WEBVTT - Synchrony CEO: 75% of Customers Back to Paying Bills

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<v Speaker 1>This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Jason

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<v Speaker 1>Kelly on Bloomberg Radio. Let's move to a conversation. I

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<v Speaker 1>have been so looking forward to catching up with our

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<v Speaker 1>next guest. She's a widely admired CEO in a business

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<v Speaker 1>that is at the crux of so many things we

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<v Speaker 1>care deeply about talking about. Margaret Keene, chief executive officer

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<v Speaker 1>of Synchrony Financial, joining us on the phone from Connecticut. Margaret,

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<v Speaker 1>how are you. I'm good. How are you doing. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>doing very well. You and I spent some time together

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<v Speaker 1>a few years ago now at the Economic Club of

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<v Speaker 1>New York. It seems like a hundred years ago the

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<v Speaker 1>world was a very different place. And I do wonder,

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<v Speaker 1>because you have such keen insights into what's going on

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<v Speaker 1>with the American consumer. How is the consumer doing right now? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, I think going into this it's kind of

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<v Speaker 1>a pre pandemic. Then I guess pandemic, and kind of

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<v Speaker 1>now we're opening up, so we're kind of seeing different fronts.

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<v Speaker 1>I'd say, going into the pandemic, the consumer was very strong.

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<v Speaker 1>We were we were doing really well, Sales were strong,

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<v Speaker 1>payments were coming in. The consumer is really acting very responsibly,

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<v Speaker 1>and we felt like we were going to have, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>a great year. Um then the pandemic came along and obviously,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, the initial onset of that really shut down

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<v Speaker 1>most of the retail landscape. And you know, we saw

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<v Speaker 1>our sales and we've said this in our earning down

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<v Speaker 1>averaging about thirty two to thirty four percent UM. What

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<v Speaker 1>we've seen since then, though, is definitely a bit of

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<v Speaker 1>a comeback. Our sales are down now ten percent. Uh

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<v Speaker 1>So certainly the consumer is um back out and shopping

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<v Speaker 1>and uh you know, we're seeing it across the US.

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<v Speaker 1>So it isn't even just in the states that I

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<v Speaker 1>would say are completely open, It's it's across the board. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>you know we're going to pay close attention to that. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, because you know, it's interesting. We've been having

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<v Speaker 1>so many conversations, certainly here at Bloomberg, you know that

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<v Speaker 1>it feels like to some extent we're flying blind when

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<v Speaker 1>it comes to the economy. We know the past data

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<v Speaker 1>points looking backwards are not going to be good. We

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<v Speaker 1>get that, right, but we are wondering about what kind

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<v Speaker 1>of a bounce back do we get on the other side.

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<v Speaker 1>So you're saying consumers are coming back. I mean, what

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<v Speaker 1>kind of indications are you know, what are they spending

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<v Speaker 1>and and you said it's up about ten percent or

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<v Speaker 1>what can you tell us in terms of well, it's

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<v Speaker 1>down from where it was at the beginning, so we

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<v Speaker 1>dropped ourselves. We're at about they dropped all thirty two

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<v Speaker 1>is then they come back. Now they're down ten percent

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<v Speaker 1>from what they were pre pandemic. So that's a pretty

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<v Speaker 1>big swing. Um, what I would say is, um, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>it's the things we're reading about. You know we were

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<v Speaker 1>talking earlier, is that the Burnstein conference. You know, for instance,

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<v Speaker 1>power sports. We're not big in power sports. Pow power sports,

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<v Speaker 1>cell throw up a hundred percent, So people are buying

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<v Speaker 1>things that they can play with at home US and

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<v Speaker 1>we're seeing things related to the home be very strong,

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<v Speaker 1>whether that um home furnishings or or things that people

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<v Speaker 1>are doing to fix up their home. So we're certainly

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<v Speaker 1>seeing strengths there. Um. You know, we were talking about bicycles.

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<v Speaker 1>Adult bicycles. You can't really get sold out. So it's

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<v Speaker 1>really been I think what's happening with the conservatives a

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<v Speaker 1>couple of things we we believe one is people have

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<v Speaker 1>given up vacations. They're staying at home and fighting stay

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<v Speaker 1>at home, so they're fixing up their homes and doing

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<v Speaker 1>activities around the house with their children and their families.

