Synchrony Financial (SYF) 10-Q 22 Oct 20 2020 Q3 Quarterly report Financial data

Cover Document

Cover Document - shares	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020	Oct. 15, 2020
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Document Quarterly Report	true
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2020
Document Transition Report	false
Entity File Number	001-36560
Entity Registrant Name	SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	DE
Entity Tax Identification Number	51-0483352
Entity Address, Address Line One	777 Long Ridge Road
Entity Address, City or Town	Stamford,
Entity Address, State or Province	CT
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	06902
City Area Code	203
Local Phone Number	585-2400
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Interactive Data Current	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Smaller Reporting Company	false
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Shell Company	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		583,792,187
Entity Central Index Key	0001601712
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2020
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Common Stock
Entity Information [Line Items]
Title of 12(b) Security	Common stock, par value $0.001 per share
Trading Symbol	SYF
Security Exchange Name	NYSE
Series A Preferred Stock
Entity Information [Line Items]
Title of 12(b) Security	Depositary Shares Each Representing a 1/40th Interest in a Share of 5.625% Fixed Rate Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series A
Trading Symbol	SYFPrA
Security Exchange Name	NYSE

Condensed Consolidated Statemen

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended				9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020		Sep. 30, 2019		Sep. 30, 2020		Sep. 30, 2019
Interest income:
Interest and fees on loans (Note 4)	$ 3,821		$ 4,890		$ 11,969		$ 14,213
Interest on cash and debt securities	16		91		105		292
Total interest income	3,837		4,981		12,074		14,505
Interest expense:
Interest on deposits	245		411		894		1,183
Interest on senior unsecured notes	82		93		252		274
Total interest expense	380		592		1,331		1,735
Net interest income	3,457		4,389		10,743		12,770
Retailer share arrangements	(899)		(1,016)		(2,598)		(2,829)
Provision for credit losses (Note 4)	1,210	[1]	1,019	[2]	4,560	[1]	3,076	[2]
Net interest income, after retailer share arrangements and provision for credit losses	1,348		2,354		3,585		6,865
Other income:
Interchange revenue	172		197		467		556
Debt cancellation fees	68		64		206		201
Loyalty programs	(155)		(203)		(447)		(562)
Other	46		27		97		72
Total other income	131		85		323		267
Other expense:
Employee costs	382		359		1,033		1,070
Professional fees	187		205		573		668
Marketing and business development	107		139		309		397
Information processing	125		127		364		363
Other	266		234		776		668
Total other expense	1,067		1,064		3,055		3,166
Earnings before provision for income taxes	412		1,375		853		3,966
Provision for income taxes (Note 13)	99		319		206		950
Net earnings	313		1,056		647		3,016
Net earnings available to common stockholders	$ 303		$ 1,056		$ 615		$ 3,016
Earnings per share
Basic (in usd per share)	$ 0.52		$ 1.60		$ 1.04		$ 4.42
Diluted (in usd per share)	$ 0.52		$ 1.60		$ 1.04		$ 4.40
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary
Interest income:
Interest and fees on loans (Note 4)	$ 1,200		$ 1,400		$ 3,700		$ 3,900
Interest expense:
Interest on borrowings of consolidated securitization entities	53		88		185		278
Provision for credit losses (Note 4)	$ 460		$ 184		$ 1,500		$ 743
[1]	The allowance for credit losses at September 30, 2020 reflects our estimate of expected credit losses for the life of the loan receivables on our condensed consolidated statement of financial position at September 30, 2020 , which includes the consideration of current and expected macroeconomic conditions that existed at that date.
[2]	Comparative information is presented in accordance with applicable accounting standards in effect prior to the adoption of ASU 2016-13.

Condensed Consolidated Statem_2

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019
Statement of Comprehensive Income [Abstract]
Net earnings	$ 313	$ 1,056	$ 647	$ 3,016
Other comprehensive income (loss)
Debt securities	0	3	29	35
Currency translation adjustments	6	(1)	(1)	0
Employee benefit plans	0	(3)	(1)	(4)
Other comprehensive income (loss)	6	(1)	27	31
Comprehensive income	$ 319	$ 1,055	$ 674	$ 3,047

Condensed Consolidated Statem_3

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Position - USD ($) $ in Millions		Sep. 30, 2020		Dec. 31, 2019
Assets
Cash and equivalents		$ 13,552		$ 12,147
Debt securities (Note 3)		8,432		5,911
Loan receivables: (Notes 4 and 5)	[1],[2]	78,521		87,215
Less: Allowance for credit losses		(10,146)	[3]	(5,602)
Loan receivables, net		68,375		81,613
Loan receivables held for sale (Note 4)		4		725
Goodwill		1,078		1,078
Intangible assets, net (Note 6)		1,091		1,265
Other assets		3,126		2,087
Total assets		95,658		104,826
Deposits: (Note 7)
Interest-bearing deposit accounts		63,195		64,877
Non-interest-bearing deposit accounts		298		277
Total deposits		63,493		65,154
Borrowings: (Notes 5 and 8)
Senior unsecured notes		7,962		9,454
Total borrowings	[4]	15,771		19,866
Accrued expenses and other liabilities		4,295		4,718
Total liabilities		83,559		89,738
Equity:
Preferred stock, par share value $0.001 per share; 750,000 shares authorized; 750,000 shares issued and outstanding at both September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 and aggregate liquidation preference of $750 at both September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019		734		734
Common Stock, par share value $0.001 per share; 4,000,000,000 shares authorized; 833,984,684 shares issued at both September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019; 583,766,270 and 615,925,168 shares outstanding at September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively		1		1
Additional paid-in capital		9,552		9,537
Retained earnings		10,024		12,117
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss):
Debt securities		28		(1)
Currency translation adjustments		(25)		(24)
Employee benefit plans		(34)		(33)
Treasury stock, at cost; 250,218,414 and 218,059,516 shares at September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively		(8,181)		(7,243)
Total equity		12,099		15,088
Total liabilities and equity		95,658		104,826
Restricted loans of consolidated securitization entities
Assets
Loan receivables: (Notes 4 and 5)		25,908		28,817
Less: Allowance for credit losses		(2,900)
Loan receivables, net	[5]	23,038		27,217
Other assets	[6]	47		68
Total assets		23,085		27,285
Borrowings: (Notes 5 and 8)
Borrowings of consolidated securitization entities	[4]	7,809		10,412
Total liabilities		7,833		10,444
Unsecuritized Loans Held for Investment [Member]
Assets
Loan receivables: (Notes 4 and 5)		$ 52,613		$ 58,398
[1]	At September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 , loan receivables included deferred costs, net of deferred income, of $130 million and $140 million , respectively.
[2]	Total loan receivables include $25.9 billion and $28.8 billion of restricted loans of consolidated securitization entities at September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 , respectively. See Note 5. Variable Interest Entities for further information on these restricted loans.
[3]	The allowance for credit losses at September 30, 2020 reflects our estimate of expected credit losses for the life of the loan receivables on our condensed consolidated statement of financial position at September 30, 2020 , which includes the consideration of current and expected macroeconomic conditions that existed at that date.
[4]	The amounts presented above for outstanding borrowings include unamortized debt premiums, discounts and issuance cost.
[5]	Includes $2.9 billion of related allowance for credit losses resulting in gross restricted loans of $25.9 billion at September 30, 2020 and $1.6 billion of related allowance for loan losses resulting in gross restricted loans of $28.8 billion at December 31, 2019 .
[6]	Includes $42 million and $62 million of segregated funds held by the VIEs at September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 , 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.

Condensed Consolidated Statem_4

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Position Statement (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Statement of Financial Position [Abstract]
Preferred Stock, Par or Stated Value Per Share	$ 0.001	$ 0.001
Preferred Stock, Shares Authorized	750,000	750,000
Preferred Stock, Shares Issued	750,000	750,000
Preferred Stock, Shares Outstanding	750,000	750,000
Preferred Stock, Liquidation Preference, Value	$ 750	$ 750
Common stock par value (in usd per share)	$ 0.001	$ 0.001
Common Stock Shares Authorized	4,000,000,000	4,000,000,000
Common Stock Shares Issued	833,984,684	833,984,684
Common Stock Shares Outstanding	583,766,270	615,925,168
Treasury Stock, Shares	250,218,414	218,059,516

Condensed Consolidated Statem_5

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Changes in Equity (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Total	Preferred Stock	Common Stock	Additional Paid-in Capital	Retained Earnings	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)	Treasury Stock	Cumulative Effect, Period of Adoption, Adjustment	Cumulative Effect, Period of Adoption, AdjustmentRetained Earnings
Preferred Stock, Shares Issued		0
Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2018			833,985,000
Balance at Dec. 31, 2018	$ 14,678	$ 0	$ 1	$ 9,482	$ 8,986	$ (62)	$ (3,729)
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net earnings	1,107				1,107
Other comprehensive income	19					19
Purchases of treasury stock	(967)						(967)
Stock-based compensation (in shares)			0
Stock-based compensation	$ 22			7
Stock-based compensation, treasury stock issued							32
Treasury Stock Reissued at Lower than Repurchase Price					(17)
Common Stock, Dividends, Per Share, Declared	$ 0.21
Dividends, Common Stock, Cash	$ (150)				(150)
Other	0				13	(13)
Balance (in shares) at Mar. 31, 2019			833,985,000
Balance at Mar. 31, 2019	14,709	0	$ 1	9,489	9,939	(56)	(4,664)
Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2018			833,985,000
Balance at Dec. 31, 2018	14,678	0	$ 1	9,482	8,986	(62)	(3,729)
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net earnings	3,016
Other comprehensive income	31
Balance (in shares) at Sep. 30, 2019			833,985,000
Balance at Sep. 30, 2019	15,120	$ 0	$ 1	9,520	11,533	(44)	(5,890)
Preferred Stock, Shares Issued		0
Balance (in shares) at Mar. 31, 2019			833,985,000
Balance at Mar. 31, 2019	14,709	$ 0	$ 1	9,489	9,939	(56)	(4,664)
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net earnings	853				853
Other comprehensive income	13					13
Purchases of treasury stock	(725)						(725)
Stock-based compensation (in shares)			0
Stock-based compensation	$ 29			11
Stock-based compensation, treasury stock issued							38
Treasury Stock Reissued at Lower than Repurchase Price					(20)
Common Stock, Dividends, Per Share, Declared	$ 0.21
Dividends, Common Stock, Cash	$ (145)				(145)
Balance (in shares) at Jun. 30, 2019			833,985,000
Balance at Jun. 30, 2019	14,734	$ 0	$ 1	9,500	10,627	(43)	(5,351)
Preferred Stock, Shares Issued		0
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net earnings	1,056				1,056
Other comprehensive income	(1)					(1)
Purchases of treasury stock	(550)						(550)
Stock-based compensation (in shares)			0
Stock-based compensation	$ 26			20
Stock-based compensation, treasury stock issued							11
Treasury Stock Reissued at Lower than Repurchase Price					(5)
Common Stock, Dividends, Per Share, Declared	$ 0.22
Dividends, Common Stock, Cash	$ (145)				(145)
Balance (in shares) at Sep. 30, 2019			833,985,000
Balance at Sep. 30, 2019	$ 15,120	$ 0	$ 1	9,520	11,533	(44)	(5,890)
Preferred Stock, Shares Issued		0
Preferred Stock, Shares Issued	750,000	750,000
Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2019	833,984,684		833,985,000
Balance at Dec. 31, 2019	$ 15,088	$ 734	$ 1	9,537	12,117	(58)	(7,243)
Balance (Accounting Standards Update 2016-13) at Dec. 31, 2019								$ (2,276)	$ (2,276)
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net earnings	286				286
Other comprehensive income	9					9
Purchases of treasury stock	(985)						(985)
Stock-based compensation (in shares)			0
Stock-based compensation	$ (6)			(14)
Stock-based compensation, treasury stock issued							29
Treasury Stock Reissued at Lower than Repurchase Price					(21)
Preferred Stock, Dividends Per Share, Declared	$ 14.22
Dividends, Preferred Stock, Cash	$ (11)				(11)
Common Stock, Dividends, Per Share, Declared	$ 0.22
Dividends, Common Stock, Cash	$ (135)				(135)
Balance (in shares) at Mar. 31, 2020			833,985,000
Balance at Mar. 31, 2020	$ 11,970	734	$ 1	9,523	9,960	(49)	(8,199)
Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2019	833,984,684		833,985,000
Balance at Dec. 31, 2019	$ 15,088	734	$ 1	9,537	12,117	(58)	(7,243)
Balance (Accounting Standards Update 2016-13) at Dec. 31, 2019								$ (2,276)	$ (2,276)
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net earnings	647
Other comprehensive income	$ 27
Balance (in shares) at Sep. 30, 2020	833,984,684		833,985,000
Balance at Sep. 30, 2020	$ 12,099	$ 734	$ 1	9,552	10,024	(31)	(8,181)
Preferred Stock, Shares Issued		750,000
Balance (in shares) at Mar. 31, 2020			833,985,000
Balance at Mar. 31, 2020	11,970	$ 734	$ 1	9,523	9,960	(49)	(8,199)
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net earnings	48				48
Other comprehensive income	12					12
Purchases of treasury stock	0						0
Stock-based compensation (in shares)			0
Stock-based compensation	$ 8			9
Stock-based compensation, treasury stock issued							16
Treasury Stock Reissued at Lower than Repurchase Price					(17)
Preferred Stock, Dividends Per Share, Declared	$ 14.06
Dividends, Preferred Stock, Cash	$ (11)				(11)
Common Stock, Dividends, Per Share, Declared	$ 0.22
Dividends, Common Stock, Cash	$ (128)				(128)
Balance (in shares) at Jun. 30, 2020			833,985,000
Balance at Jun. 30, 2020	11,899	$ 734	$ 1	9,532	9,852	(37)	(8,183)
Preferred Stock, Shares Issued		750,000
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net earnings	313				313
Other comprehensive income	6					6
Purchases of treasury stock	0						0
Stock-based compensation (in shares)			0
Stock-based compensation	$ 20			20
Stock-based compensation, treasury stock issued							2
Treasury Stock Reissued at Lower than Repurchase Price					(2)
Preferred Stock, Dividends Per Share, Declared	$ 14.06
Dividends, Preferred Stock, Cash	$ (10)				(10)
Common Stock, Dividends, Per Share, Declared	$ 0.22
Dividends, Common Stock, Cash	$ (129)				(129)
Other	$ 0				0
Balance (in shares) at Sep. 30, 2020	833,984,684		833,985,000
Balance at Sep. 30, 2020	$ 12,099	$ 734	$ 1	$ 9,552	$ 10,024	$ (31)	$ (8,181)
Preferred Stock, Shares Issued	750,000	750,000

Condensed Consolidated Statem_6

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Millions	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020		Sep. 30, 2019
Cash flows - operating activities
Net earnings	$ 647		$ 3,016
Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to cash provided from operating activities
Provision for credit losses	4,560	[1]	3,076	[2]
Deferred income taxes	(468)		103
Depreciation and amortization	290		273
(Increase) decrease in interest and fees receivable	394		(430)
(Increase) decrease in other assets	(85)		46
Increase (decrease) in accrued expenses and other liabilities	(483)		125
All other operating activities	546		445
Cash provided from (used for) operating activities	5,401		6,654
Cash flows - investing activities
Maturity and sales of debt securities	4,943		6,766
Purchases of debt securities	(7,423)		(5,178)
Proceeds from sale of loan receivables	709		0
Net (increase) decrease in loan receivables, including held for sale	4,798		(2,016)
All other investing activities	(266)		(514)
Cash provided from (used for) investing activities	2,761		(942)
Borrowings of consolidated securitization entities
Proceeds from issuance of securitized debt	675		3,345
Maturities and repayment of securitized debt	(3,282)		(6,877)
Senior unsecured notes
Proceeds from issuance of senior unsecured notes	0		1,985
Maturities and repayment of senior unsecured notes	(1,500)		(2,100)
Dividends paid on preferred stock	(32)		0
Net increase (decrease) in deposits	(1,656)		1,940
Purchases of treasury stock	(985)		(2,242)
Dividends paid on common stock	(392)		(440)
All other financing activities	(11)		22
Cash provided from (used for) financing activities	(7,183)		(4,367)
Increase (decrease) in cash and equivalents, including restricted amounts	979		1,345
Cash and equivalents, including restricted amounts, at beginning of period	12,647		10,376
Cash and equivalents	13,552		11,461
Restricted cash and equivalents included in other assets	74		260
Total cash and equivalents, including restricted amounts, at end of period	$ 13,626		$ 11,721
[1]	The allowance for credit losses at September 30, 2020 reflects our estimate of expected credit losses for the life of the loan receivables on our condensed consolidated statement of financial position at September 30, 2020 , which includes the consideration of current and expected macroeconomic conditions that existed at that date.
[2]	Comparative information is presented in accordance with applicable accounting standards in effect prior to the adoption of ASU 2016-13.

