Discover Financial
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| Type | Public |
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| Traded as | NYSE: DFS S&P 500 Component |
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 1985 as a subsidiary of Sears |
| Headquarters | Riverwoods, Illinois, U.S. |
| Key people | David Nelms (Chairman and CEO) |
| Products | Payment systems |
| Revenue |  US$3.452 billion (2010)[1] |
| Operating income | US$1.269 billion (2010)[1] |
| Net income | US$764.788 million (2010)[1] |
| Total assets |  US$60.785 billion (2010)[1] |
| Total equity | US$6.457 billion (2010)[1] |
| Employees | 10,300 (2010)[1] |
| Website | Discover.com |
Discover Financial Services is an American financial services company, which issues the Discover Card and operates the Discover and Pulse networks. Discover Card is the third largest credit card brand in the United States, when measured by cards in force, with nearly 50 million cardholders.
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[edit] History
The Discover Card was originally introduced by Sears in 1985, and was a unit of Dean Witter, which merged with Morgan Stanley in 1997. In 2007, the unit was spun off as an independent, publicly traded company. Today, Discover is headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Riverwoods, Illinois.
[edit] Discover acquires Diners Club
In April 2008, Discover Financial Services and Citigroup announced that Discover was purchasing the Diners Club network from Citi for $165 million. In May 2008, the Federal Trade Commission approved the transaction. The deal was completed on July 1, 2008.[2] Discover stated that the Diners Club network, which is a major network outside North America, will be merged with the Discover Network, a major network in North America, creating an international network for Discover Network cards and Diners Club cards. Diners Club cards will continue to be issued by Diners Club International licensees. Discover Bank has no plans on issuing Diners Club branded cards itself.
[edit] Competitors
In the United States, Discover, as a card brand, competes primarily with Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. Unlike Visa and MasterCard, Discover directly issues its cards, through its Discover Bank unit. Discover is the fourth largest credit card issuer, when measured by card balances, behind Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Citi, and ahead of Capital One and American Express.
[edit] Business
In addition to its card products, Discover also markets savings products, personal loans, and student loans. The company also began offering a Discover Debit card product directly to banks in 2006, through its Pulse interbank network, which Discover acquired in 2004.
[edit] Community Support and Outreach
In a partnership with the Midwest Young Artists Youth Music Conservatory in Fort Sheridan Illinois (http://www.mya.org) Discover Financial Services is the sole sponsor for the the Discover National Chamber Music Competition (http://www.mya.org/chambercomp.php) held annually at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois. The best pre-college chamber musicians from all over the country compete in the event, which will celebrate its 5th year in 2012. Discover Financial also donates consideration for the annual Midwest Young Artists Benefit and Raffle. In recognition of Discover's commitment to supporting music education in their community, the company will be honored with an award at the 2012 MYA Benefit Gala.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f "2010 Form 10-K, Discover Financial Services". United States Securities and Exchange Commission. http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1393612/000119312511014919/d10k.htm.
- ^ Miller, James P. (2008-07-01). "Discover completes purchase of Diners Club". Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chicago-discover-diners-club-jul1,0,3692336.story. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
[edit] External links
- Discover Card official credit card site
- Discover Bank official banking services site
- Discover Financial Services official corporate site
- Discover Network official merchant, acquirer, and issuer services site
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