Discover 2015 Annual Report Download - page 17

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Part I.
Part I | Item 1. Business
Introduction
Discover Financial Services ("DFS" or the "Company") is a direct banking and payment services company. We
were incorporated in Delaware in 1960. We are a bank holding company under the Bank Holding Company Act of
1956 as well as a financial holding company under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and therefore are subject to oversight,
regulation and examination by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”). We
provide direct banking products and services and payment services through our subsidiaries. We offer our customers
credit card loans, private student loans, personal loans, home equity loans and deposit products. We had $72.4 billion
in loan receivables and $30.9 billion in deposits issued through direct-to-consumer channels and affinity relationships
at December 31, 2015. We also operate the Discover Network, the PULSE network (“PULSE”) and Diners Club
International (“Diners Club”). The Discover Network processes transactions for Discover-branded credit cards and
provides payment transaction processing and settlement services. PULSE operates an electronic funds transfer network,
providing financial institutions issuing debit cards on the PULSE network with access to ATMs domestically and
internationally, as well as point-of-sale ("POS") terminals at retail locations throughout the U.S. for debit card
transactions. Diners Club is a global payments network of licensees, which are generally financial institutions, that issue
Diners Club branded charge cards and/or provide card acceptance services.
Available Information
We make available, free of charge through the investor relations page of our internet site www.discover.com, our
annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, proxy statements, Forms 3,
4 and 5 filed by or on behalf of directors and executive officers, and any amendments to those documents filed with or
furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
These filings are available as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed with or furnished to the SEC.
In addition, the following information is available on the investor relations page of our internet site: (i) our
Corporate Governance Policies; (ii) our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct; and (iii) the charters of the Audit,
Compensation and Leadership Development, Nominating and Governance, and Risk Oversight Committees of our
board of directors. These documents are also available in print without charge to any person who requests them by
writing or telephoning our principal executive offices: Discover Financial Services, Office of the Corporate Secretary,
2500 Lake Cook Road, Riverwoods, Illinois 60015, U.S.A., telephone number [phone].
Operating Model
We manage our business activities in two segments: Direct Banking and Payment Services. Our Direct Banking
segment includes consumer banking and lending products, specifically Discover-branded credit cards issued to
individuals on the Discover Network and other consumer banking products and services, including private student
loans, personal loans, home equity loans, and other consumer lending and deposit products. We announced the
closure of our mortgage origination business in June 2015 as described in Note 3: Business Dispositions to our
consolidated financial statements. Our Payment Services segment includes PULSE, Diners Club and our Network
Partners business, which provides payment transaction processing and settlement services on the Discover Network.
We are principally engaged in providing products and services to customers in the United States, although the
royalty and licensee revenue we receive from Diners Club licensees is mainly derived from sources outside of the United
States. For quantitative information concerning our geographic distribution, see Note 5: Loan Receivables to our
consolidated financial statements.
Below are descriptions of the principal products and services of each of our reportable segments. For additional
financial information relating to our business and our operating segments, see Note 23: Segment Disclosures to our
consolidated financial statements.
Direct Banking
Set forth below are descriptions of our credit cards, student loans, personal loans, home equity loans and deposit
products. For additional information regarding the terms and conditions of these products, see "— Product Terms and
Conditions."