Business Description

Business Description	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Business Description	BUSINESS DESCRIPTION Synchrony Financial (the “Company”) provides a range of credit products through financing 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, and savings products insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") 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.

Basis of Presentation and Summa

Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	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 . 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 2019 annual consolidated financial statements and the related notes in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 (our " 2019 Form 10-K"). New Accounting Standards Newly Adopted Accounting Standards In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses: Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. This ASU replaced 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 permits the use of judgment in determining an approach which is most appropriate for the Company, based on their facts and circumstances. The CECL model requires, upon origination of a loan, the recognition of all expected credit losses over the life of the loan balance based on historical experience, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts. We adopted this guidance on a modified retrospective basis as of January 1, 2020, which resulted in the recognition of the effects of adoption through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings. As a result of adoption, we incurred an increase of $3.0 billion to the Company’s allowance for loan losses. This guidance also applies to other financial assets, such as our debt securities, however the adoption did not have an impact on these financial statement line items. The total impact of adoption resulted in a reduction to retained earnings in our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet of $2.3 billion , reflecting the above changes and the recognition of related additional deferred tax assets. Subsequent updates to our estimate of expected credit losses have been recorded through the provision for credit losses in our Consolidated Statement of Earnings. Investment Securities We report investments in debt and marketable equity securities at fair value. See Note 9. Fair Value Measurements for further information on fair value. Changes in fair value on debt securities, which are classified as available-for-sale, are generally included in equity, net of applicable taxes. Changes in fair value on equity securities are included in earnings starting in 2018. We regularly review investment securities for impairment using both quantitative and qualitative criteria. For debt securities, if we do not intend to sell the security, or it is not more likely than not, that we will be required to sell the security before recovery of our amortized cost, we evaluate other qualitative criteria to determine whether we do not expect to recover the amortized cost basis of the security, such as the financial health of, and specific prospects for the issuer, including whether the issuer is in compliance with the terms and covenants of the security. We also evaluate quantitative criteria including determining whether there has been an adverse change in expected future cash flows. If we do not expect to recover the entire amortized cost basis of the security, we consider the debt security to be impaired. If the security is impaired, we determine whether the impairment is the result of a credit loss or other factors. If a credit loss exists, an allowance for credit losses is recorded, with a related charge to earnings, limited by the amount that the fair value of the security is less than its amortized cost. Given the nature of our current portfolio, we perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether any credit loss is warranted. The assessment considers factors such as adverse conditions and payment structure of the securities, history of payment, and market conditions. If we intend to sell the security or it is more likely than not we will be required to sell the debt security before recovery of its amortized cost basis, the security is also considered impaired and we recognize the entire difference between the security’s amortized cost basis and its fair value in earnings. Realized gains and losses are accounted for on the specific identification method. Acquired Loans To determine the fair value of loans at acquisition, we estimate expected cash flows and discount those cash flows using an observable market rate of interest, when available, adjusted for factors that a market participant would consider in determining fair value. In determining fair value, expected cash flows are adjusted to include prepayment, default rate, and loss severity estimates. The difference between the fair value and the amount contractually due is recorded as a loan discount or premium at acquisition. Loans acquired that have experienced more-than-insignificant deterioration in credit quality since origination (referred to as “purchased credit deteriorated” or “PCD” assets) are subject to specific guidance upon acquisition. An allowance for PCD assets is added to the purchase price or fair value of the acquired loans to arrive at the amortized cost basis. Subsequent to initial recognition, the accounting for the PCD asset will generally follow the credit loss model described below. Loans acquired without a more-than-insignificant credit deterioration since origination are measured under the Allowance for Credit Losses described below. Allowance for Credit Losses Losses on loan receivables are estimated and recognized upon origination of the loan, based on expected credit losses for the life of the loan balance as of the period end date. Expected credit loss estimates involve modeling loss projections attributable to existing loan balances, considering historical experience, current conditions and future expectations for homogeneous pools of loans over the reasonable and supportable forecast period. We also perform a qualitative assessment in addition to model estimates and apply qualitative adjustments as necessary. The reasonable and supportable forecast period is determined based upon the accuracy level of historical loss forecast estimates, models and methodology utilized, an assessment of the current economic outlook, including the effects of COVID-19, and consideration of material changes in our loan portfolio such as changes in growth, portfolio mix and credit strategy. The reasonable and supportable forecast period used in our estimate of credit losses at September 30, 2020 was 12 months , consistent with the forecast period utilized since adoption of CECL. The Company reassesses the reasonable and supportable forecast period on a quarterly basis. Beyond the reasonable and supportable forecast period, we revert to historical loss information at the loan receivables segment level over a 6 -month period, gradually increasing the weight of historical losses in the reversion period, and utilize historical loss information thereafter for the remaining life of the portfolio. The historical loss information is derived from a combination of recessionary and non-recessionary performance periods, weighted by the time span of each period. Similar to the reasonable and supportable forecast period, we also reassess the reversion period and historical mean on a quarterly basis, considering any required adjustments for differences in underwriting standards, portfolio mix, and other relevant data shifts over time. We generally segment our loan receivable population into homogeneous pools of loans at the major retailer and product level. Consistent with our other assumptions, we regularly review segmentation to determine whether the segmentation pools remain relevant as risk characteristics change. Our loan receivables generally do not have a stated life. The life of a credit card loan receivable is dependent upon a variety of factors, including the principal balance, promotional terms, payments received, interest charges and fees as well as overall consumer usage pattern. In determining expected credit losses over the life of the loan balance, we utilize an approach which considers an allocation of future payments with appropriate haircuts. However, we do not permit payments from an account within a pool that has already paid down its measurement date balance, or has a nil balance as of measurement date, to be applied to other accounts within the pool, referred to as cross-subsidization. We evaluate each portfolio quarterly. For credit card receivables, our estimation process includes analysis of historical data, and there is a significant amount of judgment applied in selecting inputs and analyzing the results produced by the models to determine the allowance for credit losses. We use an enhanced migration analysis to estimate the likelihood that a loan will progress through the various stages of delinquency. The enhanced migration analysis considers uncollectible principal, interest and fees reflected in the loan receivables, segmented by credit and business parameters. We use other analyses to estimate expected losses on non-delinquent accounts, which include past performance, bankruptcy activity such as filings, policy changes, and loan volumes and amounts. Holistically, for assessing the portfolio credit loss content, we also evaluate portfolio risk management techniques applied to various accounts, historical behavior of different account vintages, account seasoning, economic conditions, recent trends in delinquencies, account collection management, forecasting uncertainties, expectations about the future, and a qualitative assessment of the adequacy of the allowance for credit losses. We regularly review our collection experience (including delinquencies and net charge-offs) in determining our allowance for credit losses. We also consider our historical loss experience to date based on actual defaulted loans and overall portfolio indicators including delinquent and non-accrual loans, trends in loan volume and lending terms, credit policies and other observable environmental factors such as unemployment and home price indices. The underlying assumptions, estimates and assessments we use to provide for losses are updated periodically to reflect our view of current and forecasted conditions and are subject to the regulatory examination process, which can result in changes to our assumptions. Changes in such estimates can significantly affect the allowance and provision for credit losses. It is possible that we will experience credit losses that are different from our current estimates. Charge-offs are deducted from the allowance for credit losses when we judge the principal to be uncollectible, and subsequent recoveries are added to the allowance, generally at the time cash is received on a charged-off account. Delinquent receivables are those that are 30 days or more past due based on their contractual payments. Non-accrual loan receivables are those on which we have stopped accruing interest. We continue to accrue interest until the earlier of the time at which collection of an account becomes doubtful, or the account becomes 180 days past due, with the exception of non-credit card accounts, for which we stop accruing interest in the period that the account becomes 90 days past due. Troubled debt restructurings (“TDR”) are those loans for which we have granted a concession to a borrower experiencing financial difficulties where we do not receive adequate compensation. TDRs are identified at the point when the borrower enters into a modification program. Under the CARES Act, banks may elect to deem that loan modifications do not result in TDRs if they are (1) related to the novel coronavirus disease (“COVID-19”); (2) executed on a loan that was not more than 30 days past due as of December 31, 2019; and (3) executed between March 1, 2020, and the earlier of (A) 60 days after the date of termination of the National Emergency or (B) December 31, 2020. At September 30, 2020 , we have not made such an election. Additionally, other short-term modifications made on a good faith basis in response to COVID-19 are not considered TDRs under ASC Subtopic 310-40. This includes delays in payment that are insignificant or short-term (e.g., up to six months) modifications such as payment deferrals, fee waivers or extensions of repayment terms to borrowers who were current prior to any relief. Borrowers considered current are those that are less than 30 days past due on their contractual payments at the time a modification program is implemented. The same loan receivable may meet more than one of the definitions above. Accordingly, these categories are not mutually exclusive, and it is possible for a particular loan to meet the definitions of a TDR and non-accrual loan, and be included in each of these categories. The categorization of a particular loan also may not be indicative of the potential for loss. Loan Modifications and 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 TDR. 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 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. Accordingly, TDRs are identified at the point when the borrower enters into a modification program. See Note 4. Loan Receivables and Allowance for Credit Losses for additional information on our loan modifications and restructurings. Our allowance for credit 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. If the loan is collateral dependent, we measure impairment based upon the fair value of the underlying collateral less estimated selling costs. Data related to redefault experience is also considered in our overall reserve adequacy review. Once the loan has been modified, it returns to current status (re-aged), only after three consecutive minimum monthly payments are received post modification date, subject to a re-aging limitation of once a year, or twice in a five-year period in accordance with the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council guidelines on Uniform Retail Credit Classification and Account Management policy issued in June 2000. Revenue Recognition Purchased Loans Loans acquired by purchase are recorded at fair value, which may result in the recognition of a loan premium or loan discount. For acquired loans with evidence of more-than-insignificant deterioration in credit quality since origination, the initial allowance for credit losses at acquisition is added to the purchase price to determine the initial cost basis of the loans and loan premium or loan discount. Loan premiums and loan discounts are recognized into interest income over the estimated remaining life of the loans. The Company develops an allowance for credit losses for all purchased loans, which is recognized upon acquisition, similar to that of an originated financial asset. Subsequent changes to the expected credit losses for these loans follow the allowance for credit losses methodology described above under “ —Allowance for Credit Losses .” See Note 2. Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to our 2019 annual consolidated financial statements in our 2019 Form 10-K, for additional information on our other significant accounting policies.

Debt Securities

Debt Securities	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Investments, Debt and Equity Securities [Abstract]
Investment Securities	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 (“CRA”). Our debt securities consist of the following: September 30, 2020 December 31, 2019 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 $ 5,198 $ 1 $ — $ 5,199 $ 2,468 $ 1 $ — $ 2,469 State and municipal 40 — (1 ) 39 46 1 (2 ) 45 Residential mortgage-backed (a) 804 26 — 830 1,029 6 (9 ) 1,026 Asset-backed (b) 2,353 11 — 2,364 2,368 3 — 2,371 Total $ 8,395 $ 38 $ (1 ) $ 8,432 $ 5,911 $ 11 $ (11 ) $ 5,911 _______________________ (a) All of our residential mortgage-backed securities have been issued by government-sponsored entities and are collateralized by U.S. mortgages. At September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 , $267 million and $351 million of residential mortgage-backed securities, respectively, are pledged by the Bank as collateral to the Federal Reserve to secure Federal Reserve Discount Window advances. (b) All of our asset-backed securities are collateralized by credit card loans. The following table presents the estimated fair values and gross unrealized losses of our available-for-sale debt securities: In loss position for Less than 12 months 12 months or more Gross Gross Estimated unrealized Estimated unrealized ($ in millions) fair value losses fair value losses At September 30, 2020 U.S. government and federal agency $ — $ — $ — $ — State and municipal 3 — 22 (1 ) Residential mortgage-backed 9 — — — Asset-backed 242 — — — Total $ 254 $ — $ 22 $ (1 ) At December 31, 2019 U.S. government and federal agency $ — $ — $ — $ — State and municipal — — 24 (2 ) Residential mortgage-backed 76 — 618 (9 ) Asset-backed 202 — — — Total $ 278 $ — $ 642 $ (11 ) The adoption of CECL did not have a material impact on our accounting for available for sale debt securities. We regularly review debt securities for impairment resulting from credit loss using both qualitative and quantitative criteria, as necessary based on the composition of the portfolio at period end. Based on our assessment, no material impairments for credit losses were recognized during the period. 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. Contractual Maturities of Investments in Available-for-Sale Debt Securities Amortized Estimated Weighted At September 30, 2020 ($ in millions) cost fair value Average yield (a) Due Within one year $ 6,553 $ 6,560 0.4 % After one year through five years $ 999 $ 1,004 0.7 % After five years through ten years $ 147 $ 153 2.5 % After ten years $ 696 $ 715 1.9 % _____________________ (a) 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. 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 nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 . Although we generally do not have the intent to sell any specific securities held at September 30, 2020

