.2		%	2.0		%	4.2		%	2.0		%	—		%



At December 31, 2017 ($ in millions)	30-89 days delinquent			90 or more days delinquent			Total past due			90 or more days delinquent and accruing			Total non-accruing

Credit cards	$	1,906		$	1,849		$	3,755		$	1,849		$	—
Consumer installment loans	25			5			30			—			5
Commercial credit products	31			15			46			15			—
Total delinquent loans	$	1,962		$	1,869		$	3,831		$	1,864		$	5
Percentage of total loan receivables	2.4		%	2.3		%	4.7		%	2.3		%	—		%

Impaired Loans and Troubled Debt Restructurings

Most of our non-accrual loan receivables are smaller balance loans evaluated collectively, by portfolio, for impairment and therefore are outside the scope of the disclosure requirements for impaired loans. Accordingly, impaired loans represent restructured smaller balance homogeneous loans meeting the definition of a Troubled Debt Restructuring (“TDR”). We use certain loan modification programs for borrowers experiencing financial difficulties. These loan modification programs include interest rate reductions and payment deferrals in excess of three months, which were not part of the terms of the original contract.

We have both internal and external loan modification programs. We use long-term modification programs for borrowers experiencing financial difficulty as a loss mitigation strategy to improve long-term collectability of the loans that are classified as TDRs. The long-term program involves changing the structure of the loan to a fixed payment loan with a maturity no longer than 60 months and reducing the interest rate on the loan. The long-term program does not normally provide for the forgiveness of unpaid principal but may allow for the reversal of certain unpaid interest or fee assessments. We also make loan modifications for customers who request financial assistance through external sources, such as consumer credit counseling agency programs. These loans typically receive a reduced interest rate but continue to be subject to the original minimum payment terms and do not normally include waiver of unpaid principal, interest or fees. The following table provides information on loans that entered a loan modification program during the periods presented:



	Three months ended June 30,				Six months ended June 30,
($ in millions)	2018		2017		2018		2017
Credit cards	$	196	$	175	$	417	$	347
Consumer installment loans	—		—		—		—
Commercial credit products	1		1		2		2
Total	$	197	$	176	$	419	$	349

Our allowance for loan losses on TDRs is generally measured based on the difference between the recorded loan receivable and the present value of the expected future cash flows, discounted at the original effective interest rate of the loan. Interest income from loans accounted for as TDRs is accounted for in the same manner as other accruing loans.

The following table provides information about loans classified as TDRs and specific reserves. We do not evaluate credit card loans for impairment on an individual basis but instead estimate an allowance for loan losses on a collective basis. As a result, there are no impaired loans for which there is no allowance.



At June 30, 2018 ($ in millions)	Total recorded investment		Related allowance			Net recorded investment		Unpaid principal balance
Credit cards	$	1,095	$	(473	)	$	622	$	983
Consumer installment loans	—		—			—		—
Commercial credit products	5		(3		)	2		5
Total	$	1,100	$	(476	)	$	624	$	988



At December 31, 2017 ($ in millions)	Total recorded investment		Related allowance			Net recorded investment		Unpaid principal balance
Credit cards	$	1,038	$	(444	)	$	594	$	925
Consumer installment loans	—		—			—		—
Commercial credit products	5		(2		)	3		5
Total	$	1,043	$	(446	)	$	597	$	930

Financial Effects of TDRs

As part of our loan modifications for borrowers experiencing financial difficulty, we may provide multiple concessions to minimize our economic loss and improve long-term loan performance and collectability. The following table presents the types and financial effects of loans modified and accounted for as TDRs during the periods presented:



Three months ended June 30,	2018						2017
($ in millions)	Interest income recognized during period when loans were impaired		Interest income that would have been recorded with original terms		Average recorded investment		Interest income recognized during period when loans were impaired		Interest income that would have been recorded with original terms		Average recorded investment
Credit cards	$	12	$	65	$	1,085	$	11	$	53	$	910
Consumer installment loans	—		—		—		—		—		—
Commercial credit products	—		—		5		—		—		6
Total	$	12	$	65	$	1,090	$	11	$	53	$	916




Six months ended June 30,	2018						2017
($ in millions)	Interest income recognized during period when loans were impaired		Interest income that would have been recorded with original terms		Average recorded investment		Interest income recognized during period when loans were impaired		Interest income that would have been recorded with original terms		Average recorded investment
Credit cards	$	24	$	127	$	1,069	$	23	$	104	$	894
Consumer installment loans	—		—		—		—		—		—
Commercial credit products	—		—		5		—		—		6
Total	$	24	$	127	$	1,074	$	23	$	104	$	900

Payment Defaults

The following table presents the type, number and amount of loans accounted for as TDRs that enrolled in a modification plan within the previous 12 months from the applicable balance sheet date and experienced a payment default during the periods presented. A customer defaults from a modification program after two consecutive missed payments.



