Dive Brief:
- U.S. Bank and Edward Jones have teamed up to provide the latter’s clients with access to the bank’s products, beginning in late 2025, the bank said Wednesday.
- Through the partnership, Edward Jones’ 19,000 advisers will be able to offer their U.S. clients co-branded U.S. Bank checking and credit card products.
- The development comes after Edward Jones’ previous bank partner, Citi, ditched its plans to offer checking and savings products through the investment company.
Dive Insight:
One year ago, Edward Jones announced a partnership with Citi that featured a similar premise: Through the bank, Edward Jones would be able to offer checking and savings accounts to its U.S. clients, beginning this year.
But that partnership was part of Citi Alliance, a program the bank’s wealth division launched in 2022 and disbanded in 2023, an Edward Jones spokesperson said Wednesday.
Citi began a wide-ranging reorganization in September 2023 and has been unflinching in some of the business decisions it’s made to cut costs and boost profit.
Citi’s new head of wealth, Andy Sieg, started that month and has spearheaded a turnaround in the previously struggling division.
“We are focusing our Wealth priorities on our core clients, businesses and products,” a Citi spokesperson said in a statement, confirming that the bank wound down the Citi Alliance business and didn’t move forward with its Edward Jones partnership.
The bank partnerships follow St. Louis-based Edward Jones’ earlier attempt to obtain its own charter. In 2020, the investment firm, which serves about 8 million clients, sought to enter the banking space on its own, pursuing an industrial loan company charter similar to what payments behemoth Block (formerly Square) had received.
Edward Jones withdrew its application in 2022, however, citing “the current environment” and “recent conversations” with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as reasons for ditching its bid for an ILC.
The Edward Jones spokesperson didn’t respond to a question on whether the company intends to pursue an ILC in the future.
“We have been fully committed to delivering comprehensive saving, spending and borrowing capabilities and are excited to partner with U.S. Bank to help our clients save, spend, invest and borrow in a coordinated way to help them achieve financially what is most important to them,” the Edward Jones spokesperson said in an email.
For Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank, the tie is another effort to broaden its reach, putting its banking products in front of more potential customers. In 2020, the super-regional bank linked with insurance provider State Farm to offer deposit and credit card products to consumers and small businesses.
U.S. Bank has had a relationship with Edward Jones since 2012, issuing the company’s credit card through its Elan Financial Services division. The new co-branded cards will offer “enhanced rewards” for consumer and small business customers, the bank said.