Loan Receivables and Allowance

Loan Receivables and Allowance for Credit Losses	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Receivables [Abstract]
Loan Receivables and Allowance for Credit Losses	LOAN RECEIVABLES AND ALLOWANCE FOR CREDIT LOSSES ($ in millions) September 30, 2020 December 31, 2019 Credit cards $ 75,204 $ 84,606 Consumer installment loans 1,987 1,347 Commercial credit products 1,270 1,223 Other 60 39 Total loan receivables, before allowance for losses (a)(b) $ 78,521 $ 87,215 _______________________ (a) Total loan receivables include $25.9 billion and $28.8 billion of restricted loans of consolidated securitization entities at September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 , respectively. See Note 5. Variable Interest Entities for further information on these restricted loans. (b) At September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 , loan receivables included deferred costs, net of deferred income, of $130 million and $140 million , respectively. Disposition of Loan Receivables In January 2020, we completed the sale of loan receivables associated with our Payment Solutions program agreement with Yamaha. Allowance for Credit Losses (a) ($ in millions) Balance at July 1, 2020 Provision charged to operations Gross charge-offs Recoveries Balance at Credit cards $ 9,637 $ 1,143 $ (1,052 ) $ 202 $ 9,930 Consumer installment loans 103 50 (9 ) 4 148 Commercial credit products 61 17 (13 ) 2 67 Other 1 — — — 1 Total $ 9,802 $ 1,210 $ (1,074 ) $ 208 $ 10,146 ($ in millions) Balance at January 1, 2020 Impact of ASU 2016-13 Adoption Post-Adoption Balance at January 1, 2020 Provision charged to operations Gross charge-offs Recoveries Balance at Credit cards $ 5,506 $ 2,989 $ 8,495 $ 4,411 $ (3,712 ) $ 736 $ 9,930 Consumer installment loans 46 26 72 102 (36 ) 10 148 Commercial credit products 49 6 55 47 (42 ) 7 67 Other 1 — 1 — — — 1 Total $ 5,602 $ 3,021 $ 8,623 $ 4,560 $ (3,790 ) $ 753 $ 10,146 Allowance for Loan Losses (b) ($ in millions) Balance at July 1, 2019 Provision charged to operations Gross charge-offs Recoveries Balance at Credit cards $ 5,702 $ 993 $ (1,422 ) $ 225 $ 5,498 Consumer installment loans 50 18 (16 ) 4 56 Commercial credit products 55 9 (14 ) 2 52 Other 2 (1 ) — — 1 Total $ 5,809 $ 1,019 $ (1,452 ) $ 231 $ 5,607 ($ in millions) Balance at January 1, 2019 Provision charged to operations Gross charge-offs Recoveries Balance at Credit cards $ 6,327 $ 2,994 $ (4,584 ) $ 761 $ 5,498 Consumer installment loans 44 46 (47 ) 13 56 Commercial credit products 55 35 (43 ) 5 52 Other 1 1 (1 ) — 1 Total $ 6,427 $ 3,076 $ (4,675 ) $ 779 $ 5,607 _______________________ (a) The allowance for credit losses at September 30, 2020 reflects our estimate of expected credit losses for the life of the loan receivables on our condensed consolidated statement of financial position at September 30, 2020 , which includes the consideration of current and expected macroeconomic conditions that existed at that date. (b) Comparative information is presented in accordance with applicable accounting standards in effect prior to the adoption of ASU 2016-13. Delinquent and Non-accrual Loans At September 30, 2020 ($ 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 $ 1,091 $ 958 $ 2,049 $ 958 $ — Consumer installment loans 23 4 27 — 4 Commercial credit products 13 11 24 11 — Total delinquent loans $ 1,127 $ 973 $ 2,100 $ 969 $ 4 Percentage of total loan receivables 1.4 % 1.2 % 2.7 % 1.2 % — % At December 31, 2019 ($ in millions) 30-89 days delinquent 90 or more days delinquent Total past due 90 or more days delinquent and accruing Total non-accruing (a) Credit cards $ 1,936 $ 1,852 $ 3,788 $ 1,850 $ — Consumer installment loans 21 7 28 — 7 Commercial credit products 40 18 58 18 — Total delinquent loans $ 1,997 $ 1,877 $ 3,874 $ 1,868 $ 7 Percentage of total loan receivables 2.3 % 2.2 % 4.4 % 2.1 % — % _______________________ (a) Excludes purchase credit deteriorated loan receivables. Troubled Debt Restructurings 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. Our TDR loans do not include loans that are classified as loan receivables held for sale or short-term modifications made on a good faith basis in response to COVID-19. 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 our TDR loan modifications during the periods presented: Three months ended September 30, Nine months ended September 30, ($ in millions) 2020 2019 2020 2019 Credit cards $ 197 $ 226 $ 549 $ 633 Consumer installment loans — — — — Commercial credit products 1 1 2 3 Total $ 198 $ 227 $ 551 $ 636 Our allowance for credit 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 on an individual basis but instead estimate an allowance for credit losses on a collective basis. At September 30, 2020 ($ in millions) Total recorded investment Related allowance Net recorded investment Unpaid principal balance Credit cards $ 1,109 $ (522 ) $ 587 $ 985 Consumer installment loans — — — — Commercial credit products 3 (2 ) 1 3 Total $ 1,112 $ (524 ) $ 588 $ 988 At December 31, 2019 ($ in millions) Total recorded investment Related allowance Net recorded investment Unpaid principal balance Credit cards $ 1,146 $ (550 ) $ 596 $ 1,019 Consumer installment loans — — — — Commercial credit products 4 (2 ) 2 4 Total $ 1,150 $ (552 ) $ 598 $ 1,023 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 September 30, 2020 2019 ($ 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 $ 11 $ 67 $ 1,112 $ 11 $ 67 $ 1,074 Consumer installment loans — — — — — — Commercial credit products — 1 3 — 1 4 Total $ 11 $ 68 $ 1,115 $ 11 $ 68 $ 1,078 Nine months ended September 30, 2020 2019 ($ 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 $ 32 $ 206 $ 1,130 $ 33 $ 197 $ 1,103 Consumer installment loans — — — — — — Commercial credit products — 1 3 — 1 4 Total $ 32 $ 207 $ 1,133 $ 33 $ 198 $ 1,107 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 and charged-off during the periods presented. Three months ended September 30, 2020 2019 ($ in millions) Accounts defaulted Loans defaulted Accounts defaulted Loans defaulted Credit cards 14,440 $ 38 15,059 $ 37 Consumer installment loans — — — — Commercial credit products 278 1 40 — Total 14,718 $ 39 15,099 $ 37 Nine months ended September 30, 2020 2019 ($ in millions) Accounts defaulted Loans defaulted Accounts defaulted Loans defaulted Credit cards 38,885 $ 102 36,529 $ 88 Consumer installment loans — — — — Commercial credit products 319 1 80 1 Total 39,204 $ 103 36,609 $ 89 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. Credit scores are 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 September 30, 2020 , December 31, 2019 and September 30, 2019 , respectively, as a percentage of each class of loan receivable. The table below excludes 0.3% , 0.3% and 0.9% of our total loan receivables balance at each of September 30, 2020 , December 31, 2019 and September 30, 2019 , respectively, which represents those customer accounts for which a FICO score is not available. September 30, 2020 December 31, 2019 September 30, 2019 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 77 % 17 % 6 % 74 % 18 % 8 % 75 % 19 % 6 % Consumer installment loans 79 % 16 % 5 % 76 % 17 % 7 % 80 % 14 % 6 % Commercial credit products 93 % 4 % 3 % 90 % 5 % 5 % 91 % 5 % 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 $415 billion and $419 billion at September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 , respectively. While these amounts represented the total available unused credit card lines, we have not experienced and do not anticipate that all of our customers will access their entire available line at any given point in time. Interest Income by Product The following table provides additional information about our interest and fees on loans, including merchant discounts, from our loan receivables, including held for sale: Three months ended September 30, Nine months ended September 30, ($ in millions) 2020 2019 2020 2019 Credit cards (a) $ 3,752 $ 4,807 $ 11,764 $ 13,975 Consumer installment loans 46 48 118 134 Commercial credit products 22 35 85 103 Other 1 — 2 1 Total $ 3,821 $ 4,890 $ 11,969 $ 14,213 _______________________ (a) Interest income on credit cards that was reversed related to accrued interest receivables written off was $330 million and $443 million for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 , respectively, and $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 , respectively.

Variable Interest Entities

Variable Interest Entities	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Variable Interest Entities [Abstract]
Variable Interest Entities	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 nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 . 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 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) September 30, 2020 December 31, 2019 Assets Loan receivables, net (a) $ 23,038 $ 27,217 Other assets (b) 47 68 Total $ 23,085 $ 27,285 Liabilities Borrowings $ 7,809 $ 10,412 Other liabilities 24 32 Total $ 7,833 $ 10,444 _______________________ (a) Includes $2.9 billion of related allowance for credit losses resulting in gross restricted loans of $25.9 billion at September 30, 2020 and $1.6 billion of related allowance for loan losses resulting in gross restricted loans of $28.8 billion at December 31, 2019 . (b) Includes $42 million and $62 million of segregated funds held by the VIEs at September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 , 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 $1.4 billion for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 , respectively. Related expenses consisted primarily of provision for credit losses of $460 million and $184 million for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 , respectively, and interest expense of $53 million and $88 million for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 , respectively. Income (principally, interest and fees on loans) earned by our consolidated VIEs was $3.7 billion and $3.9 billion for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 , respectively. Related expenses consisted primarily of provision for credit losses of $1.5 billion and $743 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 , respectively, and interest expense of $185 million and $278 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 , respectively.

Intangible Assets

Intangible Assets	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Intangible Assets	INTANGIBLE ASSETS September 30, 2020 December 31, 2019 ($ in millions) Gross carrying amount Accumulated amortization Net Gross carrying amount Accumulated amortization Net Customer-related $ 1,735 $ (1,049 ) $ 686 $ 1,749 $ (952 ) $ 797 Capitalized software and other 931 (526 ) 405 861 (393 ) 468 Total $ 2,666 $ (1,575 ) $ 1,091 $ 2,610 $ (1,345 ) $ 1,265 During the nine months ended September 30, 2020 , we recorded additions to intangible assets subject to amortization of $95 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 nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 , we recorded additions to customer-related intangible assets subject to amortization of $22 million and $123 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 for both the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 , respectively. Amortization expense related to retail partner contracts was $32 million and $34 million for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 , respectively, and $97 million and $100 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 , 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 $51 million and $44 million for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 , respectively, and $150 million and $123 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 , respectively, and is included as a component of other expense in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings.

Deposits

Deposits	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Deposits [Abstract]
Deposits	DEPOSITS September 30, 2020 December 31, 2019 ($ in millions) Amount Average rate (a) Amount Average rate (a) Interest-bearing deposits $ 63,195 1.9 % $ 64,877 2.4 % Non-interest-bearing deposits 298 — 277 — Total deposits $ 63,493 $ 65,154 ____________________ (a) Based on interest expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and the year ended December 31, 2019 and average deposits balances. At September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 , interest-bearing deposits included $7.0 billion and $8.5 billion , respectively, of certificates of deposit that exceeded applicable FDIC insurance limits, which are generally $250,000 per depositor. At September 30, 2020 , our interest-bearing time deposits maturing for the remainder of 2020 and over the next four years and thereafter were as follows: ($ in millions) 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Thereafter Deposits $ 5,228 $ 20,255 $ 4,430 $ 1,736 $ 2,315 $ 782 The above maturity table excludes $23.3 billion of demand deposits with no defined maturity, of which $22.1 billion are savings accounts. In addition, at September 30, 2020 , we had $5.2 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 2021 and 2027 .

Borrowings

Borrowings	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]
Borrowings	BORROWINGS September 30, 2020 December 31, 2019 ($ in millions) Maturity date Interest Rate Weighted average interest rate Outstanding Amount (a) Outstanding Amount (a) Borrowings of consolidated securitization entities: Fixed securitized borrowings 2021 - 2023 2.21% - 3.87% 2.88 % $ 5,509 $ 7,512 Floating securitized borrowings 2021 - 2023 0.78% - 1.06% 0.89 % 2,300 2,900 Total borrowings of consolidated securitization entities 2.30 % 7,809 10,412 Senior unsecured notes: Synchrony Financial senior unsecured notes: Fixed senior unsecured notes 2021 - 2029 2.80% - 5.15% 4.08 % 6,466 7,211 Floating senior unsecured notes N/A — % — % — 250 Synchrony Bank senior unsecured notes: Fixed senior unsecured notes 2021 - 2022 3.00% - 3.65% 3.33 % 1,496 1,493 Floating senior unsecured notes N/A — % — % — 500 Total senior unsecured notes 3.94 % 7,962 9,454 Total borrowings $ 15,771 $ 19,866 ___________________ (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 2020 and over the next four years and thereafter: ($ in millions) 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Thereafter Borrowings $ — $ 4,825 $ 4,784 $ 1,207 $ 1,850 $ 3,150 Credit Facilities As additional sources of liquidity, we have undrawn committed capacity under credit facilities, primarily related to our securitization programs. At September 30, 2020 , we had an aggregate of $4.9 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

Fair Value Measurements

Fair Value Measurements	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]
Fair Value Measurements	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 2019 annual consolidated financial statements in our 2019 Form 10-K. The following tables present our assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis. Recurring Fair Value Measurements At September 30, 2020 ($ in millions) Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total (a) Assets Debt securities U.S. government and federal agency $ — $ 5,199 $ — $ 5,199 State and municipal — — 39 39 Residential mortgage-backed — 830 — 830 Asset-backed — 2,364 — 2,364 Other assets (b) 15 — 19 34 Total $ 15 $ 8,393 $ 58 $ 8,466 Liabilities Contingent consideration — — 11 11 Total $ — $ — $ 11 $ 11 At December 31, 2019 ($ in millions) Assets Debt securities U.S. government and federal agency $ — $ 2,469 $ — $ 2,469 State and municipal — — 45 45 Residential mortgage-backed — 1,026 — 1,026 Asset-backed — 2,371 — 2,371 Other assets (b) 15 — 21 36 Total $ 15 $ 5,866 $ 66 $ 5,947 Liabilities Contingent consideration — — 13 13 Total $ — $ — $ 13 $ 13 _______________________ (a) For the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 , there were no fair value measurements transferred between levels. (b) Other assets primarily relate to equity investments measured at fair value. 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, CRA investments, which are valued using net asset values, as well as contingent consideration obligations. See Note 2. Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Note 9. Fair Value Measurements in our 2019 annual consolidated financial statements in our 2019 Form 10-K for a description of our process to evaluate third-party pricing servicers and a description of our contingent consideration and compensation arrangements, respectively. 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 nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 were not material. Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities Carried at Other Than Fair Value Carrying Corresponding fair value amount At September 30, 2020 ($ 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) $ 13,552 $ 13,552 $ 11,752 $ 1,800 $ — Other assets (a)(b) $ 74 $ 74 $ 74 $ — $ — Financial assets carried at other than fair value: Loan receivables, net (c) $ 68,375 $ 81,504 $ — $ — $ 81,504 Loan receivables held for sale (c) $ 4 $ 4 $ — $ — $ 4 Financial Liabilities Financial liabilities carried at other than fair value: Deposits $ 63,493 $ 64,156 $ — $ 64,156 $ — Borrowings of consolidated securitization entities $ 7,809 $ 7,990 $ — $ 5,692 $ 2,298 Senior unsecured notes $ 7,962 $ 8,554 $ — $ 8,554 $ — Carrying Corresponding fair value amount At December 31, 2019 ($ 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) $ 12,147 $ 12,147 $ 10,799 $ 1,348 $ — Other assets (a)(b) $ 500 $ 500 $ 500 $ — $ — Financial assets carried at other than fair value: Loan receivables, net (c) $ 81,613 $ 90,941 $ — $ — $ 90,941 Loan receivables held for sale (c) $ 725 $ 726 $ — $ — $ 726 Financial Liabilities Financial liabilities carried at other than fair value: Deposits $ 65,154 $ 65,544 $ — $ 65,544 $ — Borrowings of consolidated securitization entities $ 10,412 $ 10,513 $ — $ 7,613 $ 2,900 Senior unsecured notes $ 9,454 $ 9,924 $ — $ 9,924 $ — _______________________ (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. Cash equivalents classified as Level 2 represent U.S. Government and Federal Agency debt securities with original maturities of three months or less or acquired within three months or less of their maturity. (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.