Three months ended June 30,	2018			2017
($ in millions)	Accounts defaulted	Loans defaulted		Accounts defaulted	Loans defaulted
Credit cards	19,525	$	45	19,318	$	40
Consumer installment loans	—	—		—	—
Commercial credit products	32	—		44	—
Total	19,557	$	45	19,362	$	40




Six months ended June 30,	2018			2017
($ in millions)	Accounts defaulted	Loans defaulted		Accounts defaulted	Loans defaulted
Credit cards	37,390	$	86	35,399	$	73
Consumer installment loans	—	—		—	—
Commercial credit products	74	—		84	1
Total	37,464	$	86	35,483	$	74

Credit Quality Indicators

Our loan receivables portfolio includes both secured and unsecured loans. Secured loan receivables are largely comprised of consumer installment loans secured by equipment. Unsecured loan receivables are largely comprised of our open-ended consumer and commercial revolving credit card loans. As part of our credit risk management activities, on an ongoing basis, we assess overall credit quality by reviewing information related to the performance of a customer’s account with us, as well as information from credit bureaus, such as a Fair Isaac Corporation (“FICO”) or other credit scores, relating to the customer’s broader credit performance. FICO scores are generally obtained at origination of the account and are refreshed, at a minimum quarterly, but could be as often as weekly, to assist in predicting customer behavior. We categorize these credit scores into the following three credit score categories: (i) 661 or higher, which are considered the strongest credits; (ii) 601 to 660, considered moderate credit risk; and (iii) 600 or less, which are considered weaker credits. There are certain customer accounts for which a FICO score is not available where we use alternative sources to assess their credit and predict behavior. The following table provides the most recent FICO scores available for our customers at June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively, as a percentage of each class of loan receivable. The table below excludes 0.6% of our total loan receivables balance at each of June 30, 2018, December 31, 2017 and June 30, 2017, respectively, which represents those customer accounts for which a FICO score is not available.



	June 30, 2018						December 31, 2017						June 30, 2017
	661 or		601 to		600 or		661 or		601 to		600 or		661 or		601 to		600 or
	higher		660		less		higher		660		less		higher		660		less

Credit cards	75	%	18	%	7	%	73	%	19	%	8	%	72	%	20	%	8	%
Consumer installment loans	81	%	14	%	5	%	79	%	15	%	6	%	78	%	16	%	6	%
Commercial credit products	89	%	6	%	5	%	88	%	7	%	5	%	89	%	7	%	4	%

Unfunded Lending Commitments

We manage the potential risk in credit commitments by limiting the total amount of credit, both by individual customer and in total, by monitoring the size and maturity of our portfolios and by applying the same credit standards for all of our credit products. Unused credit card lines available to our customers totaled approximately $378 billion and $370 billion at June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively. While these amounts represented the total available unused credit card lines, we have not experienced and do not anticipate that all of our customers will access their entire available line at any given point in time.

Interest Income by Product

The following table provides additional information about our interest and fees on loans, including merchant discounts, from our loan receivables, including held for sale:



	Three months ended June 30,				Six months ended June 30,
($ in millions)	2018		2017		2018		2017
Credit cards	$	4,010	$	3,858	$	8,109	$	7,669
Consumer installment loans	37		34		73		66
Commercial credit products	34		34		70		68
Other	—		1		1		1
Total	$	4,081	$	3,927	$	8,253	$	7,804

NOTE 5. VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES

We use VIEs to securitize loan receivables and arrange asset-backed financing in the ordinary course of business. Investors in these entities only have recourse to the assets owned by the entity and not to our general credit. We do not have implicit support arrangements with any VIE and we did not provide non-contractual support for previously transferred loan receivables to any VIE in the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017. Our VIEs are able to accept new loan receivables and arrange new asset-backed financings, consistent with the requirements and limitations on such activities placed on the VIE by existing investors. Once an account has been designated to a VIE, the contractual arrangements we have require all existing and future loan receivables originated under such account to be transferred to the VIE. The amount of loan receivables held by our VIEs in excess of the minimum amount required under the asset-backed financing arrangements with investors may be removed by us under random removal of accounts provisions. All loan receivables held by a VIE are subject to claims of third-party investors.

In evaluating whether we have the power to direct the activities of a VIE that most significantly impact its economic performance, we consider the purpose for which the VIE was created, the importance of each of the activities in which it is engaged and our decision-making role, if any, in those activities that significantly determine the entity’s economic performance as compared to other economic interest holders. This evaluation requires consideration of all facts and circumstances relevant to decision-making that affects the entity’s future performance and the exercise of professional judgment in deciding which decision-making rights are most important.

In determining whether we have the right to receive benefits or the obligation to absorb losses that could potentially be significant to a VIE, we evaluate all of our economic interests in the entity, regardless of form (debt, equity, management and servicing fees, and other contractual arrangements). This evaluation considers all relevant factors of the entity’s design, including: the entity’s capital structure, contractual rights to earnings or losses, subordination of our interests relative to those of other investors, as well as any other contractual arrangements that might exist that could have the potential to be economically significant. The evaluation of each of these factors in reaching a conclusion about the potential significance of our economic interests is a matter that requires the exercise of professional judgment.

We consolidate VIEs where we have the power to direct the activities that significantly affect the VIEs' economic performance, typically because of our role as either servicer or administrator for the VIEs. The power to direct exists because of our role in the design and conduct of the servicing of the VIEs’ assets as well as directing certain affairs of the VIEs, including determining whether and on what terms debt of the VIEs will be issued.