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<v Speaker 1>I think, uh, you know, we think that's a positive

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<v Speaker 1>and and I think that's where consumers are spending. Obviously,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, we have very strong online partners. We're definitely

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<v Speaker 1>seeing online being a big part of that process as well. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>But I you know, honestly, I think we're we're we're

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<v Speaker 1>probably um, we're probably a bit more positive than we

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<v Speaker 1>thought we were going to be at this point when

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<v Speaker 1>we first started out here. Yeah, I think gives a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of stimulus out there, and that's something we've gotta

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<v Speaker 1>pay attention to. There's still a lot of stimulus. And

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<v Speaker 1>I think what we've been saying is we've got to

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<v Speaker 1>make it through this summer. See when that stimulus runs out,

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<v Speaker 1>and then where do we where do we stand? And

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<v Speaker 1>we probably want to have a good read and Sulser

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<v Speaker 1>quarter And so Margaret, when you think about the retail environment,

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<v Speaker 1>obviously so many things have been shut down. You've had

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<v Speaker 1>well known brands UH go bankrupt, and you know, some

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<v Speaker 1>many restructure, some may never come back. What's the net

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<v Speaker 1>effect of that for basically sort of the world at large,

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<v Speaker 1>but also for your business this shift to online where

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<v Speaker 1>I know you're very active as well, but break that

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<v Speaker 1>down for us if you can, sure, you know, I

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<v Speaker 1>would say, Look, retail has been going through a transformation

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<v Speaker 1>for quite a while. I think the pandemic and the

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<v Speaker 1>fact that people have to shut their doors just accelerated

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<v Speaker 1>some of what was going to happen over time. So

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<v Speaker 1>we're seeing that, you know, in some of our partners

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<v Speaker 1>as well as many other retailers that are not our partners.

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<v Speaker 1>And I think what's happening is you're seeing retailers who

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<v Speaker 1>are strong becoming even stronger, and I think that will continue. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, I do believe that there's been a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of view that retail is dead. I do not believe

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<v Speaker 1>retailer is dead. I think people like to shop. I

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<v Speaker 1>think we will over retail, and I think the strong

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<v Speaker 1>retailers will certainly survive this and probably be stronger in

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<v Speaker 1>the end. I do think retail has to have a

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<v Speaker 1>digital strategy as well. They need to be able to

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<v Speaker 1>be where that customer is shopping. And I think from

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<v Speaker 1>a customer behavior perspective, we certainly have seen a continued

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<v Speaker 1>shift and an acceleration of people shopping digitally, and I

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<v Speaker 1>think that will continue. So I think there are certain

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<v Speaker 1>things that people may have never thought of buying online before,

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<v Speaker 1>but of buying online and have not en comfortable with

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<v Speaker 1>that through this process, and that's going to shift consumer

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<v Speaker 1>behavior I think going forward, what do you think people

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<v Speaker 1>will still shop? People will still shop. Yeah, I agree.

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<v Speaker 1>I think it's a social thing to some extent in

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<v Speaker 1>people enjoy actually going out and feeling merchandise. And I think,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, maybe in New York it's going to take

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<v Speaker 1>a little while to come back, but you know, until

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<v Speaker 1>people feel safe safer. What are you seeing in terms

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<v Speaker 1>of delinquencies and people's ability to actually pay their credit cards?

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<v Speaker 1>So this is this is probably one of the more

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<v Speaker 1>interesting things that we're trying to figure out. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>constomers are paying their credit card So about of the

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<v Speaker 1>customers who initially put themselves into a deferred payment status

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<v Speaker 1>have actually come out of that and are paying their accounts.

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<v Speaker 1>So we actually are seeing good payments right now, which

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<v Speaker 1>is another thing that I think has us a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit that pause to understand Why is that now? Is

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<v Speaker 1>it the stimulus? Is it the fact that people aren't

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<v Speaker 1>spending money elsewhere on discretionaries, so they're paying their credit

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<v Speaker 1>cards and their their obligations. Um, you know, we have

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of people who are receiving benefits, so is

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<v Speaker 1>that helping. Probably all these things are helping, you know.

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<v Speaker 1>The other is a big one is you know, people

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<v Speaker 1>aren't driving, so gas prices are down even if they

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<v Speaker 1>are driving, so there's extra dollars there. So right now,

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<v Speaker 1>our our our performance in our book is is good.