Regulatory and Capital Adequacy

Regulatory and Capital Adequacy	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Banking Regulation, Risk-Based Information [Abstract]
Regulatory and Capital Adequacy	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 Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection 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 FDIC. 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 tables 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. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020 the joint federal bank regulatory agencies issued an interim final rule that allows banking organizations that implement CECL in 2020 to mitigate the effects of the CECL accounting standard in their regulatory capital for two years. This two-year delay is in addition to the three-year transition period that the agencies had already made available. The Company has elected to adopt the option provided by the interim final rule, which will largely delay the effects of CECL on its regulatory capital for the next two years, after which the effects will be phased-in over a three-year period from January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2024 . Under the interim final rule, the amount of adjustments to regulatory capital deferred until the phase-in period include both the initial impact of our adoption of CECL at January 1, 2020 and 25% of subsequent changes in our allowance for credit losses during each quarter of the two-year period ended December 31, 2021, collectively the “CECL regulatory capital transition adjustment”. At September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 , Synchrony Financial met all applicable requirements to be deemed well-capitalized pursuant to Federal Reserve Board regulations. At September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 , 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 September 30, 2020 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 September 30, 2020 ($ in millions) Actual Minimum for capital adequacy purposes Amount Ratio (a) Amount Ratio (b) Total risk-based capital $ 13,925 18.1 % $ 6,159 8.0 % Tier 1 risk-based capital $ 12,891 16.7 % $ 4,619 6.0 % Tier 1 leverage $ 12,891 13.3 % $ 3,884 4.0 % Common equity Tier 1 Capital $ 12,157 15.8 % $ 3,465 4.5 % At December 31, 2019 ($ in millions) Actual Minimum for capital adequacy purposes Amount Ratio (a) Amount Ratio (b) Total risk-based capital $ 14,211 16.3 % $ 6,984 8.0 % Tier 1 risk-based capital $ 13,064 15.0 % $ 5,238 6.0 % Tier 1 leverage $ 13,064 12.6 % $ 4,161 4.0 % Common equity Tier 1 Capital $ 12,330 14.1 % $ 3,929 4.5 % Synchrony Bank At September 30, 2020 ($ 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 $ 12,260 17.9 % $ 5,470 8.0 % $ 6,837 10.0 % Tier 1 risk-based capital $ 11,340 16.6 % $ 4,102 6.0 % $ 5,470 8.0 % Tier 1 leverage $ 11,340 13.0 % $ 3,479 4.0 % $ 4,349 5.0 % Common equity Tier I capital $ 11,340 16.6 % $ 3,077 4.5 % $ 4,444 6.5 % At December 31, 2019 ($ 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 $ 11,911 15.6 % $ 6,094 8.0 % $ 7,618 10.0 % Tier 1 risk-based capital $ 10,907 14.3 % $ 4,571 6.0 % $ 6,094 8.0 % Tier 1 leverage $ 10,907 11.9 % $ 3,671 4.0 % $ 4,589 5.0 % Common equity Tier I capital $ 10,907 14.3 % $ 3,428 4.5 % $ 4,952 6.5 % _______________________ (a) Capital ratios are calculated based on the Basel III Standardized Approach rules. Capital amounts and ratios at September 30, 2020 in the above tables reflect the application of the CECL regulatory capital transition adjustment. (b) At September 30, 2020 and at December 31, 2019 , 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 2.5 percent age points to avoid limits on capital distributions and certain discretionary bonus payments to executive officers and similar employees.

Earnings Per Share

Earnings Per Share	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Earnings Per Share	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 September 30, Nine months ended September 30, (in millions, except per share data) 2020 2019 2020 2019 Net earnings $ 313 $ 1,056 $ 647 $ 3,016 Preferred stock dividends (10 ) — (32 ) — Net earnings available to common stockholders $ 303 $ 1,056 $ 615 $ 3,016 Weighted average common shares outstanding, basic 583.8 658.3 590.8 682.5 Effect of dilutive securities 1.0 3.4 1.4 3.1 Weighted average common shares outstanding, dilutive 584.8 661.7 592.2 685.6 Earnings per basic common share $ 0.52 $ 1.60 $ 1.04 $ 4.42 Earnings per diluted common share $ 0.52 $ 1.60 $ 1.04 $ 4.40 We have issued certain stock-based awards under the Synchrony Financial 2014 Long-Term Incentive Plan. A total of 7 million shares and 3 million shares for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 , respectively, and 6 million and 4 million shares for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 , respectively, related to these awards, were considered anti-dilutive and therefore were excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per share.

Restructuring Charges Restructu

Restructuring Charges Restructuring Charges	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Restructuring Charges [Abstract]
Restructuring Charges	RESTRUCTURING CHARGES During the three months ended September 30, 2020 , we initiated a strategic plan to reduce operating expenses which included the exit of a number of our leased properties and certain employee-related actions both on a voluntary and involuntary basis. We recorded $89 million of pre-tax restructuring charges related to these actions in the three months ended September 30, 2020 . These charges comprised of $45 million of operating lease and other asset impairments, and $44 million of employee-related costs which are included as a component of other expense and employee costs, respectively, in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings. We do not expect to incur further material restructuring charges in connection with our strategic plan. Restructuring charges incurred were as follows: Three months ended September 30, Nine months ended September 30, ($ in millions) 2020 2020 Operating lease and other asset impairments $ 45 $ 45 Employee-related costs 44 44 Total restructuring costs $ 89 $ 89 The operating lease and other asset impairments were all non-cash charges incurred during the three months ended September 30, 2020 .

Income Taxes

Income Taxes	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Income Taxes	INCOME TAXES Unrecognized Tax Benefits ($ in millions) September 30, 2020 December 31, 2019 Unrecognized tax benefits, excluding related interest expense and penalties (a) $ 278 $ 255 Portion that, if recognized, would reduce tax expense and effective tax rate (b) $ 201 $ 172 ____________________ (a) Interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits were not material for all periods presented. (b) Comprised of federal unrecognized tax benefits and 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 establish a liability that represents the difference between a tax position taken (or expected to be taken) on an income tax return and the amount of taxes recognized in our financial statements. The liability associated with the unrecognized tax benefits is adjusted periodically when new information becomes available. The amount of unrecognized tax benefits that is reasonably possible to be resolved in the next twelve months is expected to be $99 million , of which $59 million , if recognized, would reduce the Company's tax expense and effective tax rate. For periods prior to separation from GE, we filed tax returns on a consolidated basis with GE and 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. For federal income tax purposes, the IRS is currently auditing GE's consolidated U.S. income tax returns for 2014 and 2015. Additionally, we are under examination in various states going back to 2012. For tax year 2020, the Company is voluntarily participating in the IRS Compliance Assurance Process (“CAP”) program, and thus the tax year is under audit. Under the CAP program, the IRS reviews the federal tax positions of the Company to identify and resolve any tax issues that may arise throughout the tax year. The objectives of the CAP program are to resolve issues in an efficient and contemporaneous manner and eliminate the need for a lengthy post-filing examination. During the current year in connection with the CAP program, the IRS provided formal notice of examination of our 2017 and 2018 tax years. 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.

Legal Proceedings and Regulator

Legal Proceedings and Regulatory Matters	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Legal Proceedings and Regulatory Matters	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 March 4, 2019, on plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration, the District Court vacated its decision reversing the Bankruptcy Court and affirmed the Bankruptcy Court’s decision denying the Bank’s motion to compel arbitration. On June 16, 2020, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied the Bank’s appeal of the District Court’s decision. 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. On September 23, 2020, Synchrony 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. 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 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. On October 2, 2020, Synchrony entered an agreement to resolve the Campbell and Neal lawsuits, which had been consolidated before the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, on a class basis. On October 19, 2020, the court entered an order preliminarily approving the class action settlement. Mott et al. v. Synchrony Bank was filed on February 2, 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. On October 8, 2020, Synchrony entered an agreement to resolve the Mott lawsuit on an individual basis. On November 2, 2018, a putative class action lawsuit, Retail Wholesale Department Store Union Local 338 Retirement Fund v. Synchrony Financial, et al. , was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, naming as defendants the Company and two of its officers. The lawsuit asserts violations of the Exchange Act for allegedly making materially misleading statements and/or omitting material information concerning the Company’s underwriting practices and private-label card business, and was filed on behalf of a putative class of persons who purchased or otherwise acquired the Company’s common stock between October 21, 2016 and November 1, 2018. The complaint seeks an award of unspecified compensatory damages, costs and expenses. On February 5, 2019, the court appointed Stichting Depositary APG Developed Markets Equity Pool as lead plaintiff for the putative class. On April 5, 2019, an amended complaint was filed, asserting a new claim for violations of the Securities Act in connection with statements in the offering materials for the Company’s December 1, 2017 note offering. The Securities Act claims are filed on behalf of persons who purchased or otherwise acquired Company bonds in or traceable to the December 1, 2017 note offering between December 1, 2017 and November 1, 2018. The amended complaint names as additional defendants two additional Company officers, the Company’s board of directors, and the underwriters of the December 1, 2017 note offering. The amended complaint is captioned Stichting Depositary APG Developed Markets Equity Pool and Stichting Depositary APG Fixed Income Credit Pool v. Synchrony Financial et al. On March 26, 2020, the District Court recaptioned the case In re Synchrony Financial Securities Litigation and on March 31, 2020, the District Court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint with prejudice. On April 20, 2020, plaintiffs filed a notice to appeal the decision to the United States Court of Appeal for the Second Circuit. On January 28, 2019, a purported shareholder derivative action, Gilbert v. Keane, et al. , was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut against the Company as a nominal defendant, and certain of the Company’s officers and directors. The lawsuit alleges breach of fiduciary duty claims based on the allegations raised by the plaintiff in the Stichting Depositar APG class action, unjust enrichment, waste of corporate assets, and that the defendants made materially misleading statements and/or omitted material information in violation of the Exchange Act. The complaint seeks a declaration that the defendants breached and/or aided and abetted the breach of their fiduciary duties to the Company, unspecified monetary damages with interest, restitution, a direction that the defendants take all necessary actions to reform and improve corporate governance and internal procedures, and attorneys’ and experts’ fees. On March 11, 2019, a second purported shareholder derivative action, Aldridge v. Keane, et al. , was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. The allegations in the Aldridge complaint are substantially similar to those in the Gilbert complaint. On March 26, 2020, the District Court recaptioned the Gilbert and Aldridge cases as In re Synchrony Financial Derivative Litigation.

Basis of Presentation and Sum_2

Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	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 .
Interim 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 2019 annual consolidated financial statements and the related notes in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 (our " 2019 Form 10-K").
New Accounting Standards	New Accounting Standards Newly Adopted Accounting Standards In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses: Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. This ASU replaced 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 permits the use of judgment in determining an approach which is most appropriate for the Company, based on their facts and circumstances. The CECL model requires, upon origination of a loan, the recognition of all expected credit losses over the life of the loan balance based on historical experience, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts. We adopted this guidance on a modified retrospective basis as of January 1, 2020, which resulted in the recognition of the effects of adoption through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings. As a result of adoption, we incurred an increase of $3.0 billion to the Company’s allowance for loan losses. This guidance also applies to other financial assets, such as our debt securities, however the adoption did not have an impact on these financial statement line items. The total impact of adoption resulted in a reduction to retained earnings in our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet of $2.3 billion , reflecting the above changes and the recognition of related additional deferred tax assets. Subsequent updates to our estimate of expected credit losses have been recorded through the provision for credit losses in our Consolidated Statement of Earnings.
Investment Securities	Investment Securities We report investments in debt and marketable equity securities at fair value. See Note 9. Fair Value Measurements for further information on fair value. Changes in fair value on debt securities, which are classified as available-for-sale, are generally included in equity, net of applicable taxes. Changes in fair value on equity securities are included in earnings starting in 2018. We regularly review investment securities for impairment using both quantitative and qualitative criteria. For debt securities, if we do not intend to sell the security, or it is not more likely than not, that we will be required to sell the security before recovery of our amortized cost, we evaluate other qualitative criteria to determine whether we do not expect to recover the amortized cost basis of the security, such as the financial health of, and specific prospects for the issuer, including whether the issuer is in compliance with the terms and covenants of the security. We also evaluate quantitative criteria including determining whether there has been an adverse change in expected future cash flows. If we do not expect to recover the entire amortized cost basis of the security, we consider the debt security to be impaired. If the security is impaired, we determine whether the impairment is the result of a credit loss or other factors. If a credit loss exists, an allowance for credit losses is recorded, with a related charge to earnings, limited by the amount that the fair value of the security is less than its amortized cost. Given the nature of our current portfolio, we perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether any credit loss is warranted. The assessment considers factors such as adverse conditions and payment structure of the securities, history of payment, and market conditions. If we intend to sell the security or it is more likely than not we will be required to sell the debt security before recovery of its amortized cost basis, the security is also considered impaired and we recognize the entire difference between the security’s amortized cost basis and its fair value in earnings. Realized gains and losses are accounted for on the specific identification method.
Acquired Loans	Acquired Loans To determine the fair value of loans at acquisition, we estimate expected cash flows and discount those cash flows using an observable market rate of interest, when available, adjusted for factors that a market participant would consider in determining fair value. In determining fair value, expected cash flows are adjusted to include prepayment, default rate, and loss severity estimates. The difference between the fair value and the amount contractually due is recorded as a loan discount or premium at acquisition. Loans acquired that have experienced more-than-insignificant deterioration in credit quality since origination (referred to as “purchased credit deteriorated” or “PCD” assets) are subject to specific guidance upon acquisition. An allowance for PCD assets is added to the purchase price or fair value of the acquired loans to arrive at the amortized cost basis. Subsequent to initial recognition, the accounting for the PCD asset will generally follow the credit loss model described below. Loans acquired without a more-than-insignificant credit deterioration since origination are measured under the Allowance for Credit Losses described below.
Allowance for Credit Losses	Allowance for Credit Losses Losses on loan receivables are estimated and recognized upon origination of the loan, based on expected credit losses for the life of the loan balance as of the period end date. Expected credit loss estimates involve modeling loss projections attributable to existing loan balances, considering historical experience, current conditions and future expectations for homogeneous pools of loans over the reasonable and supportable forecast period. We also perform a qualitative assessment in addition to model estimates and apply qualitative adjustments as necessary. The reasonable and supportable forecast period is determined based upon the accuracy level of historical loss forecast estimates, models and methodology utilized, an assessment of the current economic outlook, including the effects of COVID-19, and consideration of material changes in our loan portfolio such as changes in growth, portfolio mix and credit strategy. The reasonable and supportable forecast period used in our estimate of credit losses at September 30, 2020 was 12 months , consistent with the forecast period utilized since adoption of CECL. The Company reassesses the reasonable and supportable forecast period on a quarterly basis. Beyond the reasonable and supportable forecast period, we revert to historical loss information at the loan receivables segment level over a 6 -month period, gradually increasing the weight of historical losses in the reversion period, and utilize historical loss information thereafter for the remaining life of the portfolio. The historical loss information is derived from a combination of recessionary and non-recessionary performance periods, weighted by the time span of each period. Similar to the reasonable and supportable forecast period, we also reassess the reversion period and historical mean on a quarterly basis, considering any required adjustments for differences in underwriting standards, portfolio mix, and other relevant data shifts over time. We generally segment our loan receivable population into homogeneous pools of loans at the major retailer and product level. Consistent with our other assumptions, we regularly review segmentation to determine whether the segmentation pools remain relevant as risk characteristics change. Our loan receivables generally do not have a stated life. The life of a credit card loan receivable is dependent upon a variety of factors, including the principal balance, promotional terms, payments received, interest charges and fees as well as overall consumer usage pattern. In determining expected credit losses over the life of the loan balance, we utilize an approach which considers an allocation of future payments with appropriate haircuts. However, we do not permit payments from an account within a pool that has already paid down its measurement date balance, or has a nil balance as of measurement date, to be applied to other accounts within the pool, referred to as cross-subsidization. We evaluate each portfolio quarterly. For credit card receivables, our estimation process includes analysis of historical data, and there is a significant amount of judgment applied in selecting inputs and analyzing the results produced by the models to determine the allowance for credit losses. We use an enhanced migration analysis to estimate the likelihood that a loan will progress through the various stages of delinquency. The enhanced migration analysis considers uncollectible principal, interest and fees reflected in the loan receivables, segmented by credit and business parameters. We use other analyses to estimate expected losses on non-delinquent accounts, which include past performance, bankruptcy activity such as filings, policy changes, and loan volumes and amounts. Holistically, for assessing the portfolio credit loss content, we also evaluate portfolio risk management techniques applied to various accounts, historical behavior of different account vintages, account seasoning, economic conditions, recent trends in delinquencies, account collection management, forecasting uncertainties, expectations about the future, and a qualitative assessment of the adequacy of the allowance for credit losses. We regularly review our collection experience (including delinquencies and net charge-offs) in determining our allowance for credit losses. We also consider our historical loss experience to date based on actual defaulted loans and overall portfolio indicators including delinquent and non-accrual loans, trends in loan volume and lending terms, credit policies and other observable environmental factors such as unemployment and home price indices. The underlying assumptions, estimates and assessments we use to provide for losses are updated periodically to reflect our view of current and forecasted conditions and are subject to the regulatory examination process, which can result in changes to our assumptions. Changes in such estimates can significantly affect the allowance and provision for credit losses. It is possible that we will experience credit losses that are different from our current estimates. Charge-offs are deducted from the allowance for credit losses when we judge the principal to be uncollectible, and subsequent recoveries are added to the allowance, generally at the time cash is received on a charged-off account. Delinquent receivables are those that are 30 days or more past due based on their contractual payments. Non-accrual loan receivables are those on which we have stopped accruing interest. We continue to accrue interest until the earlier of the time at which collection of an account becomes doubtful, or the account becomes 180 days past due, with the exception of non-credit card accounts, for which we stop accruing interest in the period that the account becomes 90 days past due. Troubled debt restructurings (“TDR”) are those loans for which we have granted a concession to a borrower experiencing financial difficulties where we do not receive adequate compensation. TDRs are identified at the point when the borrower enters into a modification program. Under the CARES Act, banks may elect to deem that loan modifications do not result in TDRs if they are (1) related to the novel coronavirus disease (“COVID-19”); (2) executed on a loan that was not more than 30 days past due as of December 31, 2019; and (3) executed between March 1, 2020, and the earlier of (A) 60 days after the date of termination of the National Emergency or (B) December 31, 2020. At September 30, 2020 , we have not made such an election. Additionally, other short-term modifications made on a good faith basis in response to COVID-19 are not considered TDRs under ASC Subtopic 310-40. This includes delays in payment that are insignificant or short-term (e.g., up to six months) modifications such as payment deferrals, fee waivers or extensions of repayment terms to borrowers who were current prior to any relief. Borrowers considered current are those that are less than 30 days past due on their contractual payments at the time a modification program is implemented. The same loan receivable may meet more than one of the definitions above. Accordingly, these categories are not mutually exclusive, and it is possible for a particular loan to meet the definitions of a TDR and non-accrual loan, and be included in each of these categories. The categorization of a particular loan also may not be indicative of the potential for loss.
Troubled Debt Restructuring	Loan Modifications and 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 TDR. 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 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. Accordingly, TDRs are identified at the point when the borrower enters into a modification program. See Note 4. Loan Receivables and Allowance for Credit Losses for additional information on our loan modifications and restructurings. Our allowance for credit 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. If the loan is collateral dependent, we measure impairment based upon the fair value of the underlying collateral less estimated selling costs. Data related to redefault experience is also considered in our overall reserve adequacy review. Once the loan has been modified, it returns to current status (re-aged), only after three consecutive minimum monthly payments are received post modification date, subject to a re-aging limitation of once a year, or twice in a five-year period in accordance with the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council guidelines on Uniform Retail Credit Classification and Account Management policy issued in June 2000.
Revenue Recognition, Purchased Loans	Purchased Loans Loans acquired by purchase are recorded at fair value, which may result in the recognition of a loan premium or loan discount. For acquired loans with evidence of more-than-insignificant deterioration in credit quality since origination, the initial allowance for credit losses at acquisition is added to the purchase price to determine the initial cost basis of the loans and loan premium or loan discount. Loan premiums and loan discounts are recognized into interest income over the estimated remaining life of the loans. The Company develops an allowance for credit losses for all purchased loans, which is recognized upon acquisition, similar to that of an originated financial asset. Subsequent changes to the expected credit losses for these loans follow the allowance for credit losses methodology described above under “ —Allowance for Credit Losses .”