The loan receivables in these entities have risks and characteristics similar to our other financing receivables and were underwritten to the same standard. Accordingly, the performance of these assets has been similar to our other comparable loan receivables, and the blended performance of the pools of receivables in these entities reflects the eligibility criteria that we apply to determine which receivables are selected for transfer. Contractually, the cash flows from these financing receivables must first be used to pay third-party debt holders, as well as other expenses of the entity. Excess cash flows, if any, are available to us. The creditors of these entities have no claim on our other assets.

The table below summarizes the assets and liabilities of our consolidated securitization VIEs described above.



($ in millions)	June 30, 2018		December 31, 2017
Assets
Loan receivables, net^(a)	$	26,291	$	24,990
Other assets^(b)	67		62
Total	$	26,358	$	25,052

Liabilities
Borrowings	$	12,170	$	12,497
Other liabilities	36		30
Total	$	12,206	$	12,527

_______________________


(a)	Includes $1.7 billion and $1.4 billion of related allowance for loan losses resulting in gross restricted loans of $28.0 billion and $26.4 billion at June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively.


(b)	Includes $59 million and $55 million of segregated funds held by the VIEs at June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively, which are classified as restricted cash and equivalents and included as a component of other assets in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Position.

The balances presented above are net of intercompany balances and transactions that are eliminated in our condensed consolidated financial statements.

We provide servicing for all of our consolidated VIEs. Collections are required to be placed into segregated accounts owned by each VIE in amounts that meet contractually specified minimum levels. These segregated funds are invested in cash and cash equivalents and are restricted as to their use, principally to pay maturing principal and interest on debt and the related servicing fees. Collections above these minimum levels are remitted to us on a daily basis.

Income (principally, interest and fees on loans) earned by our consolidated VIEs was $1.2 billion and $1.1 billion for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Related expenses consisted primarily of provision for loan losses of $561 million and $303 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively, and interest expense of $80 million and $63 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

Income (principally, interest and fees on loans) earned by our consolidated VIEs was $2.4 billion and $2.1 billion for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Related expenses consisted primarily of provision for loan losses of $877 million and $601 million for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively, and interest expense of $154 million and $128 million for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

NOTE 6. INTANGIBLE ASSETS



	June 30, 2018							December 31, 2017
($ in millions)	Gross carrying amount		Accumulated amortization			Net		Gross carrying amount		Accumulated amortization			Net
Customer-related	$	1,288	$	(727	)	$	561	$	1,242	$	(679	)	$	563
Capitalized software and other	520		(218		)	302		368		(182		)	186
Total	$	1,808	$	(945	)	$	863	$	1,610	$	(861	)	$	749

During the six months ended June 30, 2018, we recorded additions to intangible assets subject to amortization of $230 million, primarily related to capitalized software expenditures, as well as customer-related intangible assets.

Customer-related intangible assets primarily relate to retail partner contract acquisitions and extensions, as well as purchased credit card relationships. During the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, we recorded additions to customer-related intangible assets subject to amortization of $64 million and $150 million, respectively, primarily related to payments made to acquire and extend certain retail partner relationships. These additions had a weighted average amortizable life of 7 years and 11 years for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

Amortization expense related to retail partner contracts was $29 million and $28 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively, and $58 million and $55 million for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively, and is included as a component of marketing and business development expense in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings. All other amortization expense was $29 million and $20 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively, and $55 million and $38 million for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively, and is included as a component of other expense in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings.

NOTE 7. DEPOSITS



	June 30, 2018				December 31, 2017
($ in millions)	Amount		Average rate^(a)		Amount		Average rate^(a)

Interest-bearing deposits	$	58,734	1.9	%	$	56,276	1.6	%
Non-interest-bearing deposits	277		—		212		—
Total deposits	$	59,011			$	56,488

____________________


(a)	Based on interest expense for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and the year ended December 31, 2017 and average deposits balances.

At June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, interest-bearing deposits included $18.2 billion and $16.2 billion of certificates of deposit of $100,000 or more, respectively. Of the total certificates of deposit of $100,000 or more, $6.1 billion and $5.3 billion were certificates of deposit of $250,000 or more at June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively.

At June 30, 2018, our interest-bearing time deposits maturing for the remainder of 2018 and over the next four years and thereafter were as follows:



($ in millions)	2018		2019		2020		2021		2022		Thereafter
Deposits	$	8,152	$	17,873	$	4,153	$	2,810	$	2,460	$	2,280

The above maturity table excludes $18.1 billion of demand deposits with no defined maturity, of which $16.7 billion are savings accounts. In addition, at June 30, 2018, we had $2.9 billion of broker network deposit sweeps procured through a program arranger who channels brokerage account deposits to us that are also excluded from the above maturity table. Unless extended, the contracts associated with these broker network deposit sweeps will terminate between 2019 and 2021.