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<v Speaker 1>We're very cautious on this though, because we still believe that,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, we got to see how people come out

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<v Speaker 1>of this after the stimulus runs out, and more importantly,

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<v Speaker 1>what is the job market look like, how many people

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<v Speaker 1>are still at work. I think we're still very clauseous

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<v Speaker 1>on this particular area. We're talking with Margaret Keene to

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<v Speaker 1>see have Synchrony Financial. She's on the phone for Connecticut

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<v Speaker 1>where the company is based. Margaret, you know, it's interesting

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<v Speaker 1>what you said that that statistics customers who put themselves

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<v Speaker 1>in a deferral payments does have come out of it?

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<v Speaker 1>Are they paying off their balances and spending more paying

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<v Speaker 1>off their full balances, and some are just making what

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<v Speaker 1>their regular payment would be, but some are paying off

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<v Speaker 1>their balances rather than than spending and increasing the balances. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>where seeing our balances come down as a result of that.

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<v Speaker 1>And so that that I think has surprised us a

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<v Speaker 1>bit because I think it just didn't you know, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>we have modeled for all kinds of recessions. We don't

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<v Speaker 1>really have a model for a pandemic and conserned behavior

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<v Speaker 1>into something like this. And I think, you know, I

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<v Speaker 1>guess the positive of this is those who have gotten

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<v Speaker 1>stimulus are are being thoughtful about it um and possibly

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<v Speaker 1>using that towards their payments. But I think the real

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<v Speaker 1>test is going to be once we get through all

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<v Speaker 1>of that stimulus, it's not there anymore, how many people

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<v Speaker 1>are employed and what does that look like. So that's

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<v Speaker 1>why I'm saying what I'm saying is great, Man is

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<v Speaker 1>good now, but I'm being very cautious because we think

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<v Speaker 1>there might be another another side of this, right, And

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<v Speaker 1>so Margaret, when you think about sort of changing behavior

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<v Speaker 1>going forward, you know, just getting right down to the

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<v Speaker 1>nitty gritty of someone, you know, a human handing another

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<v Speaker 1>human a credit card, all of a sudden, something we

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<v Speaker 1>never thought about. We're thinking about more and more. You

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<v Speaker 1>know that very few times I venture out, I think

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<v Speaker 1>about that. I think about who's touching my credit card?

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<v Speaker 1>Are there technologies that that you're working on that change

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<v Speaker 1>the nature of how we behave going forward given that

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<v Speaker 1>we are thinking so specifically about literally every single thing

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<v Speaker 1>we touched. Yeah, absolutely, And I think people don't want

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<v Speaker 1>to touch anything. And even when I do go out,

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<v Speaker 1>if I have, if I have to hand my card

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<v Speaker 1>to someone, I actually actually like it off after I

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<v Speaker 1>come home, and I want it because I think you

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<v Speaker 1>have to based on what what all the experts are saying. Uh, look,

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<v Speaker 1>I think the technology is actually available. So I think

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<v Speaker 1>we're we're looking at doing more contactless cards where you

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<v Speaker 1>just have to you don't even have to, um, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>insert it, or you just you know stoped by the

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<v Speaker 1>actual machine. Um. What really have to shift here is

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<v Speaker 1>and I'm sure you see this particularly in smaller businesses, UM,

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<v Speaker 1>they need to change their point of self. So I

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<v Speaker 1>think more businesses are shifting to that. In some cases,

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<v Speaker 1>some of the regulation that's been passed in some of

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<v Speaker 1>these states, as you have to do contactless, so I've

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<v Speaker 1>even seen in the little stores I shop in here

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<v Speaker 1>and in the town that I live in, people have

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<v Speaker 1>made changes to their point ofself. So I think that's

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<v Speaker 1>going to continue to happen. The technology is there, Um,

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<v Speaker 1>it's just a question of accelerating the use of that technology.

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<v Speaker 1>So how does that will impact you? And I also think,

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<v Speaker 1>like in my household, we hadn't signed up for Apple Pay,

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<v Speaker 1>but because of this environment, we're thinking, okay, less back

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<v Speaker 1>and forth transactions where we're giving a card or doing something.

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<v Speaker 1>We really have been thinking about this in a big way.

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<v Speaker 1>So if more people move to platforms like that, how

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<v Speaker 1>does it impact synchrony? Um, it's it doesn't really because

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<v Speaker 1>we can do all those all those we can do

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<v Speaker 1>Apple Pay. We're in Apple pay today, so you can

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<v Speaker 1>use the Apple peg, you can use Samsung Pay. But

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<v Speaker 1>I think also you know master Card vs are the

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<v Speaker 1>big um, the big associations are actually moving to contact

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<v Speaker 1>with credit cards themselves. So it could be a digital law,

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<v Speaker 1>it could actually be the physical cards that that's contact us.