Debt Securities (Tables)

Debt Securities (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Investments, Debt and Equity Securities [Abstract]
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities Reconciliation	Our debt securities consist of the following: September 30, 2020 December 31, 2019 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 $ 5,198 $ 1 $ — $ 5,199 $ 2,468 $ 1 $ — $ 2,469 State and municipal 40 — (1 ) 39 46 1 (2 ) 45 Residential mortgage-backed (a) 804 26 — 830 1,029 6 (9 ) 1,026 Asset-backed (b) 2,353 11 — 2,364 2,368 3 — 2,371 Total $ 8,395 $ 38 $ (1 ) $ 8,432 $ 5,911 $ 11 $ (11 ) $ 5,911 _______________________ (a) All of our residential mortgage-backed securities have been issued by government-sponsored entities and are collateralized by U.S. mortgages. At September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 , $267 million and $351 million of residential mortgage-backed securities, respectively, are pledged by the Bank as collateral to the Federal Reserve to secure Federal Reserve Discount Window advances. (b) All of our asset-backed securities are collateralized by credit card loans.
Available-for-sale Securities, Continuous Loss Position, Fair Value	The following table presents the estimated fair values and gross unrealized losses of our available-for-sale debt securities: In loss position for Less than 12 months 12 months or more Gross Gross Estimated unrealized Estimated unrealized ($ in millions) fair value losses fair value losses At September 30, 2020 U.S. government and federal agency $ — $ — $ — $ — State and municipal 3 — 22 (1 ) Residential mortgage-backed 9 — — — Asset-backed 242 — — — Total $ 254 $ — $ 22 $ (1 ) At December 31, 2019 U.S. government and federal agency $ — $ — $ — $ — State and municipal — — 24 (2 ) Residential mortgage-backed 76 — 618 (9 ) Asset-backed 202 — — — Total $ 278 $ — $ 642 $ (11 )
Investments Classified by Contractual Maturity Date	Contractual Maturities of Investments in Available-for-Sale Debt Securities Amortized Estimated Weighted At September 30, 2020 ($ in millions) cost fair value Average yield (a) Due Within one year $ 6,553 $ 6,560 0.4 % After one year through five years $ 999 $ 1,004 0.7 % After five years through ten years $ 147 $ 153 2.5 % After ten years $ 696 $ 715 1.9 % _____________________ (a) 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.

Loan Receivables and Allowanc_2

Loan Receivables and Allowance for Credit Losses (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Receivables [Abstract]
Schedule of Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable	($ in millions) September 30, 2020 December 31, 2019 Credit cards $ 75,204 $ 84,606 Consumer installment loans 1,987 1,347 Commercial credit products 1,270 1,223 Other 60 39 Total loan receivables, before allowance for losses (a)(b) $ 78,521 $ 87,215 _______________________ (a) Total loan receivables include $25.9 billion and $28.8 billion of restricted loans of consolidated securitization entities at September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 , respectively. See Note 5. Variable Interest Entities for further information on these restricted loans. (b) At September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 , loan receivables included deferred costs, net of deferred income, of $130 million and $140 million , respectively.
Allowance for Credit Losses on Financing Receivables	Allowance for Credit Losses (a) ($ in millions) Balance at July 1, 2020 Provision charged to operations Gross charge-offs Recoveries Balance at Credit cards $ 9,637 $ 1,143 $ (1,052 ) $ 202 $ 9,930 Consumer installment loans 103 50 (9 ) 4 148 Commercial credit products 61 17 (13 ) 2 67 Other 1 — — — 1 Total $ 9,802 $ 1,210 $ (1,074 ) $ 208 $ 10,146 ($ in millions) Balance at January 1, 2020 Impact of ASU 2016-13 Adoption Post-Adoption Balance at January 1, 2020 Provision charged to operations Gross charge-offs Recoveries Balance at Credit cards $ 5,506 $ 2,989 $ 8,495 $ 4,411 $ (3,712 ) $ 736 $ 9,930 Consumer installment loans 46 26 72 102 (36 ) 10 148 Commercial credit products 49 6 55 47 (42 ) 7 67 Other 1 — 1 — — — 1 Total $ 5,602 $ 3,021 $ 8,623 $ 4,560 $ (3,790 ) $ 753 $ 10,146 Allowance for Loan Losses (b) ($ in millions) Balance at July 1, 2019 Provision charged to operations Gross charge-offs Recoveries Balance at Credit cards $ 5,702 $ 993 $ (1,422 ) $ 225 $ 5,498 Consumer installment loans 50 18 (16 ) 4 56 Commercial credit products 55 9 (14 ) 2 52 Other 2 (1 ) — — 1 Total $ 5,809 $ 1,019 $ (1,452 ) $ 231 $ 5,607 ($ in millions) Balance at January 1, 2019 Provision charged to operations Gross charge-offs Recoveries Balance at Credit cards $ 6,327 $ 2,994 $ (4,584 ) $ 761 $ 5,498 Consumer installment loans 44 46 (47 ) 13 56 Commercial credit products 55 35 (43 ) 5 52 Other 1 1 (1 ) — 1 Total $ 6,427 $ 3,076 $ (4,675 ) $ 779 $ 5,607 _______________________ (a) The allowance for credit losses at September 30, 2020 reflects our estimate of expected credit losses for the life of the loan receivables on our condensed consolidated statement of financial position at September 30, 2020 , which includes the consideration of current and expected macroeconomic conditions that existed at that date. (b) Comparative information is presented in accordance with applicable accounting standards in effect prior to the adoption of ASU 2016-13.
Past Due Financing Receivables	Delinquent and Non-accrual Loans At September 30, 2020 ($ 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 $ 1,091 $ 958 $ 2,049 $ 958 $ — Consumer installment loans 23 4 27 — 4 Commercial credit products 13 11 24 11 — Total delinquent loans $ 1,127 $ 973 $ 2,100 $ 969 $ 4 Percentage of total loan receivables 1.4 % 1.2 % 2.7 % 1.2 % — % At December 31, 2019 ($ in millions) 30-89 days delinquent 90 or more days delinquent Total past due 90 or more days delinquent and accruing Total non-accruing (a) Credit cards $ 1,936 $ 1,852 $ 3,788 $ 1,850 $ — Consumer installment loans 21 7 28 — 7 Commercial credit products 40 18 58 18 — Total delinquent loans $ 1,997 $ 1,877 $ 3,874 $ 1,868 $ 7 Percentage of total loan receivables 2.3 % 2.2 % 4.4 % 2.1 % — % _______________________ (a) Excludes purchase credit deteriorated loan receivables.
Troubled Debt Restructurings on Financing Receivables	The following table provides information on our TDR loan modifications during the periods presented: Three months ended September 30, Nine months ended September 30, ($ in millions) 2020 2019 2020 2019 Credit cards $ 197 $ 226 $ 549 $ 633 Consumer installment loans — — — — Commercial credit products 1 1 2 3 Total $ 198 $ 227 $ 551 $ 636
Impaired Financing Receivables	The following table provides information about loans classified as TDRs and specific reserves. We do not evaluate credit card loans on an individual basis but instead estimate an allowance for credit losses on a collective basis. At September 30, 2020 ($ in millions) Total recorded investment Related allowance Net recorded investment Unpaid principal balance Credit cards $ 1,109 $ (522 ) $ 587 $ 985 Consumer installment loans — — — — Commercial credit products 3 (2 ) 1 3 Total $ 1,112 $ (524 ) $ 588 $ 988 At December 31, 2019 ($ in millions) Total recorded investment Related allowance Net recorded investment Unpaid principal balance Credit cards $ 1,146 $ (550 ) $ 596 $ 1,019 Consumer installment loans — — — — Commercial credit products 4 (2 ) 2 4 Total $ 1,150 $ (552 ) $ 598 $ 1,023 Three months ended September 30, 2020 2019 ($ 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 $ 11 $ 67 $ 1,112 $ 11 $ 67 $ 1,074 Consumer installment loans — — — — — — Commercial credit products — 1 3 — 1 4 Total $ 11 $ 68 $ 1,115 $ 11 $ 68 $ 1,078 Nine months ended September 30, 2020 2019 ($ 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 $ 32 $ 206 $ 1,130 $ 33 $ 197 $ 1,103 Consumer installment loans — — — — — — Commercial credit products — 1 3 — 1 4 Total $ 32 $ 207 $ 1,133 $ 33 $ 198 $ 1,107
Troubled Debt Restructurings on Financing Receivables, Subsequent Default	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 and charged-off during the periods presented. Three months ended September 30, 2020 2019 ($ in millions) Accounts defaulted Loans defaulted Accounts defaulted Loans defaulted Credit cards 14,440 $ 38 15,059 $ 37 Consumer installment loans — — — — Commercial credit products 278 1 40 — Total 14,718 $ 39 15,099 $ 37 Nine months ended September 30, 2020 2019 ($ in millions) Accounts defaulted Loans defaulted Accounts defaulted Loans defaulted Credit cards 38,885 $ 102 36,529 $ 88 Consumer installment loans — — — — Commercial credit products 319 1 80 1 Total 39,204 $ 103 36,609 $ 89
Financing Receivable Credit Quality Indicators	The following table provides the most recent FICO scores available for our customers at September 30, 2020 , December 31, 2019 and September 30, 2019 , respectively, as a percentage of each class of loan receivable. The table below excludes 0.3% , 0.3% and 0.9% of our total loan receivables balance at each of September 30, 2020 , December 31, 2019 and September 30, 2019 , respectively, which represents those customer accounts for which a FICO score is not available. September 30, 2020 December 31, 2019 September 30, 2019 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 77 % 17 % 6 % 74 % 18 % 8 % 75 % 19 % 6 % Consumer installment loans 79 % 16 % 5 % 76 % 17 % 7 % 80 % 14 % 6 % Commercial credit products 93 % 4 % 3 % 90 % 5 % 5 % 91 % 5 % 4 %
Interest Income and Interest Expense Disclosure	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 September 30, Nine months ended September 30, ($ in millions) 2020 2019 2020 2019 Credit cards (a) $ 3,752 $ 4,807 $ 11,764 $ 13,975 Consumer installment loans 46 48 118 134 Commercial credit products 22 35 85 103 Other 1 — 2 1 Total $ 3,821 $ 4,890 $ 11,969 $ 14,213 _______________________ (a) Interest income on credit cards that was reversed related to accrued interest receivables written off was $330 million and $443 million for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 , respectively, and $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 , respectively.

Variable Interest Entities (Tab

Variable Interest Entities (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Variable Interest Entities [Abstract]
Schedule of Variable Interest Entities	The table below summarizes the assets and liabilities of our consolidated securitization VIEs described above: ($ in millions) September 30, 2020 December 31, 2019 Assets Loan receivables, net (a) $ 23,038 $ 27,217 Other assets (b) 47 68 Total $ 23,085 $ 27,285 Liabilities Borrowings $ 7,809 $ 10,412 Other liabilities 24 32 Total $ 7,833 $ 10,444 _______________________ (a) Includes $2.9 billion of related allowance for credit losses resulting in gross restricted loans of $25.9 billion at September 30, 2020 and $1.6 billion of related allowance for loan losses resulting in gross restricted loans of $28.8 billion at December 31, 2019 . (b) Includes $42 million and $62 million of segregated funds held by the VIEs at September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 , 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.

