JPMorgan in talks with Apple to take over its credit card program: Report

JPMorgan Chase is talking with Apple about taking over the tech giant's credit-card program from Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

The discussions started earlier this year and have advanced in recent weeks, but a deal could still be months away, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. Key details, including price, are still to be negotiated.

Goldman Sachs declined to comment, while JPMorgan and Apple did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Goldman and Apple reportedly pulled the plug last year on their partnership, which included credit cards and savings accounts.

The Wall Street giant is facing a costly exit from the partnership that is seen by other lenders as too risky and unprofitable, sources told Reuters in December last year.

After its foray into consumer banking flopped, Goldman has refocused on its traditional mainstays - investment banking and trading. The consumer business that CEO David Solomon championed has lost billions of dollars.

The card, launched in 2019, was one of the hallmarks of Solomon's consumer banking strategy. But the Wall Street titan, which typically deals with wealthy clients, had little experience with less affluent customers, analysts have said.

The two companies granted cards to customers with lower credit scores in an attempt to boost revenue, a source told Reuters last year.

The card offered perks like "no fees" and cashback. But Goldman had to set aside bigger provisions for bad loans, leading to higher paper losses for its consumer business.

Goldman is also exiting a credit-card partnership with automaker General Motors. Earlier this month, Solomon dismissed the notion that the bank's early exit with GM was messy, saying the bank had anticipated the problems.

Investors have supported Goldman's attempt to refocus on its Wall Street operations, pushing its stock up nearly 27 per cent so far this year.