NOTE 8. BORROWINGS



	June 30, 2018							December 31, 2017
($ in millions)	Maturity date	Interest Rate		Weighted average interest rate		Outstanding Amount^(a)		Outstanding Amount^(a)

Borrowings of consolidated securitization entities:
Fixed securitized borrowings	2018 - 2023	1.58% - 3.87%		2.33	%	$	8,020	$	8,347
Floating securitized borrowings	2019 - 2020	2.67% - 3.16%		2.85	%	4,150		4,150
Total borrowings of consolidated securitization entities				2.50	%	12,170		12,497

Synchrony Financial senior unsecured notes:
Fixed senior unsecured notes	2019 - 2027	2.60% - 4.50%		3.59	%	7,314		7,310
Floating senior unsecured notes	2020	3.58	%	3.58	%	249		250

Synchrony Bank senior unsecured notes:
Fixed senior unsecured notes	2021 - 2022	3.00% - 3.65%		3.33	%	1,489		742
Floating senior unsecured notes	2020	2.96	%	2.96	%	499		—
Total senior unsecured notes				3.51	%	9,551		8,302

Total borrowings						$	21,721	$	20,799

___________________


(a)	The amounts presented above for outstanding borrowings include unamortized debt premiums, discounts and issuance cost.

Debt Maturities

The following table summarizes the maturities of the principal amount of our borrowings of consolidated securitization entities and senior unsecured notes for the remainder of 2018 and over the next four years and thereafter:



($ in millions)	2018		2019		2020		2021		2022		Thereafter
Borrowings	$	356	$	6,360	$	6,150	$	2,825	$	1,634	$	4,457

Third-Party Debt




2018 Issuances ($ in millions):
Synchrony Bank
Issuance Date	Principal Amount		Maturity	Interest Rate
January 2, 2018	$	500	2020	Floating rate (three-month LIBOR plus 0.625%)
May 24, 2018	$	750	2021	3.650	%

Credit Facilities

As additional sources of liquidity, we have undrawn committed capacity under credit facilities, primarily related to our securitization programs.

At June 30, 2018, we had an aggregate of $6.0 billion of undrawn committed capacity under our securitization financings, subject to customary borrowing conditions, from private lenders under our securitization programs, and an aggregate of $0.5 billion of undrawn committed capacity under our unsecured revolving credit facility with private lenders.

NOTE 9. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

For a description of how we estimate fair value, see Note 2. Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in our 2017 annual consolidated financial statements in our 2017 Form 10-K.

The following tables present our assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis.

Recurring Fair Value Measurements

The following tables present our assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis.



At June 30, 2018 ($ in millions)	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total^(a)

Assets
Debt securities
U.S. Government and Federal Agency	$	—	$	3,748	$	—	$	3,748
State and municipal	—		—		41		41
Residential mortgage-backed	—		1,234		—		1,234
Asset-backed	—		1,754		—		1,754
U.S. corporate debt	—		—		2		2
Other assets^(b)	$	15	—		7		22
Total	$	15	$	6,736	$	50	$	6,801

Liabilities
Contingent consideration	—		—		29		29
Total	$	—	$	—	$	29	$	29

At December 31, 2017 ($ in millions)

Assets
Debt securities
U.S. Government and Federal Agency	$	—	$	2,416	$	—	$	2,416
State and municipal	—		—		44		44
Residential mortgage-backed	—		1,231		—		1,231
Asset-backed	—		780		—		780
U.S. corporate debt	—		—		2		2
Other assets^(b)	$	15	—		—		15
Total	$	15	$	4,427	$	46	$	4,488

_______________________


(a)	For the six months ended June 30, 2018, there were no fair value measurements transferred between levels.


(b)	Other assets primarily relate to equity investments measured at fair value.

Loop Commerce

The contingent consideration in the table above relates to the acquisition of Loop Commerce, a provider of digital and in-store gifting services, in June 2018. Under the acquisition agreement, the actual amount of contingent consideration to be paid to prior investors is dependent on certain future revenues of Loop Commerce over each annual period during the three-year period ending June 30, 2021. The fair value of the contingent consideration was estimated by applying the income approach based upon significant Level 3 inputs not observable in the market. The assumptions used in the analysis are inherently subjective, and thus the ultimate amount of the contingent consideration liability may differ materially from the most recent estimate. The contingent consideration obligation will be subsequently remeasured to fair value at each reporting date, with changes to fair value recognized in the Consolidated Statement of Earnings. At the date of acquisition, the range of potential payments of this contingent consideration was between zero and $126 million. The higher end of this range would be payable in the event the future revenues of Loop Commerce meet the required targets for all three annual periods during the earnout term.

Additionally, as part of the acquisition of Loop Commerce, the Company entered into compensation arrangements with certain employees of Loop Commerce which are also contingent on certain future revenues of Loop Commerce over each annual period during the three-year period ending June 30, 2021.

Level 3 Fair Value Measurements

Our Level 3 recurring fair value measurements primarily relate to state and municipal debt instruments which are valued using non-binding broker quotes or other third-party sources, as well as the contingent consideration obligation discussed above. For a description of our process to evaluate third-party pricing servicers, see Note 2. Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in our 2017 annual consolidated financial statements in our 2017 Form 10-K. Our state and municipal debt securities are classified as available-for-sale with changes in fair value included in accumulated other comprehensive income.

The changes in our Level 3 assets and liabilities that are measured on a recurring basis for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 were not material.

Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities Carried at Other than Fair Value



	Carrying		Corresponding fair value amount
At June 30, 2018 ($ in millions)	value		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Financial Assets
Financial assets for which carrying values equal or approximate fair value:
Cash and equivalents^(a)	$	15,675	$	15,675	$	15,675	$	—	$	—
Other assets^(a)(b)	$	215	$	215	$	215	$	—	$	—
Financial assets carried at other than fair value:
Loan receivables, net^(c)	$	73,020	$	81,823	$	—	$	—	$	81,823

Financial Liabilities
Financial liabilities carried at other than fair value:
Deposits	$	59,011	$	58,960	$	—	$	58,960	$	—
Borrowings of consolidated securitization entities	$	12,170	$	12,076	$	—	$	7,932	$	4,144
Senior unsecured notes	$	9,551	$	9,411	$	—	$	9,411	$	—

	Carrying		Corresponding fair value amount
At December 31, 2017 ($ in millions)	value		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Financial Assets
Financial assets for which carrying values equal or approximate fair value:
Cash and equivalents^(a)	$	11,602	$	11,602	$	11,602	$	—	$	—
Other assets^(a)(b)	$	215	$	215	$	215	$	—	$	—
Financial assets carried at other than fair value:
Loan receivables, net^(c)	$	76,373	$	85,871	$	—	$	—	$	85,871

Financial Liabilities
Financial liabilities carried at other than fair value:
Deposits	$	56,488	$	56,754	$	—	$	56,754	$	—
Borrowings of consolidated securitization entities	$	12,497	$	12,475	$	—	$	8,323	$	4,152
Senior unsecured notes	$	8,302	$	8,471	$	—	$	8,471	$	—

_______________________


(a)	For cash and equivalents and restricted cash and equivalents, carrying value approximates fair value due to the liquid nature and short maturity of these instruments.


(b)	This balance relates to restricted cash and equivalents, which is included in other assets.


(c)	Under certain retail partner program agreements, the expected sales proceeds related to the sale of their credit card portfolio may be limited to the amounts owed by our customers, which may be less than the fair value indicated above.

NOTE 10. REGULATORY AND CAPITAL ADEQUACY

As a savings and loan holding company and a financial holding company, we are subject to regulation, supervision and examination by the Federal Reserve Board and subject to the capital requirements as prescribed by Basel III capital rules and the requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act. The Bank is a federally chartered savings association. As such, the Bank 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 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”). In addition, the Bank, as an insured depository institution, is supervised by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Failure to meet minimum capital requirements can initiate certain mandatory and, possibly, additional discretionary actions by regulators that, if undertaken, could limit our business activities and have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial statements. Under capital adequacy guidelines, we must meet specific capital guidelines that involve quantitative measures of our assets, liabilities and certain off-balance-sheet items as calculated under regulatory accounting practices. The capital amounts and classifications are also subject to qualitative judgments by the regulators about components, risk weightings and other factors.

Quantitative measures established by regulation to ensure capital adequacy require us and the Bank to maintain minimum amounts and ratios (set forth in the table below) of Total, Tier 1 and common equity Tier 1 capital (as defined in the regulations) to risk-weighted assets (as defined), and of Tier 1 capital to average assets (as defined).

For Synchrony Financial to be a well-capitalized savings and loan holding company, the Bank must be well-capitalized and Synchrony Financial must not be subject to any written agreement, order, capital directive, or prompt corrective action directive issued by the Federal Reserve Board to meet and maintain a specific capital level for any capital measure.

At June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, Synchrony Financial met all applicable requirements to be deemed well-capitalized pursuant to Federal Reserve Board regulations. At June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the Bank also met all applicable requirements to be deemed well-capitalized pursuant to OCC regulations and for purposes of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. There are no conditions or events subsequent to June 30, 2018 that management believes have changed the Company's or the Bank’s capital category.

The actual capital amounts, ratios and the applicable required minimums of the Company and the Bank are as follows:

Synchrony Financial



At June 30, 2018 ($ in millions)	Actual				Minimum for capital adequacy purposes
	Amount		Ratio^(a)		Amount		Ratio^(b)

Total risk-based capital	$	13,885	18.0	%	$	6,186	8.0	%
Tier 1 risk-based capital	$	12,858	16.6	%	$	4,639	6.0	%
Tier 1 leverage	$	12,858	13.6	%	$	3,782	4.0	%
Common equity Tier 1 Capital	$	12,858	16.6	%	$	3,480	4.5	%



At December 31, 2017 ($ in millions)	Actual				Minimum for capital adequacy purposes
	Amount		Ratio^(a)		Amount		Ratio^(b)

Total risk-based capital	$	13,954	17.3	%	$	6,454	8.0	%
Tier 1 risk-based capital	$	12,890	16.0	%	$	4,840	6.0	%
Tier 1 leverage	$	12,890	13.8	%	$	3,724	4.0	%
Common equity Tier 1 Capital	$	12,890	16.0	%	$	3,630	4.5	%

Synchrony Bank



At June 30, 2018 ($ in millions)	Actual				Minimum for capital adequacy purposes				Minimum to be well-capitalized under prompt corrective action provisions
	Amount		Ratio^(a)		Amount		Ratio^(b)		Amount		Ratio

Total risk-based capital	$	11,386	17.6	%	$	5,189	8.0	%	$	6,487	10.0	%
Tier 1 risk-based capital	$	10,521	16.2	%	$	3,892	6.0	%	$	5,189	8.0	%
Tier 1 leverage	$	10,521	13.1	%	$	3,224	4.0	%	$	4,030	5.0	%
Common equity Tier I capital	$	10,521	16.2	%	$	2,919	4.5	%	$	4,216	6.5	%