Intangible Assets (Tables)

Intangible Assets (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Schedule of Finite-Lived Intangible Assets	September 30, 2020 December 31, 2019 ($ in millions) Gross carrying amount Accumulated amortization Net Gross carrying amount Accumulated amortization Net Customer-related $ 1,735 $ (1,049 ) $ 686 $ 1,749 $ (952 ) $ 797 Capitalized software and other 931 (526 ) 405 861 (393 ) 468 Total $ 2,666 $ (1,575 ) $ 1,091 $ 2,610 $ (1,345 ) $ 1,265

Deposits (Tables)

Deposits (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Deposits [Abstract]
Schedule of Deposit Liabilities	September 30, 2020 December 31, 2019 ($ in millions) Amount Average rate (a) Amount Average rate (a) Interest-bearing deposits $ 63,195 1.9 % $ 64,877 2.4 % Non-interest-bearing deposits 298 — 277 — Total deposits $ 63,493 $ 65,154 ____________________ (a) Based on interest expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and the year ended December 31, 2019 and average deposits balances.
Schedule of Maturities of Deposit Liabilities	At September 30, 2020 , our interest-bearing time deposits maturing for the remainder of 2020 and over the next four years and thereafter were as follows: ($ in millions) 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Thereafter Deposits $ 5,228 $ 20,255 $ 4,430 $ 1,736 $ 2,315 $ 782

Borrowings (Tables)

Borrowings (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]
Schedule of Debt	September 30, 2020 December 31, 2019 ($ in millions) Maturity date Interest Rate Weighted average interest rate Outstanding Amount (a) Outstanding Amount (a) Borrowings of consolidated securitization entities: Fixed securitized borrowings 2021 - 2023 2.21% - 3.87% 2.88 % $ 5,509 $ 7,512 Floating securitized borrowings 2021 - 2023 0.78% - 1.06% 0.89 % 2,300 2,900 Total borrowings of consolidated securitization entities 2.30 % 7,809 10,412 Senior unsecured notes: Synchrony Financial senior unsecured notes: Fixed senior unsecured notes 2021 - 2029 2.80% - 5.15% 4.08 % 6,466 7,211 Floating senior unsecured notes N/A — % — % — 250 Synchrony Bank senior unsecured notes: Fixed senior unsecured notes 2021 - 2022 3.00% - 3.65% 3.33 % 1,496 1,493 Floating senior unsecured notes N/A — % — % — 500 Total senior unsecured notes 3.94 % 7,962 9,454 Total borrowings $ 15,771 $ 19,866 ___________________ (a) The amounts presented above for outstanding borrowings include unamortized debt premiums, discounts and issuance cost.
Schedule of Maturities of Long-term Debt	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 2020 and over the next four years and thereafter: ($ in millions) 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Thereafter Borrowings $ — $ 4,825 $ 4,784 $ 1,207 $ 1,850 $ 3,150

Fair Value Measurements (Tables

Fair Value Measurements (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]
Fair Value, Assets Measured on Recurring Basis	At September 30, 2020 ($ in millions) Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total (a) Assets Debt securities U.S. government and federal agency $ — $ 5,199 $ — $ 5,199 State and municipal — — 39 39 Residential mortgage-backed — 830 — 830 Asset-backed — 2,364 — 2,364 Other assets (b) 15 — 19 34 Total $ 15 $ 8,393 $ 58 $ 8,466 Liabilities Contingent consideration — — 11 11 Total $ — $ — $ 11 $ 11 At December 31, 2019 ($ in millions) Assets Debt securities U.S. government and federal agency $ — $ 2,469 $ — $ 2,469 State and municipal — — 45 45 Residential mortgage-backed — 1,026 — 1,026 Asset-backed — 2,371 — 2,371 Other assets (b) 15 — 21 36 Total $ 15 $ 5,866 $ 66 $ 5,947 Liabilities Contingent consideration — — 13 13 Total $ — $ — $ 13 $ 13 _______________________ (a) For the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 , there were no fair value measurements transferred between levels. (b) Other assets primarily relate to equity investments measured at fair value.
Fair Value, by Balance Sheet Grouping	Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities Carried at Other Than Fair Value Carrying Corresponding fair value amount At September 30, 2020 ($ 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) $ 13,552 $ 13,552 $ 11,752 $ 1,800 $ — Other assets (a)(b) $ 74 $ 74 $ 74 $ — $ — Financial assets carried at other than fair value: Loan receivables, net (c) $ 68,375 $ 81,504 $ — $ — $ 81,504 Loan receivables held for sale (c) $ 4 $ 4 $ — $ — $ 4 Financial Liabilities Financial liabilities carried at other than fair value: Deposits $ 63,493 $ 64,156 $ — $ 64,156 $ — Borrowings of consolidated securitization entities $ 7,809 $ 7,990 $ — $ 5,692 $ 2,298 Senior unsecured notes $ 7,962 $ 8,554 $ — $ 8,554 $ — Carrying Corresponding fair value amount At December 31, 2019 ($ 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) $ 12,147 $ 12,147 $ 10,799 $ 1,348 $ — Other assets (a)(b) $ 500 $ 500 $ 500 $ — $ — Financial assets carried at other than fair value: Loan receivables, net (c) $ 81,613 $ 90,941 $ — $ — $ 90,941 Loan receivables held for sale (c) $ 725 $ 726 $ — $ — $ 726 Financial Liabilities Financial liabilities carried at other than fair value: Deposits $ 65,154 $ 65,544 $ — $ 65,544 $ — Borrowings of consolidated securitization entities $ 10,412 $ 10,513 $ — $ 7,613 $ 2,900 Senior unsecured notes $ 9,454 $ 9,924 $ — $ 9,924 $ — _______________________ (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. Cash equivalents classified as Level 2 represent U.S. Government and Federal Agency debt securities with original maturities of three months or less or acquired within three months or less of their maturity. (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.

Regulatory and Capital Adequa_2

Regulatory and Capital Adequacy (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Banking Regulation, Risk-Based Information [Abstract]
Schedule of Compliance with Regulatory Capital Requirements under Banking Regulations	The actual capital amounts, ratios and the applicable required minimums of the Company and the Bank are as follows: Synchrony Financial At September 30, 2020 ($ in millions) Actual Minimum for capital adequacy purposes Amount Ratio (a) Amount Ratio (b) Total risk-based capital $ 13,925 18.1 % $ 6,159 8.0 % Tier 1 risk-based capital $ 12,891 16.7 % $ 4,619 6.0 % Tier 1 leverage $ 12,891 13.3 % $ 3,884 4.0 % Common equity Tier 1 Capital $ 12,157 15.8 % $ 3,465 4.5 % At December 31, 2019 ($ in millions) Actual Minimum for capital adequacy purposes Amount Ratio (a) Amount Ratio (b) Total risk-based capital $ 14,211 16.3 % $ 6,984 8.0 % Tier 1 risk-based capital $ 13,064 15.0 % $ 5,238 6.0 % Tier 1 leverage $ 13,064 12.6 % $ 4,161 4.0 % Common equity Tier 1 Capital $ 12,330 14.1 % $ 3,929 4.5 % Synchrony Bank At September 30, 2020 ($ 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 $ 12,260 17.9 % $ 5,470 8.0 % $ 6,837 10.0 % Tier 1 risk-based capital $ 11,340 16.6 % $ 4,102 6.0 % $ 5,470 8.0 % Tier 1 leverage $ 11,340 13.0 % $ 3,479 4.0 % $ 4,349 5.0 % Common equity Tier I capital $ 11,340 16.6 % $ 3,077 4.5 % $ 4,444 6.5 % At December 31, 2019 ($ 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 $ 11,911 15.6 % $ 6,094 8.0 % $ 7,618 10.0 % Tier 1 risk-based capital $ 10,907 14.3 % $ 4,571 6.0 % $ 6,094 8.0 % Tier 1 leverage $ 10,907 11.9 % $ 3,671 4.0 % $ 4,589 5.0 % Common equity Tier I capital $ 10,907 14.3 % $ 3,428 4.5 % $ 4,952 6.5 % _______________________ (a) Capital ratios are calculated based on the Basel III Standardized Approach rules. Capital amounts and ratios at September 30, 2020 in the above tables reflect the application of the CECL regulatory capital transition adjustment. (b) At September 30, 2020 and at December 31, 2019 , 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 2.5 percent age points to avoid limits on capital distributions and certain discretionary bonus payments to executive officers and similar employees.

Earnings Per Share (Tables)

Earnings Per Share (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Schedule of Earnings Per Share, Basic and Diluted	The following table presents the calculation of basic and diluted earnings per share: Three months ended September 30, Nine months ended September 30, (in millions, except per share data) 2020 2019 2020 2019 Net earnings $ 313 $ 1,056 $ 647 $ 3,016 Preferred stock dividends (10 ) — (32 ) — Net earnings available to common stockholders $ 303 $ 1,056 $ 615 $ 3,016 Weighted average common shares outstanding, basic 583.8 658.3 590.8 682.5 Effect of dilutive securities 1.0 3.4 1.4 3.1 Weighted average common shares outstanding, dilutive 584.8 661.7 592.2 685.6 Earnings per basic common share $ 0.52 $ 1.60 $ 1.04 $ 4.42 Earnings per diluted common share $ 0.52 $ 1.60 $ 1.04 $ 4.40

Restructuring Charges Restruc_2

Restructuring Charges Restructuring Charges (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Restructuring Charges [Abstract]
Restructuring and Related Costs	Restructuring charges incurred were as follows: Three months ended September 30, Nine months ended September 30, ($ in millions) 2020 2020 Operating lease and other asset impairments $ 45 $ 45 Employee-related costs 44 44 Total restructuring costs $ 89 $ 89

Incomes Taxes (Tables)

Incomes Taxes (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Unrecognized Tax Benefits	($ in millions) September 30, 2020 December 31, 2019 Unrecognized tax benefits, excluding related interest expense and penalties (a) $ 278 $ 255 Portion that, if recognized, would reduce tax expense and effective tax rate (b) $ 201 $ 172 ____________________ (a) Interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits were not material for all periods presented. (b) Comprised of federal unrecognized tax benefits and 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.

Basis of Presentation and Sum_3

Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details) $ in Millions		9 Months Ended
		Sep. 30, 2020USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2020USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2019USD ($)
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss, Reasonable and Supportable Forecast Period		12 months
Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss, Reversion Period		6 months
Threshold for defining delinquent receivables		30 days
Conditional threshold for defining non-accrual receivables		180 days
Conditional threshold for non-accrual status for non-credit card accounts		90 days
Financing Receivable, Number of Consecutive Payments to Maintain Current Status		3
Cumulative effect of change in accounting principle		$ 10,024		$ 12,117
Accounting Standards Update 2016-13
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Increase in Allowance for Loan Losses, Amount	[1]		$ 3,021
Maximum
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Range of long-term modifications		60 months
Cumulative Effect, Period of Adoption, Adjustment | Accounting Standards Update 2016-13
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Cumulative effect of change in accounting principle			$ (2,300)
[1]	The allowance for credit losses at September 30, 2020 reflects our estimate of expected credit losses for the life of the loan receivables on our condensed consolidated statement of financial position at September 30, 2020 , which includes the consideration of current and expected macroeconomic conditions that existed at that date.

Debt Securities - Schedule of A

Debt Securities - Schedule of Available for Sale Securities (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions		Sep. 30, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Total
Amortized cost		$ 8,395	$ 5,911
Gross unrealized gains		38	11
Gross unrealized losses		(1)	(11)
Estimated fair value		8,432	5,911
U.S. government and federal agency
Debt
Amortized cost		5,198	2,468
Gross unrealized gains		1	1
Gross unrealized losses		0	0
Estimated fair value		5,199	2,469
State and municipal
Debt
Amortized cost		40	46
Gross unrealized gains		0	1
Gross unrealized losses		(1)	(2)
Estimated fair value		39	45
Residential mortgage-backed
Debt Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Residential Mortgage Backed Securities pledged as collateral to the Federal Reserve		267	351
Debt
Amortized cost	[1]	804	1,029
Gross unrealized gains	[1]	26	6
Gross unrealized losses	[1]	0	(9)
Estimated fair value	[1]	830	1,026
Asset-backed
Debt
Amortized cost	[2]	2,353	2,368
Gross unrealized gains	[2]	11	3
Gross unrealized losses	[2]	0	0
Estimated fair value	[2]	$ 2,364	$ 2,371
[1]	All of our residential mortgage-backed securities have been issued by government-sponsored entities and are collateralized by U.S. mortgages. At September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 , $267 million and $351 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.
[2]	All of our asset-backed securities are collateralized by credit card loans.

Debt Securities - Continuous Un

Debt Securities - Continuous Unrealized Losses (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Estimated fair value
Less than 12 months	$ 254	$ 278
12 months or more	22	642
Gross unrealized losses
Less than 12 months	0	0
12 months or more	(1)	(11)
U.S. government and federal agency
Estimated fair value
Less than 12 months	0	0
12 months or more	0	0
Gross unrealized losses
Less than 12 months	0	0
12 months or more	0	0
State and municipal
Estimated fair value
Less than 12 months	3	0
12 months or more	22	24
Gross unrealized losses
Less than 12 months	0	0
12 months or more	(1)	(2)
Residential mortgage-backed
Estimated fair value
Less than 12 months	9	76
12 months or more	0	618
Gross unrealized losses
Less than 12 months	0	0
12 months or more	0	(9)
Asset-backed
Estimated fair value
Less than 12 months	242	202
12 months or more	0	0
Gross unrealized losses
Less than 12 months	0	0
12 months or more	$ 0	$ 0

Debt Securities - Contractual M

Debt Securities - Contractual Maturities (Details) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2020USD ($)
Amortized Cost
Within one year	$ 6,553
After one year through five years	999
After five years through ten years	147
After ten years	696
Estimated Fair Value
Within one year	6,560
After one year through five years	1,004
After five years through ten years	153
After ten years	$ 715
Weighted Average Yield
Within one year	0.40%	[1]
After one year through five years	0.70%	[1]
After five years through ten years	2.50%	[1]
After ten years	1.90%	[1]
[1]	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.

Loan Receivables and Allowanc_3

Loan Receivables and Allowance for Credit Losses - Loan Receivables (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions		Sep. 30, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Loan receivables: (Notes 4 and 5)	[1],[2]	$ 78,521	$ 87,215
Loan Receivable, Deferred Income		130	140
Credit cards
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Loan receivables: (Notes 4 and 5)		75,204	84,606
Consumer installment loans
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Loan receivables: (Notes 4 and 5)		1,987	1,347
Commercial credit products
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Loan receivables: (Notes 4 and 5)		1,270	1,223
Other
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Loan receivables: (Notes 4 and 5)		60	39
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Loan receivables: (Notes 4 and 5)		$ 25,908	$ 28,817
[1]	At September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 , loan receivables included deferred costs, net of deferred income, of $130 million and $140 million , respectively.
[2]	Total loan receivables include $25.9 billion and $28.8 billion of restricted loans of consolidated securitization entities at September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 , respectively. See Note 5. Variable Interest Entities for further information on these restricted loans.