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<v Speaker 1>So for instance, we we just we're preparing for the future.

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<v Speaker 1>We put in on order for plastic that's going to

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<v Speaker 1>be only contact less capable so that we're ready to

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<v Speaker 1>roll when we we reas for cards and do things

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<v Speaker 1>like that, because we think, as as you said, people

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<v Speaker 1>are not going to want to touch different different points. Well, Margaret,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, one of the things that we've talked a

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<v Speaker 1>lot about on this program, and I think we're all

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<v Speaker 1>learning in a very profound way, is that while the

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<v Speaker 1>virus doesn't discriminate medically, in many ways, it does discriminate

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<v Speaker 1>economically and socio economically, and the impact of this on

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<v Speaker 1>all of our lives is really different depending on what

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<v Speaker 1>you earn and sometimes what your gender is. In many cases,

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<v Speaker 1>what have you identified and what do you think we

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<v Speaker 1>can do about it? As we start to assess the

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<v Speaker 1>impact that this has had societally, and especially when it

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<v Speaker 1>comes to the economics of it. Yeah, you know, I

0:12:04.000 --> 0:12:06.880
<v Speaker 1>think what what's happened in this pandemic. It's really bringing

0:12:06.960 --> 0:12:10.840
<v Speaker 1>to light many of the issues social issues that have

0:12:10.880 --> 0:12:13.720
<v Speaker 1>existed out there for quite a while, whether it's you know,

0:12:14.480 --> 0:12:17.920
<v Speaker 1>you mentioned New York City they didn't close schools student

0:12:18.080 --> 0:12:19.960
<v Speaker 1>off and you know, one of the reasons it's because

0:12:20.760 --> 0:12:23.000
<v Speaker 1>of the students they received at least one or two

0:12:23.000 --> 0:12:25.400
<v Speaker 1>meals there a day, right, so they knew that closing

0:12:25.480 --> 0:12:28.520
<v Speaker 1>creates this other issue UM. And I think for us,

0:12:28.600 --> 0:12:31.559
<v Speaker 1>it's really about how do we continue to drive our

0:12:31.559 --> 0:12:35.160
<v Speaker 1>diversity and inclusion initiatives inside the company. How do we

0:12:35.280 --> 0:12:37.800
<v Speaker 1>take us stands in certain areas where we're gonna going

0:12:37.840 --> 0:12:41.760
<v Speaker 1>to lift people up, UM, making sure we're paying good wages,

0:12:41.880 --> 0:12:45.440
<v Speaker 1>making sure you know, we're doing all the right UM

0:12:46.120 --> 0:12:49.760
<v Speaker 1>activities for for us, for instance, we've been really really

0:12:49.760 --> 0:12:53.280
<v Speaker 1>focused on what I call overall wellness and we've been

0:12:53.280 --> 0:12:55.400
<v Speaker 1>doing a lot for employees in that area. We have

0:12:55.559 --> 0:13:00.640
<v Speaker 1>diversity networks, and so we've been doing some extra um

0:13:00.720 --> 0:13:05.000
<v Speaker 1>UM work groups. What with with our webinars, if you will,

0:13:05.360 --> 0:13:09.319
<v Speaker 1>with our folks in both the the African American, Hispanic

0:13:09.360 --> 0:13:12.400
<v Speaker 1>and even UM. You know, we have a Native American network,

0:13:12.679 --> 0:13:15.000
<v Speaker 1>which as you know that that that group of folks

0:13:15.040 --> 0:13:17.800
<v Speaker 1>have also been hit very hard. So we're trying to

0:13:17.840 --> 0:13:22.720
<v Speaker 1>make sure that education availability UM inside our company is

0:13:22.760 --> 0:13:27.000
<v Speaker 1>really very focused on those groups to really help them UM,

0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:29.840
<v Speaker 1>you know, get the right support they need. But what

0:13:29.920 --> 0:13:32.679
<v Speaker 1>about you know, I think about if you look at

0:13:32.720 --> 0:13:36.200
<v Speaker 1>store cards, I think the average rate on it is

0:13:36.440 --> 0:13:39.560
<v Speaker 1>you know or more I mean it's and I do

0:13:39.679 --> 0:13:42.800
<v Speaker 1>wonder about when we think about the vulnerable folks that

0:13:42.840 --> 0:13:46.040
<v Speaker 1>are part of our society often need to do a