At December 31, 2017 ($ in millions)	Actual				Minimum for capital adequacy purposes				Minimum to be well-capitalized under prompt corrective action provisions
	Amount		Ratio^(a)		Amount		Ratio^(b)		Amount		Ratio

Total risk-based capital	$	10,842	16.2	%	$	5,340	8.0	%	$	6,675	10.0	%
Tier 1 risk-based capital	$	9,958	14.9	%	$	4,005	6.0	%	$	5,340	8.0	%
Tier 1 leverage	$	9,958	12.9	%	$	3,083	4.0	%	$	3,854	5.0	%
Common equity Tier I capital	$	9,958	14.9	%	$	3,004	4.5	%	$	4,339	6.5	%

_______________________


(a)	Capital ratios are calculated based on the Basel III Standardized Approach rules which, at December 31, 2017, also included applicable transition provisions.

(b)

At June 30, 2018 and at December 31, 2017, Synchrony Financial and the Bank also must maintain a capital conservation buffer of common equity Tier 1 capital in excess of minimum risk-based capital ratios by at least 1.875 percentage points and 1.25 percent percentage points, respectively, to avoid limits on capital distributions and certain discretionary bonus payments to executive officers and similar employees.

The Bank may pay dividends on its stock, with consent or non-objection from the OCC and the Federal Reserve Board, among other things, if its regulatory capital would not thereby be reduced below the applicable regulatory capital requirements.

NOTE 11. EARNINGS PER SHARE

Basic earnings per share is computed by dividing earnings available to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted earnings per share reflects the assumed conversion of all dilutive securities.

The following table presents the calculation of basic and diluted earnings per share:



	Three months ended June 30,				Six months ended June 30,
(in millions, except per share data)	2018		2017		2018		2017

Net earnings	$	696	$	496	$	1,336	$	995

Weighted average common shares outstanding, basic	752.2		804.0		757.9		808.5
Effect of dilutive securities	6.1		3.4		6.4		3.7
Weighted average common shares outstanding, dilutive	758.3		807.4		764.3		812.2

Earnings per basic common share	$	0.93	$	0.62	$	1.76	$	1.23
Earnings per diluted common share	$	0.92	$	0.61	$	1.75	$	1.23

We have issued certain stock based awards under the Synchrony Financial 2014 Long-Term Incentive Plan. A total of 3 million and 5 million shares for three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively, and 2 million and 3 million shares for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively, related to these awards, were considered anti-dilutive and therefore were excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per share.

NOTE 12. INCOME TAXES

We file consolidated U.S. federal and state income tax returns separate and apart from GE. For periods up to and including the date of Separation, we were included in the consolidated U.S. federal and state income tax returns of GE, where applicable, but also filed certain separate state and foreign income tax returns. The tax provision is presented on a separate company basis as if we were a separate filer for tax purposes for all periods. The effects of tax adjustments and settlements from taxing authorities are presented in our condensed consolidated financial statements in the period in which they occur. Our current obligations for taxes are settled with the relevant tax authority, or GE, as applicable, on an estimated basis and adjusted in later periods as appropriate and are reflected in our consolidated financial statements in the periods in which those settlements occur. We recognize the current and deferred tax consequences of all transactions that have been recognized in the financial statements using the provisions of the enacted tax laws. In calculating the provision for interim period income taxes, in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification 740, Income Taxes, we estimate the effective tax rate expected to be applicable for the full fiscal year and apply that estimated annual effective tax rate to year-to-date ordinary income. Adjustments to tax expense are made for year-to-date discrete items. The effective tax rate for the three months ended June 30, 2018 decreased to 22.0%, compared to 37.1% in the same period in the prior year, primarily due to the reduction in the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% included in the Tax Act. See “Management's Discussion and Analysis—Critical Accounting Estimates” in our 2017 Form 10-K, for a discussion of the significant judgments and estimates related to income taxes.

For periods prior to Separation, we are under continuous examination by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and the tax authorities of various states as part of their audit of GE’s tax returns. The IRS is currently auditing GE's consolidated U.S. income tax returns for 2012 to 2015. We are under examination in various states going back to 2011 as part of their audit of GE’s tax returns. We are not currently under audit with respect to any post-Separation periods. We believe that there are no issues or claims that are likely to significantly impact our results of operations, financial position or cash flows. We further believe that we have made adequate provision for all income tax uncertainties that could result from such examinations.

Unrecognized Tax Benefits



($ in millions)	June 30, 2018		December 31, 2017
Unrecognized tax benefits, excluding related interest expense and penalties^(a)	$	230	$	255
Portion that, if recognized, would reduce tax expense and effective tax rate^(b)	168		173

____________________


(a)	Interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits were not material for all periods presented.


(b)	Includes gross state and local unrecognized tax benefits net of the effects of associated U.S. federal income taxes. Excludes amounts attributable to any related valuation allowances resulting from associated increases in deferred tax assets.