Loan Receivables and Allowanc_4

Loan Receivables and Allowance for Credit Losses - Allowance for Credit Losses (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions		3 Months Ended				9 Months Ended
		Sep. 30, 2020		Sep. 30, 2019		Sep. 30, 2020		Sep. 30, 2019		Jun. 30, 2020		Jan. 01, 2020		Dec. 31, 2019
Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance				$ 5,809	[1]	$ 5,602	[2]	$ 6,427	[1]
Provision for credit losses		$ 1,210	[2]	1,019	[1]	4,560	[2]	3,076	[1]
Gross charge-offs		(1,074)	[2]	(1,452)	[1]	(3,790)	[2]	(4,675)	[1]
Recoveries		208	[2]	231	[1]	753	[2]	779	[1]
Ending Balance	[1]			5,607				5,607
Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss		10,146	[2]			10,146	[2]			$ 9,802	[2]	$ 8,623	[2]	$ 5,602
Credit cards
Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance				5,702	[1]	5,506	[2]	6,327	[1]
Provision for credit losses		1,143	[2]	993	[1]	4,411	[2]	2,994	[1]
Gross charge-offs		(1,052)	[2]	(1,422)	[1]	(3,712)	[2]	(4,584)	[1]
Recoveries		202	[2]	225	[1]	736	[2]	761	[1]
Ending Balance	[1]			5,498				5,498
Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss	[2]	9,930				9,930				9,637		8,495
Consumer installment loans
Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance				50	[1]	46	[2]	44	[1]
Provision for credit losses		50	[2]	18	[1]	102	[2]	46	[1]
Gross charge-offs		(9)	[2]	(16)	[1]	(36)	[2]	(47)	[1]
Recoveries		4	[2]	4	[1]	10	[2]	13	[1]
Ending Balance	[1]			56				56
Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss	[2]	148				148				103		72
Commercial credit products
Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance				55	[1]	49	[2]	55	[1]
Provision for credit losses		17	[2]	9	[1]	47	[2]	35	[1]
Gross charge-offs		(13)	[2]	(14)	[1]	(42)	[2]	(43)	[1]
Recoveries		2	[2]	2	[1]	7	[2]	5	[1]
Ending Balance	[1]			52				52
Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss	[2]	67				67				61		55
Other
Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance				2	[1]	1	[2]	1	[1]
Provision for credit losses		0	[2]	(1)	[1]	0	[2]	1	[1]
Gross charge-offs		0	[2]	0	[1]	0	[2]	(1)	[1]
Recoveries		0	[2]	0	[1]	0	[2]	0	[1]
Ending Balance	[1]			$ 1				$ 1
Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss	[2]	$ 1				$ 1				$ 1		1
Accounting Standards Update 2016-13
Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss [Roll Forward]
Impact of ASU 2016-13 Adoption	[2]											3,021
Accounting Standards Update 2016-13 | Credit cards
Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss [Roll Forward]
Impact of ASU 2016-13 Adoption	[2]											2,989
Accounting Standards Update 2016-13 | Consumer installment loans
Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss [Roll Forward]
Impact of ASU 2016-13 Adoption	[2]											26
Accounting Standards Update 2016-13 | Commercial credit products
Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss [Roll Forward]
Impact of ASU 2016-13 Adoption	[2]											6
Accounting Standards Update 2016-13 | Other
Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss [Roll Forward]
Impact of ASU 2016-13 Adoption	[2]											$ 0
[1]	Comparative information is presented in accordance with applicable accounting standards in effect prior to the adoption of ASU 2016-13.
[2]	The allowance for credit losses at September 30, 2020 reflects our estimate of expected credit losses for the life of the loan receivables on our condensed consolidated statement of financial position at September 30, 2020 , which includes the consideration of current and expected macroeconomic conditions that existed at that date.

Loan Receivables and Allowanc_5

Loan Receivables and Allowance for Credit Losses - Delinquent and Non Accrual Status (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions		9 Months Ended
		Sep. 30, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Loans and Leases Receivable, Maximum Maturity Period for Loans in Permanent Modification Program		60 months
Financing Receivable, Past Due Amount
Total past due		$ 2,100	$ 3,874
90 or more days delinquent and accruing		969	1,868
Total non-accruing	[1]	$ 4	$ 7
Financing Receivable, Percentage of Total Loan Receivables
Percentage of total loan receivables, 30-89 days delinquent		1.40%	2.30%
Percentage of total loan receivables, 90 or more days delinquent		1.20%	2.20%
Percentage of total loan receivables, Past due		2.70%	4.40%
Percentage of total loan receivables, 90 or more days delinquent and accruing		1.20%	2.10%
Percentage of total loan receivables, Total non-accruing	[1]	0.00%	0.00%
Credit cards
Financing Receivable, Past Due Amount
Total past due		$ 2,049	$ 3,788
90 or more days delinquent and accruing		958	1,850
Total non-accruing	[1]	0	0
Consumer installment loans
Financing Receivable, Past Due Amount
Total past due		27	28
90 or more days delinquent and accruing		0	0
Total non-accruing	[1]	4	7
Commercial credit products
Financing Receivable, Past Due Amount
Total past due		24	58
90 or more days delinquent and accruing		11	18
Total non-accruing	[1]	0	0
Financing Receivables, 30 to 89 Days Past Due [Member]
Financing Receivable, Past Due Amount
Total past due		1,127	1,997
Financing Receivables, 30 to 89 Days Past Due [Member] | Credit cards
Financing Receivable, Past Due Amount
Total past due		1,091	1,936
Financing Receivables, 30 to 89 Days Past Due [Member] | Consumer installment loans
Financing Receivable, Past Due Amount
Total past due		23	21
Financing Receivables, 30 to 89 Days Past Due [Member] | Commercial credit products
Financing Receivable, Past Due Amount
Total past due		13	40
Financial Asset, Equal to or Greater than 90 Days Past Due [Member]
Financing Receivable, Past Due Amount
Total past due		973	1,877
Financial Asset, Equal to or Greater than 90 Days Past Due [Member] | Credit cards
Financing Receivable, Past Due Amount
Total past due		958	1,852
Financial Asset, Equal to or Greater than 90 Days Past Due [Member] | Consumer installment loans
Financing Receivable, Past Due Amount
Total past due		4	7
Financial Asset, Equal to or Greater than 90 Days Past Due [Member] | Commercial credit products
Financing Receivable, Past Due Amount
Total past due		$ 11	$ 18
[1]	Excludes purchase credit deteriorated loan receivables.

Loan Receivables and Allowanc_6

Loan Receivables and Allowance for Credit Losses - Loans Entered into a Loan Modification Program (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Total loans entered into a modification program	$ 198	$ 227	$ 551	$ 636
Credit cards
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Total loans entered into a modification program	197	226	549	633
Consumer installment loans
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Total loans entered into a modification program	0	0	0	0
Commercial credit products
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Total loans entered into a modification program	$ 1	$ 1	$ 2	$ 3

Loan Receivables and Allowanc_7

Loan Receivables and Allowance for Credit Losses - Classified as TDRs (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Total recorded investment	$ 1,112	$ 1,150
Related allowance	(524)	(552)
Net recorded investment	588	598
Unpaid principal balance	988	1,023
Credit cards
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Total recorded investment	1,109	1,146
Related allowance	(522)	(550)
Net recorded investment	587	596
Unpaid principal balance	985	1,019
Consumer installment loans
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Total recorded investment	0	0
Related allowance	0	0
Net recorded investment	0	0
Unpaid principal balance	0	0
Commercial credit products
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Total recorded investment	3	4
Related allowance	(2)	(2)
Net recorded investment	1	2
Unpaid principal balance	$ 3	$ 4

Loan Receivables and Allowanc_8

Loan Receivables and Allowance for Credit Losses - Financial Effects of TDRs (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions		3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
		Sep. 30, 2020		Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2020		Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2020		Jan. 01, 2020		Dec. 31, 2019
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss		$ 10,146	[1]		$ 10,146	[1]		$ 9,802	[1]	$ 8,623	[1]	$ 5,602
Interest income recognized during period when loans were impaired		11		$ 11	32		$ 33
Interest income that would have been recorded with original terms		68		68	207		198
Average recorded investment		1,115		1,078	1,133		1,107
Credit cards
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss	[1]	9,930			9,930			9,637		8,495
Interest income recognized during period when loans were impaired		11		11	32		33
Interest income that would have been recorded with original terms		67		67	206		197
Average recorded investment		1,112		1,074	1,130		1,103
Consumer installment loans
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss	[1]	148			148			103		72
Interest income recognized during period when loans were impaired		0		0	0		0
Interest income that would have been recorded with original terms		0		0	0		0
Average recorded investment		0		0	0		0
Commercial credit products
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss	[1]	67			67			61		55
Interest income recognized during period when loans were impaired		0		0	0		0
Interest income that would have been recorded with original terms		1		1	1		1
Average recorded investment		3		$ 4	3		$ 4
Other
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss	[1]	$ 1			$ 1			$ 1		$ 1
[1]	The allowance for credit losses at September 30, 2020 reflects our estimate of expected credit losses for the life of the loan receivables on our condensed consolidated statement of financial position at September 30, 2020 , which includes the consideration of current and expected macroeconomic conditions that existed at that date.

Loan Receivables and Allowanc_9

Loan Receivables and Allowance for Credit Losses - Payment Defaults (Details) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020USD ($)contract	Sep. 30, 2019USD ($)contract	Sep. 30, 2020USD ($)contract	Sep. 30, 2019USD ($)contract
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Accounts defaulted | contract	14,718	15,099	39,204	36,609
Loans defaulted | $	$ 39	$ 37	$ 103	$ 89
Credit cards
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Accounts defaulted | contract	14,440	15,059	38,885	36,529
Loans defaulted | $	$ 38	$ 37	$ 102	$ 88
Consumer installment loans
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Accounts defaulted | contract	0	0	0	0
Loans defaulted | $	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0
Commercial credit products
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Accounts defaulted | contract	278	40	319	80
Loans defaulted | $	$ 1	$ 0	$ 1	$ 1

Loan Receivables and Allowan_10

Loan Receivables and Allowance for Credit Losses - Credit Quality Indicators (Details)	Sep. 30, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019
661 or higher | Credit cards
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Percentage of class of loan receivable	77.00%	74.00%	75.00%
661 or higher | Consumer installment loans
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Percentage of class of loan receivable	79.00%	76.00%	80.00%
661 or higher | Commercial credit products
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Percentage of class of loan receivable	93.00%	90.00%	91.00%
601 to 660 | Credit cards
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Percentage of class of loan receivable	17.00%	18.00%	19.00%
601 to 660 | Consumer installment loans
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Percentage of class of loan receivable	16.00%	17.00%	14.00%
601 to 660 | Commercial credit products
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Percentage of class of loan receivable	4.00%	5.00%	5.00%
600 or less | Credit cards
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Percentage of class of loan receivable	6.00%	8.00%	6.00%
600 or less | Consumer installment loans
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Percentage of class of loan receivable	5.00%	7.00%	6.00%
600 or less | Commercial credit products
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Percentage of class of loan receivable	3.00%	5.00%	4.00%

Loan Receivables and Allowan_11

Loan Receivables and Allowance for Credit Losses - Interest Income by Product (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
		Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Interest and fees on loans		$ 3,821	$ 4,890	$ 11,969	$ 14,213
Credit cards
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Interest and fees on loans	[1]	3,752	4,807	11,764	13,975
Financing Receivable, Accrued Interest, Writeoff		330	443	1,200	1,500
Consumer installment loans
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Interest and fees on loans		46	48	118	134
Commercial credit products
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Interest and fees on loans		22	35	85	103
Other
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Interest and fees on loans		$ 1	$ 0	$ 2	$ 1
[1]	Interest income on credit cards that was reversed related to accrued interest receivables written off was $330 million and $443 million for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 , respectively, and $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 , respectively.

Loan Receivables and Allowan_12

Loan Receivables and Allowance for Credit Losses - Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ in Billions	Sep. 30, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Percentage of loan receivable with no FICO score	0.30%	0.30%	0.90%
Credit cards
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Unused Commitments to Extend Credit	$ 415	$ 419

Variable Interest Entities - Su

Variable Interest Entities - Summary of Assets and Liabilities (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions

Sep. 30, 2020

Jun. 30, 2020

[1]

Jan. 01, 2020

[1]

Dec. 31, 2019

Sep. 30, 2019

[2]

Jun. 30, 2019

[2]

Dec. 31, 2018

[2]

Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]

Loan receivables, net

$ 68,375

$ 81,613

Other assets

3,126

2,087

Total assets

95,658

104,826

Total liabilities

83,559

89,738

Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss

10,146

[1]

$ 9,802

$ 8,623

5,602

Allowance for loan losses

5,602

[1]

$ 5,607

$ 5,809

$ 6,427

Loan receivable, before allowance for losses

[3],[4]

78,521

87,215

Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary

Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]

Loan receivables, net

[5]

23,038

27,217

Other assets

[6]

47

68

Total assets

23,085

27,285

Borrowings

[7]

7,809

10,412

Other liabilities

24

32

Total liabilities

7,833

10,444

Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss

2,900

Allowance for loan losses

1,600

Loan receivable, before allowance for losses

25,908

28,817

Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Other Assets [Member]

Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]

Restricted Cash Equivalents

$ 42

$ 62

[1]

The allowance for credit losses at September 30, 2020 reflects our estimate of expected credit losses for the life of the loan receivables on our condensed consolidated statement of financial position at September 30, 2020 , which includes the consideration of current and expected macroeconomic conditions that existed at that date.

[2]

Comparative information is presented in accordance with applicable accounting standards in effect prior to the adoption of ASU 2016-13.

[3]

At September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 , loan receivables included deferred costs, net of deferred income, of $130 million and $140 million , respectively.

[4]

Total loan receivables include $25.9 billion and $28.8 billion of restricted loans of consolidated securitization entities at September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 , respectively. See Note 5. Variable Interest Entities for further information on these restricted loans.

[5]

Includes $2.9 billion of related allowance for credit losses resulting in gross restricted loans of $25.9 billion at September 30, 2020 and $1.6 billion of related allowance for loan losses resulting in gross restricted loans of $28.8 billion at December 31, 2019 .

[6]

Includes $42 million and $62 million of segregated funds held by the VIEs at September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 , 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.

[7]

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

Variable Interest Entities - Na

Variable Interest Entities - Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended				9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020		Sep. 30, 2019		Sep. 30, 2020		Sep. 30, 2019		Jun. 30, 2020	[1]	Jan. 01, 2020	[1]	Dec. 31, 2019		Jun. 30, 2019	[2]	Dec. 31, 2018	[2]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Allowance for credit losses	$ 10,146	[1]			$ 10,146	[1]			$ 9,802		$ 8,623		$ 5,602
Allowance for loan losses			$ 5,607	[2]			$ 5,607	[2]					5,602	[1]	$ 5,809		$ 6,427
Interest and fees on loans	3,821		4,890		11,969		14,213
Provision for credit losses	1,210	[1]	1,019	[2]	4,560	[1]	3,076	[2]
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Allowance for credit losses	2,900				2,900
Allowance for loan losses													1,600
Interest and fees on loans	1,200		1,400		3,700		3,900
Provision for credit losses	460		184		1,500		743
Interest on borrowings of consolidated securitization entities	53		$ 88		185		$ 278
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Other Assets [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Restricted Cash Equivalents	$ 42				$ 42								$ 62
[1]	The allowance for credit losses at September 30, 2020 reflects our estimate of expected credit losses for the life of the loan receivables on our condensed consolidated statement of financial position at September 30, 2020 , which includes the consideration of current and expected macroeconomic conditions that existed at that date.
[2]	Comparative information is presented in accordance with applicable accounting standards in effect prior to the adoption of ASU 2016-13.