0:13:46.080 --> 0:13:48.440
<v Speaker 1>card because that's how they can afford things, but those

0:13:48.559 --> 0:13:51.960
<v Speaker 1>rates often really make it difficult for them. I wonder,

0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:55.360
<v Speaker 1>you know, because of what we're seeing in as a

0:13:55.360 --> 0:13:58.160
<v Speaker 1>result of the pandemic, you know, how you guys might

0:13:58.160 --> 0:14:01.320
<v Speaker 1>be rethinking some of that at GINE. I understand, you know,

0:14:01.520 --> 0:14:04.680
<v Speaker 1>you're set, You've got a business to run, UM, but

0:14:04.760 --> 0:14:08.800
<v Speaker 1>I do wonder how you think about something like that. Yeah,

0:14:08.840 --> 0:14:10.960
<v Speaker 1>you know, I I think you know, we always take

0:14:11.520 --> 0:14:14.000
<v Speaker 1>take you know, the rates in the process that we

0:14:14.080 --> 0:14:18.920
<v Speaker 1>do into UH consideration whenever we're originating new accounts. I

0:14:18.960 --> 0:14:21.840
<v Speaker 1>think part of part of how this works is really

0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:24.600
<v Speaker 1>the mechanism of the rewards that people get on the

0:14:24.640 --> 0:14:26.800
<v Speaker 1>card and how you pay for those rewards. If you

0:14:26.840 --> 0:14:29.880
<v Speaker 1>look at most of our rewards, they're richer than what

0:14:29.920 --> 0:14:33.560
<v Speaker 1>a general general purpose credit card would be UM. And

0:14:33.680 --> 0:14:36.520
<v Speaker 1>you know, we we pay close attention, and you know,

0:14:36.680 --> 0:14:40.000
<v Speaker 1>I don't you know, we've changed. I think there's a miscond,

0:14:40.560 --> 0:14:44.160
<v Speaker 1>a little bit of a misconception that UM private Lebel

0:14:44.200 --> 0:14:49.160
<v Speaker 1>credit cards are mostly UM subprime. That's actually not true.

0:14:49.760 --> 0:14:53.760
<v Speaker 1>We've changed our book dramatically from the last recession, and

0:14:54.120 --> 0:14:56.680
<v Speaker 1>our book is is much much higher facous than it

0:14:56.800 --> 0:15:00.520
<v Speaker 1>was back then. It's uh, you know, um, I would say,

0:15:00.520 --> 0:15:03.600
<v Speaker 1>I would say, you know, mid time type of customers

0:15:03.640 --> 0:15:07.080
<v Speaker 1>who so your point, do need these cards? Um, And

0:15:07.160 --> 0:15:09.880
<v Speaker 1>you know, we think we manage those those cards well

0:15:09.920 --> 0:15:12.120
<v Speaker 1>and we treat our customers with great respect. You know,

0:15:12.200 --> 0:15:15.960
<v Speaker 1>it's important for us to support the brand. And you know,

0:15:16.040 --> 0:15:18.800
<v Speaker 1>when we do get customers who are in trouble, we

0:15:18.800 --> 0:15:20.520
<v Speaker 1>we definitely are trying to do the right thing to

0:15:20.520 --> 0:15:24.440
<v Speaker 1>help them along the way. And so, from a very

0:15:24.440 --> 0:15:29.160
<v Speaker 1>practical perspective, Margaret, how does your company specifically get back

0:15:29.200 --> 0:15:31.600
<v Speaker 1>to the office. I'm very sensitive about saying, you know,

0:15:31.680 --> 0:15:35.080
<v Speaker 1>back to work because we know everybody's working hard, uh

0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:38.120
<v Speaker 1>in many ways. But but what does the office look

0:15:38.200 --> 0:15:42.160
<v Speaker 1>like for you? I believe you're probably not coming back

0:15:42.160 --> 0:15:45.680
<v Speaker 1>to work until at least September? Is that right? Yeah?

