Ex-Discover Star Sues Over Pay Clawback Before $35 Billion Deal
- Executive says she was scapegoated to pass regulatory scrutiny
- Suit spotlights overcharging headache amid Capital One merger
A former top executive at Discover Financial Services has accused the credit card company of wrongly clawing back millions of dollars in compensation and using her as a “scapegoat” to assuage regulators ahead of its $35 billion merger with Capital One Financial Corp.
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Chicago, Diane Offereins alleges that Discover acted months after she retired from a 25-year career at the digital bank. Offereins, 66, joined Discover as chief information officer before expanding a payments network that became the envy of lenders on Wall Street and a major draw for Capital One. When the company publicly announced her retirement in March 2023, the chief executive officer at the time paid tribute to her legacy, and a Partner of the Year award was created in her honor.