Intangible Assets - Schedule of

Intangible Assets - Schedule of Finite-Lived Intangible Assets (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Gross carrying amount	$ 2,666	$ 2,610
Accumulated amortization	(1,575)	(1,345)
Net	1,091	1,265
Customer-related
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Gross carrying amount	1,735	1,749
Accumulated amortization	(1,049)	(952)
Net	686	797
Capitalized software and other
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Gross carrying amount	931	861
Accumulated amortization	(526)	(393)
Net	$ 405	$ 468

Intangible Assets Narrative (De

Intangible Assets Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Finite-lived intangible assets acquired			$ 95
Customer-Related Intangible Assets [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Finite-lived intangible assets acquired			$ 22	$ 123
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Assets, Weighted Average Useful Life			7 years	7 years
Selling and Marketing Expense [Member] | Retail Partner Contracts
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Amortization expense	$ 32	$ 34	$ 97	$ 100
Other Expense | Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Excluding Retail Partner Contracts
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Amortization expense	$ 51	$ 44	$ 150	$ 123

Deposits - Schedule of Deposit

Deposits - Schedule of Deposit Liabilities (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions		Sep. 30, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Deposits [Abstract]
Interest-bearing deposits, amount		$ 63,195	$ 64,877
Non-interest-bearing deposits, amount		298	277
Total deposits		$ 63,493	$ 65,154
Average Rate Domestic Deposits	[1]	1.90%	2.40%
[1]	Based on interest expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and the year ended December 31, 2019 and average deposits balances.

Deposits - Maturity Schedule (D

Deposits - Maturity Schedule (Details) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2020USD ($)
Maturities of Time Deposits [Abstract]
2020	$ 5,228
2021	20,255
2022	4,430
2023	1,736
2024	2,315
Thereafter	$ 782

Deposits - Narrative (Details)

Deposits - Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ in Billions	Sep. 30, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Schedule of Deposits [Line Items]
Time Deposits, at or Above FDIC Insurance Limit	$ 7	$ 8.5
Demand deposits with no defined maturity	23.3
Deposits, Savings Deposits	22.1
Program Arranger
Schedule of Deposits [Line Items]
Broker network deposit sweeps	$ 5.2

Borrowings - Borrowings Schedul

Borrowings - Borrowings Schedule (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions		Sep. 30, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Amount
Total borrowings	[1]	$ 15,771	$ 19,866
Senior unsecured notes
Amount
Unsecured debt	[1]	$ 7,962	9,454
Average rate
Weighted average interest rate		3.94%
Fixed Senior Unsecured Notes | Senior unsecured notes
Amount
Unsecured debt	[1]	$ 6,466	7,211
Average rate
Weighted average interest rate		4.08%
Floating Senior Secured Notes | Senior unsecured notes
Amount
Unsecured debt	[1]	$ 0	250
Average rate
Weighted average interest rate		0.00%
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage		0.00%
Subsidiaries [Member] | Fixed Senior Unsecured Notes | Senior unsecured notes
Amount
Unsecured debt	[1]	$ 1,496	1,493
Average rate
Weighted average interest rate		3.33%
Subsidiaries [Member] | Floating Senior Secured Notes | Senior unsecured notes
Amount
Unsecured debt	[1]	$ 0	500
Average rate
Weighted average interest rate		0.00%
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage		0.00%
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary
Average rate
Weighted average interest rate		2.30%
Borrowings of consolidated securitization entities	[1]	$ 7,809	10,412
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Fixed Securitized Borrowings
Average rate
Weighted average interest rate		2.88%
Borrowings of consolidated securitization entities	[1]	$ 5,509	7,512
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Floating Securitized Borrowings
Average rate
Weighted average interest rate		0.89%
Borrowings of consolidated securitization entities	[1]	$ 2,300	$ 2,900
Minimum | Fixed Senior Unsecured Notes | Senior unsecured notes
Average rate
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage		2.80%
Minimum | Subsidiaries [Member] | Fixed Senior Unsecured Notes | Senior unsecured notes
Average rate
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage		3.00%
Minimum | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Fixed Securitized Borrowings
Average rate
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage		2.21%
Minimum | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Floating Securitized Borrowings
Average rate
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage		0.78%
Maximum | Fixed Senior Unsecured Notes | Senior unsecured notes
Average rate
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage		5.15%
Maximum | Subsidiaries [Member] | Fixed Senior Unsecured Notes | Senior unsecured notes
Average rate
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage		3.65%
Maximum | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Fixed Securitized Borrowings
Average rate
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage		3.87%
Maximum | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Floating Securitized Borrowings
Average rate
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage		1.06%
[1]	The amounts presented above for outstanding borrowings include unamortized debt premiums, discounts and issuance cost.

Borrowings - Borrowings Maturit

Borrowings - Borrowings Maturity Schedule (Details) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2020USD ($)
Maturities of Long-term Debt [Abstract]
2020	$ 0
2021	4,825
2022	4,784
2023	1,207
2024	1,850
Thereafter	$ 3,150

Borrowings - Narrative (Details

Borrowings - Narrative (Details) $ in Billions	Sep. 30, 2020USD ($)
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Remaining undrawn capacity	$ 4.9
Revolving Credit Facility | Unsecured Debt
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Undrawn capacity	$ 0.5

Fair Value Measurement - Recurr

Fair Value Measurement - Recurring Fair Value Measurements (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions		Sep. 30, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Other assets		$ 3,126	$ 2,087
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Other assets	[1],[2]	34	36
Total	[1]	8,466	5,947
Business Combination, Contingent Consideration, Liability	[1]	11	13
Financial and Nonfinancial Liabilities, Fair Value Disclosure	[1]	11	13
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Level 1
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Other assets	[2]	15	15
Total		15	15
Business Combination, Contingent Consideration, Liability		0	0
Financial and Nonfinancial Liabilities, Fair Value Disclosure		0	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Level 2
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Other assets	[2]	0	0
Total		8,393	5,866
Business Combination, Contingent Consideration, Liability		0	0
Financial and Nonfinancial Liabilities, Fair Value Disclosure		0	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Level 3
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Other assets	[2]	19	21
Total		58	66
Business Combination, Contingent Consideration, Liability		11	13
Financial and Nonfinancial Liabilities, Fair Value Disclosure		11	13
U.S. government and federal agency
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Debt securities		5,199	2,469
U.S. government and federal agency | Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Debt securities	[1]	5,199	2,469
U.S. government and federal agency | Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Level 1
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Debt securities		0	0
U.S. government and federal agency | Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Level 2
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Debt securities		5,199	2,469
U.S. government and federal agency | Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Level 3
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Debt securities		0	0
State and municipal
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Debt securities		39	45
State and municipal | Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Debt securities	[1]	39	45
State and municipal | Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Level 1
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Debt securities		0	0
State and municipal | Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Level 2
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Debt securities		0	0
State and municipal | Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Level 3
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Debt securities		39	45
Residential mortgage-backed
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Debt securities	[3]	830	1,026
Residential mortgage-backed | Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Debt securities	[1]	830	1,026
Residential mortgage-backed | Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Level 1
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Debt securities		0	0
Residential mortgage-backed | Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Level 2
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Debt securities		830	1,026
Residential mortgage-backed | Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Level 3
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Debt securities		0	0
Asset-backed
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Debt securities	[4]	2,364	2,371
Asset-backed | Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Debt securities	[1]	2,364	2,371
Asset-backed | Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Level 1
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Debt securities		0	0
Asset-backed | Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Level 2
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Debt securities		2,364	2,371
Asset-backed | Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Level 3
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Debt securities		$ 0	$ 0
[1]	For the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 , there were no fair value measurements transferred between levels.
[2]	Other assets primarily relate to equity investments measured at fair value.
[3]	All of our residential mortgage-backed securities have been issued by government-sponsored entities and are collateralized by U.S. mortgages. At September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 , $267 million and $351 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.
[4]	All of our asset-backed securities are collateralized by credit card loans.

Fair Value Measurement - Fair V

Fair Value Measurement - Fair Value Asset and Liabilities Carried at Other than Fair Value (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions		Sep. 30, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Cash and equivalents	[1]	$ 13,552	$ 12,147
Other assets	[1],[2]	74	500
Loan receivables, net	[3]	81,504	90,941
Loans Held-for-sale, Fair Value Disclosure	[3]	4	726
Deposits		64,156	65,544
Carrying Value
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Cash and equivalents	[1]	13,552	12,147
Other assets	[1],[2]	74	500
Loan receivables, net	[3]	68,375	81,613
Loans Held-for-sale, Fair Value Disclosure	[3]	4	725
Deposits		63,493	65,154
Level 1
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Cash and equivalents	[1]	11,752	10,799
Other assets	[1],[2]	74	500
Loan receivables, net	[3]	0	0
Loans Held-for-sale, Fair Value Disclosure	[3]	0	0
Deposits		0	0
Level 2
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Cash and equivalents	[1]	1,800	1,348
Other assets	[1],[2]	0	0
Loan receivables, net	[3]	0	0
Loans Held-for-sale, Fair Value Disclosure	[3]	0	0
Deposits		64,156	65,544
Level 3
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Cash and equivalents	[1]	0	0
Other assets	[1],[2]	0	0
Loan receivables, net	[3]	81,504	90,941
Loans Held-for-sale, Fair Value Disclosure	[3]	4	726
Deposits		0	0
Senior Notes
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Fair Value Disclosure		8,554	9,924
Senior Notes | Carrying Value
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Fair Value Disclosure		7,962	9,454
Senior Notes | Level 1
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Fair Value Disclosure		0	0
Senior Notes | Level 2
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Fair Value Disclosure		8,554	9,924
Senior Notes | Level 3
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Fair Value Disclosure		0	0
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Borrowings of consolidated securitization entities		7,990	10,513
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Carrying Value
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Borrowings of consolidated securitization entities		7,809	10,412
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Level 1
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Borrowings of consolidated securitization entities		0	0
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Level 2
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Borrowings of consolidated securitization entities		5,692	7,613
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Level 3
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Borrowings of consolidated securitization entities		$ 2,298	$ 2,900
[1]	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. Cash equivalents classified as Level 2 represent U.S. Government and Federal Agency debt securities with original maturities of three months or less or acquired within three months or less of their maturity.
[2]	This balance relates to restricted cash and equivalents, which is included in other assets.
[3]	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.

Regulatory and Capital Adequa_3

Regulatory and Capital Adequacy (Capital Amounts and Ratios) (Details) - Basel III $ in Millions		Sep. 30, 2020USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2019USD ($)
Compliance with Regulatory Capital Requirements under Banking Regulations [Line Items]
Capital conservation buffer		0.025	0.025
Total risk-based capital
Actual		$ 13,925	$ 14,211
Actual (percent)	[1]	0.181	0.163
Minimum for capital adequacy purposes		$ 6,159	$ 6,984
Minimum for capital adequacy purposes (percent)	[2]	0.080	0.080
Tier 1 risk-based capital
Banking Regulation, Tier One Risk-Based Capital, Actual		$ 12,891	$ 13,064
Actual (percent)	[1]	0.167	0.150
Minimum for capital adequacy purposes		$ 4,619	$ 5,238
Minimum for capital adequacy purposes (percent)	[2]	0.060	0.060
Tier 1 leverage
Banking Regulation, Tier One Leverage Capital, Actual		$ 12,891	$ 13,064
Actual (percent)	[1]	0.133	0.126
Minimum for capital adequacy purposes		$ 3,884	$ 4,161
Minimum for capital adequacy purposes (percent)	[2]	0.040	0.040
Common equity Tier I capital
Common equity, actual		$ 12,157	$ 12,330
Common equity, actual (percent)	[1]	0.158	0.141
Common equity, minimum for capital adequacy purposes		$ 3,465	$ 3,929
Common Equity Tier One Capital Required for Capital Adequacy to Risk Weighted Assets	[2]	0.045	0.045
Synchrony Bank
Total risk-based capital
Actual		$ 12,260	$ 11,911
Actual (percent)	[1]	0.179	0.156
Minimum for capital adequacy purposes		$ 5,470	$ 6,094
Minimum for capital adequacy purposes (percent)	[2]	0.080	0.080
Minimum to be well-capitalized under prompt corrective action provisions		$ 6,837	$ 7,618
Minimum to be well-capitalized under prompt corrective action provisions (percent)		0.100	0.100
Tier 1 risk-based capital
Banking Regulation, Tier One Risk-Based Capital, Actual		$ 11,340	$ 10,907
Actual (percent)	[1]	0.166	0.143
Minimum for capital adequacy purposes		$ 4,102	$ 4,571
Minimum for capital adequacy purposes (percent)	[2]	0.060	0.060
Minimum to be well-capitalized under prompt corrective action provisions		$ 5,470	$ 6,094
Minimum to be well-capitalized under prompt corrective action provisions (percent)		0.080	0.080
Tier 1 leverage
Banking Regulation, Tier One Leverage Capital, Actual		$ 11,340	$ 10,907
Actual (percent)	[1]	0.130	0.119
Minimum for capital adequacy purposes		$ 3,479	$ 3,671
Minimum for capital adequacy purposes (percent)	[2]	0.040	0.040
Minimum to be well-capitalized under prompt corrective action provisions		$ 4,349	$ 4,589
Minimum to be well-capitalized under prompt corrective action provisions (percent)		0.050	0.050
Common equity Tier I capital
Common equity, actual		$ 11,340	$ 10,907
Common equity, actual (percent)	[1]	0.166	0.143
Common equity, minimum for capital adequacy purposes		$ 3,077	$ 3,428
Common Equity Tier One Capital Required for Capital Adequacy to Risk Weighted Assets	[2]	0.045	0.045
Common equity, minimum to be well-capitalized under prompt corrective action provisions		$ 4,444	$ 4,952
Common Equity Tier One Capital Required to be Well Capitalized Risk Weighted Assets		0.065	0.065
[1]	Capital ratios are calculated based on the Basel III Standardized Approach rules
[2]	At September 30, 2020 and at December 31, 2019 , 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 2.5 percent age points to avoid limits on capital distributions and certain discretionary bonus payments to executive officers and similar employees.

Earnings Per Share - Basic and

Earnings Per Share - Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended						9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2020	Mar. 31, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Net earnings	$ 313	$ 48	$ 286	$ 1,056	$ 853	$ 1,107	$ 647	$ 3,016
Preferred stock dividends	(10)			0			(32)	0
Net earnings available to common stockholders	$ 303			$ 1,056			$ 615	$ 3,016
Weighted average common shares outstanding, basic (in shares)	583.8			658.3			590.8	682.5
Effect of dilutive securities (in shares)	1			3.4			1.4	3.1
Weighted average common shares outstanding, dilutive (in shares)	584.8			661.7			592.2	685.6
Earnings per basic common share (in usd per share)	$ 0.52			$ 1.60			$ 1.04	$ 4.42
Earnings per diluted common share (in usd per share)	$ 0.52			$ 1.60			$ 1.04	$ 4.40

Earnings Per Share - Narrative

Earnings Per Share - Narrative (Details) - shares shares in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share, amount	7	3	6	4

Restructuring Charges Restruc_3

Restructuring Charges Restructuring Charges (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2020
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring Charges	$ 89	$ 89
Operating lease and other asset impairments | Other Expense
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring Charges	45	45
Employee-related costs | Employee costs
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring Charges	$ 44	$ 44

Income Taxes - Unrecognized Tax

Income Taxes - Unrecognized Tax Benefits (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions		Sep. 30, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Significant Change in Unrecognized Tax Benefits is Reasonably Possible [Line Items]
Unrecognized tax benefits, excluding related interest expense and penalties	[1]	$ 278	$ 255
Portion that, if recognized, would reduce tax expense and effective tax rate	[2]	201	$ 172
Decrease in Unrecognized Tax Benefits is Reasonably Possible		99
Decrease in Unrecognized Tax Benefits That Would Impact Effective Tax Rate		$ 59
[1]	Interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits were not material for all periods presented.
[2]	Comprised of federal unrecognized tax benefits and 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.