We compute our unrecognized tax benefits on a separate return basis. For unrecognized tax benefits associated with periods prior to 2014, we will settle our liabilities, as required, in accordance with the Tax Sharing and Separation Agreement with GE, which we entered into in connection with our initial public offering in 2014. The amount of unrecognized tax benefits that is reasonably possible to be resolved in the next twelve months is expected to be $65 million, of which $32 million, if recognized, would reduce the Company's tax expense and effective tax rate.

NOTE 13. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS AND REGULATORY MATTERS

In the normal course of business, from time to time, we have been named as a defendant in various legal proceedings, including arbitrations, class actions and other litigation, arising in connection with our business activities. Certain of the legal actions include claims for substantial compensatory and/or punitive damages, or claims for indeterminate amounts of damages. We are also involved, from time to time, in reviews, investigations and proceedings (both formal and informal) by governmental agencies regarding our business (collectively, “regulatory matters”), which could subject us to significant fines, penalties, obligations to change our business practices or other requirements resulting in increased expenses, diminished income and damage to our reputation. We contest liability and/or the amount of damages as appropriate in each pending matter. In accordance with applicable accounting guidance, we establish an accrued liability for legal and regulatory matters when those matters present loss contingencies which are both probable and reasonably estimable.

Legal proceedings and regulatory matters are subject to many uncertain factors that generally cannot be predicted with assurance, and we may be exposed to losses in excess of any amounts accrued.

For some matters, we are able to determine that an estimated loss, while not probable, is reasonably possible. For other matters, including those that have not yet progressed through discovery and/or where important factual information and legal issues are unresolved, we are unable to make such an estimate. We currently estimate that the reasonably possible losses for legal proceedings and regulatory matters, whether in excess of a related accrued liability or where there is no accrued liability, and for which we are able to estimate a possible loss, are immaterial. This represents management’s estimate of possible loss with respect to these matters and is based on currently available information. This estimate of possible loss does not represent our maximum loss exposure. The legal proceedings and regulatory matters underlying the estimate will change from time to time and actual results may vary significantly from current estimates.

Our estimate of reasonably possible losses involves significant judgment, given the varying stages of the proceedings, the existence of numerous yet to be resolved issues, the breadth of the claims (often spanning multiple years), unspecified damages and/or the novelty of the legal issues presented. Based on our current knowledge, we do not believe that we are a party to any pending legal proceeding or regulatory matters that would have a material adverse effect on our condensed consolidated financial condition or liquidity. However, in light of the uncertainties involved in such matters, the ultimate outcome of a particular matter could be material to our operating results for a particular period depending on, among other factors, the size of the loss or liability imposed and the level of our earnings for that period, and could adversely affect our business and reputation.

Below is a description of certain of our regulatory matters and legal proceedings.

Regulatory Matters

On October 30, 2014, the United States Trustee, which is part of the Department of Justice, filed an application in In re Nyree Belton, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case pending in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York for orders authorizing discovery of the Bank pursuant to Rule 2004 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, related to an investigation of the Bank’s credit reporting. The discovery, which is ongoing, concerns allegations made in Belton et al. v. GE Capital Consumer Lending, a putative class action adversary proceeding pending in the same Bankruptcy Court. In the Belton adversary proceeding, which was filed on April 30, 2014, plaintiff alleges that the Bank violates the discharge injunction under Section 524(a)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code by attempting to collect discharged debts and by failing to update and correct credit information to credit reporting agencies to show that such debts are no longer due and owing because they have been discharged in bankruptcy. Plaintiff seeks declaratory judgment, injunctive relief and an unspecified amount of damages. On December 15, 2014, the Bankruptcy Court entered an order staying the adversary proceeding pending an appeal to the District Court of the Bankruptcy Court’s order denying the Bank’s motion to compel arbitration. On October 14, 2015, the District Court reversed the Bankruptcy Court and on November 4, 2015, the Bankruptcy Court granted the Bank's motion to compel arbitration.

On October 15, 2015, the Bank received a Civil Investigative Demand from the CFPB seeking information related to the Bank’s credit bureau reporting with respect to sold accounts. The information sought by the CFPB generally relates to the allegations made in Belton et al. v. GE Capital Consumer Lending. On May 9, 2016, the Bank received a NORA (Notice of Opportunity to Respond and Advise) letter from the CFPB indicating that the CFPB Office of Enforcement is considering whether to recommend that the CFPB take legal action relating to this matter. On July 3, 2018, the Bank received a letter from the CFPB indicating that the CFPB Office of Enforcement does not intend to recommend that the CFPB take enforcement action.

On May 9, 2017, the Bank received a Civil Investigative Demand from the CFPB seeking information related to the marketing and servicing of deferred interest promotions.

