SynchronyFinancial reported second-quarter net earnings attributable tocommon shareholders of $489 million, or 58 cents per share, compared with $541million, or 65 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

The S&P Capital IQ consensus GAAP EPS estimate for thequarter was 54 cents.

Net interest income climbed to $3.21 billion in the secondquarter from $2.91 billion in the prior-year period. The increase was primarilyattributed to strong loan receivables growth.

Period-end loan receivables were $68.28 billion in thesecond quarter, up from $61.43 billion in the year-ago period. The increase wasdriven by purchase volume growth of 9% and average active account growth of 8%.

Net charge-offs as percentage of total average loanreceivables, including held for sale, were 4.49%, compared with 4.63% in theyear-ago quarter.

Provision for loan losses rose to $1.02 billion in thesecond quarter from $740 million in the prior-year quarter due to higher loanloss reserve build and loan receivables growth.