Bread team photo

Alliance Data becomes Bread Financial

On March 23, Alliance Data Systems Corporation announced it would rename itself Bread Financial, effective immediately.

CEO and President Ralph Andretta said the rebrand signifies the growth and culmination of the last 18 months to become a modern, tech-forward financial services company.

“This is a turning point for the company, as our new brand represents the strategic direction of our business transformation to a modern, tech-forward financial services company,” Andretta said. “Combining the heart and hustle of a fintech with the discipline and stability of a well-established bank.”

The firm’s three prior brands, including Bread Payments, are now unified under the singular, cohesive Bread Financial brand. Alliance originally acquired Bread trademark at the end of 2020 through the purchase of Lon Inc. for about $450 million.

Tech-forward

“Bread Financial will remain laser-focused on delivering the innovative, omnichannel payment, lending, and saving solutions that consumers now demand; at every stage along their financial journeys,” Andretta said.

Bread Financial tech forward fin services
Bread Boasts tech-forward fin services.

The Columbus, Ohio-based firm said it provides personalized solutions to empower everyone to buy and save their way.

With a digitally enabled white-label product suite that includes installment loans, buy now, pay later, private label, and co-brand credit cards, Bread Financial said it offers access and control for b2b and consumers. 

“While we are changing our name and brand and broadening our strategic focus to include more direct-to-consumer products, the foundational elements that drove our decades-long success will remain intact,” EVP and CCO Valerie Greer said.

The rebranded company’s stock will begin trading under a new ticker symbol — BFH — on the New York Stock Exchange on April 4, 2022, from the old ADS ticker. Bread Financial’s two bank subsidiaries — Comenity Bank and Comenity Capital Bank — will retain their current names.

“Specifically, this milestone starts with our associates — the heart of our company — and our customer-focused, results-driven, award-winning culture,” Greer said.

“We will continue to build on our 30-year legacy of creating value for our partners, and as we transform, we will continue investing in data and analytics, innovative technology, and digital capabilities that meet the needs of our partners and consumers.”

  • Kevin Travers

    Intensely energetic news reporter asking questions covering the collision between Silicon Valley, Wall Street, and everywhere in-between. Studied history at the University of Delaware, learned to write at the Review, and debanked.