Other Matters

The Bank or the Company is, or has been, defending a number of putative class actions alleging claims under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) as a result of phone calls made by the Bank. The complaints generally have alleged that the Bank or the Company placed calls to consumers by an automated telephone dialing system or using a pre-recorded message or automated voice without their consent and seek up to $1,500 for each violation, without specifying an aggregate amount. Campbell et al. v. Synchrony Bank was filed on January 25, 2017 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York. The original complaint named only J.C. Penney Company, Inc. and J.C. Penney Corporation, Inc. as the defendants but was amended on April 7, 2017 to replace those defendants with the Bank. Neal et al. v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and Synchrony Bank, for which the Bank is indemnifying Wal-Mart, was filed on January 17, 2017 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. The original complaint named only Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. as a defendant but was amended on March 30, 2017 to add Synchrony Bank as an additional defendant. Mott et al. v. Synchrony Bank was filed on February 2, 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

In addition to the TCPA class action lawsuits related to phone calls, the Company was a defendant in a putative class action lawsuit alleging claims under the TCPA relating to facsimiles. In Michael W. Kincaid, DDS et al. v. Synchrony Financial, plaintiff alleged that the Company violated the TCPA by sending fax advertisements without consent and without required notices, and sought up to $1,500 for each violation. The amount of damages sought in the aggregate was unspecified. The original complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on January 20, 2016. On August 11, 2016, the Court granted the Company’s motion to dismiss based on the lack of personal jurisdiction. On August 15, 2016, the plaintiff re-filed the case in the Southern District of Ohio. On or about May 2, 2018, the case was dismissed with prejudice pursuant to an individual settlement between the Company and the representative plaintiff.

NOTE 14. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

On July 2, 2018, we completed our acquisition of $7.6 billion of loan receivables, comprising of PayPal’s U.S. consumer credit portfolio, which totaled $6.8 billion, as well as approximately $0.8 billion in participation interests held by unaffiliated third parties. We also extended our existing co-brand credit card program with PayPal and Synchrony Bank is now PayPal’s exclusive issuing bank for the PayPal Credit consumer financing program in the United States through 2028.

ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

Market risk refers to the risk that a change in the level of one or more market prices, rates, indices, correlations or other market factors will result in losses for a position or portfolio. We are exposed to market risk primarily from changes in interest rates.

We borrow money from a variety of depositors and institutions in order to provide loans to our customers. Changes in market interest rates cause our net interest income to increase or decrease, as some of our assets and liabilities carry interest rates that fluctuate with market benchmarks. The interest rate benchmark for our floating rate assets is generally the prime rate, and the interest rate benchmark for our floating rate liabilities is generally either LIBOR or the federal funds rate. The prime rate and the LIBOR or federal funds rate could reset at different times or could diverge, leading to mismatches in the interest rates on our floating rate assets and floating rate liabilities.

As of June 30, 2018, assuming an immediate 100 basis point increase in the interest rates affecting all interest rate sensitive assets and liabilities, we estimate that net interest income over the following 12-month period would increase by approximately $70 million. This estimate projects net interest income over the following 12-month period and takes into consideration future growth and balance sheet composition.

For a more detailed discussion of our exposure to market risk, refer to “Management's Discussion and Analysis—Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk” in our 2017 Form 10-K.

ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

Under the direction of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we evaluated our disclosure controls and procedures, and our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of June 30, 2018.

No change in internal control over financial reporting occurred during the quarter ended June 30, 2018 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

For a description of legal proceedings, see Note 13. Legal Proceedings and Regulatory Matters to our condensed consolidated financial statements in Part 1, Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

There have been no material changes to the risk factors included in our 2017 Form 10-K under the heading “Risk Factors”.

ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS

The table below sets forth information regarding purchases of our common stock primarily related to our share repurchase program that were made by us or on our behalf during the three months ended June 30, 2018.



($ in millions, except per share data)	Total Number of Shares Purchased^(a)	Average Price Paid Per Share^(b)		Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Programs^(c)	Maximum Dollar Value of Shares That May Yet Be Purchased Under the Programs^(b)

April 1 - 30, 2018	6,280,817	$	34.29	6,120,660	$	—
May 1 - 31, 2018	7,924,541	35.49		7,918,362	1,919.0
June 1 - 30, 2018	—	—		—	1,919.0
Total	14,205,358	$	34.96	14,039,022	$	1,919.0

_______________________

(a)

Primarily represents repurchases of shares of common stock under our publicly announced share repurchase programs of up to $1.64 billion of our outstanding shares of common stock through June 30, 2018 (the "2017 Share Repurchase Program") and up to $2.2 billion of our outstanding shares of common stock through June 30, 2019 (the "2018 Share Repurchase Program"). Also includes 160,157 shares, 6,179 shares and 0 shares withheld in April, May and June, respectively, to offset tax withholding obligations that occur upon the delivery of outstanding shares underlying restricted stock awards or upon the exercise of stock options.


(b)	Amounts exclude commission costs.


(c)	During the three months ended June 30, 2018, we completed our 2017 Share Repurchase Program. On May 17, 2018, the Board of Directors approved the 2018 Share Repurchase Program.

ITEM 3. DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES

None.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

ITEM 5. OTHER INFORMATION

None.

ITEM 6. EXHIBITS

EXHIBIT INDEX



Exhibit Number	Description
12.1	Statement of Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges
31(a)	Certification Pursuant to Rules 13a-14(a) or 15d-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as Amended
31(b)	Certification Pursuant to Rules 13a-14(a) or 15d-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as Amended
32	Certification Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350
101	The following materials from Synchrony Financial’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2018, formatted in XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language): (i) Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, (ii) Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the three months and three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, (iii) Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Position at June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, (iv) Condensed Consolidated Statements of Changes in Equity for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, (v) Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, and (vi) Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

______________________

Signatures

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

Synchrony Financial

(Registrant)



July 27, 2018		/s/ Brian D. Doubles
Date		Brian D. Doubles Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (Duly Authorized Officer and Principal Financial Officer)