Synchrony Financial sold its $3.8 billion Gap credit card portfolio to Barclays in a deal expected to close at the beginning of the year. Barclays will become the official credit card provider for Gap and its other other retail brands in May 2022 after Synchrony and Gap could not reach an agreement on continuing their partnership.

Synchrony Financial is boosting its minimum wage to $20 an hour beginning in August, which will affect more than 5,000 of the bank's employees, according to president and CEO Brian Doubles. The bank's current minimum wage is $15 an hour.

Synchrony Financial has gone against the prevailing trend in the US banking sector by saying its workers can choose whether to work remotely or in the office. The lender plans to shed a substantial amount of real estate and offer staff the option of permanent remote work, or working from sites where a desk can be booked on an ad-hoc basis.

Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser made history when she became the first woman to lead a major Wall Street bank on March 1, but many other banks have made changes to top leadership in the past few months. Brian Doubles will become CEO of Synchrony Financial on April 1; Kevin Cronin will take the helm at MUFG Americas Holdings Corp later this month; and former Consumer Bankers Association chairs Nitin Mhatre and Andrew Harmening have been tapped to lead Berkshire Hills Bancorp and Associated Banc-Corp, respectively.