0:15:45.720 --> 0:15:49.119
<v Speaker 1>We put to September out there. You know. Look, I think, um,

0:15:49.200 --> 0:15:51.520
<v Speaker 1>we're going to be very cautious about this. I think

0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:54.960
<v Speaker 1>it's uh just responsible to make sure we have the

0:15:55.040 --> 0:15:58.000
<v Speaker 1>right protocols in place before we even think about putting

0:15:58.000 --> 0:16:00.240
<v Speaker 1>people back in the office. I do say in the

0:16:00.320 --> 0:16:03.400
<v Speaker 1>mix of people in office versus at home is gonna

0:16:03.440 --> 0:16:06.000
<v Speaker 1>dramatically change for us. I think we've learned through this

0:16:06.040 --> 0:16:08.640
<v Speaker 1>process that we can work from home, you know. And

0:16:08.680 --> 0:16:11.840
<v Speaker 1>I think probably the the one area that to me

0:16:12.000 --> 0:16:15.160
<v Speaker 1>has been really fantastic to see is you know, we

0:16:15.280 --> 0:16:17.280
<v Speaker 1>moved We moved all our call center folks to home,

0:16:17.360 --> 0:16:20.040
<v Speaker 1>work at home. We had a subset of people who

0:16:20.040 --> 0:16:22.840
<v Speaker 1>are working at home before the crisis, um, but we

0:16:22.920 --> 0:16:25.680
<v Speaker 1>pretty much were able to move everybody home. And look,

0:16:25.680 --> 0:16:28.720
<v Speaker 1>we're gonna be thoughtful, We're gonna start out with volunteers,

0:16:28.720 --> 0:16:31.960
<v Speaker 1>We're going to test our processes, um. But I would

0:16:31.960 --> 0:16:34.640
<v Speaker 1>say in general, I think we'll have less a lot

0:16:34.720 --> 0:16:37.560
<v Speaker 1>less people in in our offices and were at home

0:16:37.600 --> 0:16:39.240
<v Speaker 1>as we go through this. So we're looking at our

0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:42.440
<v Speaker 1>footprint what makes sense? I mean an important part here

0:16:42.480 --> 0:16:44.400
<v Speaker 1>and this is the part I think that's unknown right

0:16:44.440 --> 0:16:46.440
<v Speaker 1>now that we've got to figure out, you know, is

0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:48.720
<v Speaker 1>how do you keep your culture, how do you keep

0:16:48.720 --> 0:16:51.480
<v Speaker 1>your identity, How do you make sure people are feeling

0:16:51.520 --> 0:16:55.360
<v Speaker 1>belonged to something bigger, um and and how do we

0:16:55.440 --> 0:16:58.000
<v Speaker 1>make sure we have those processes in place? Now? We

0:16:58.120 --> 0:17:01.120
<v Speaker 1>had that in place where the people we had working

0:17:01.120 --> 0:17:03.680
<v Speaker 1>at home. It's very different when you have seventeen thousand

0:17:03.680 --> 0:17:06.080
<v Speaker 1>people working at house. So you know, we want to

0:17:06.080 --> 0:17:08.000
<v Speaker 1>make sure we're doing this in a in a fawful way.

0:17:08.520 --> 0:17:11.080
<v Speaker 1>I have to say that was the number. That was

0:17:11.160 --> 0:17:12.960
<v Speaker 1>the number one thing that came up on a conversation

0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:15.159
<v Speaker 1>I had with CEOs earlier today. It's all about culture,

0:17:15.200 --> 0:17:17.479
<v Speaker 1>like how do you keep that going? So it's interesting

0:17:17.480 --> 0:17:20.120
<v Speaker 1>to hear that from you as well. All right, Margaret Kane,

0:17:20.160 --> 0:17:21.880
<v Speaker 1>thank you so much, really good to catch up with you.

0:17:21.920 --> 0:17:25.000
<v Speaker 1>The CEO of Synchrony Financial joining us on the phone

0:17:25.200 --> 0:17:27.920
<v Speaker 1>from Connecticut, A, you know, what are these companies? We've

0:17:27.960 --> 0:17:30.760
<v Speaker 1>been saying this all afternoon, Carol, and some ways used

0:17:30.760 --> 0:17:34.280
<v Speaker 1>to be part of ge uh everybody like so so

0:17:34.320 --> 0:17:37.440
<v Speaker 1>many people touched this company and vice versas. So getting

0:17:37.480 --> 0:17:40.800
<v Speaker 1>her insights into the consumer I think was interesting and

0:17:40.880 --> 0:17:42.240
<v Speaker 1>I have to say some of the souf she said

0:17:42.280 --> 0:17:45.680
<v Speaker 1>surprised me on the upside. Yeah, totally, you know, absolutely

0:17:45.720 --> 0:17:48.400
<v Speaker 1>in terms of you know, consumers spending and where people

0:17:48.400 --> 0:17:50.040
<v Speaker 1>what we're you know, where people are committing money at

0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:51.440
<v Speaker 1>this point, a really great conversation