(Reuters) -Consumer lender Ally Financial has agreed to sell its credit card business to credit and payments firm CardWorks, the companies said on Wednesday. Shares of Ally jumped 8.6% in premarket trading.

Key Takeaways Ally Financial posted fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that topped estimates as it reduced expenses.CEO Michael Rhodes said Ally "took significant action" in the quarter to improve its finances.

CardWorks agreed to buy the business, including a $2.3 billion credit-card loan portfolio with 1.3 million active cardholders as of the end of last year, Ally said. Additional terms of the deal weren’t disclosed in a Wednesday statement, but Ally paid around $750 million for the business in 2021. Bloomberg reported on the pending sale in November.

Ally Financial (ALLY) stock jumped 8.6%in Wednesday premarket trading after the lender posted stronger-than-expected Q4 results and announced an agreement to sell its card business.

Sale enables Ally to be more focused on its core businesses; acquisition enhances CardWorks' position as a leading credit card issuer and servicer

The auto lender is selling its credit card business and halting new mortgage loans, abandoning its once-broader ambitions. Ally CEO touted the move as "the power of focus."

Ally Financial Inc. reached a deal to offload its credit-card unit to CardWorks Inc., bowing out of a business it entered just over three years ago.

Plans for the sale were hinted at earlier this year, a month after the CEO said the business wasn’t within Ally’s core focus.

Auto lender Ally Financial said Wednesday that it's officially ending its foray into credit cards under a broader restructuring, even as credit issues in its flagship auto loan business showed signs of waning.