2003 Annual Report: Raising the Bar for Consumers (Page 3 of 5)

With this increasing growth in customer delight and sales under way, we've expanded our franchise by opening the first 150 of the 550 new or renovated banking centers we plan to build by 2006. This included our return to Chicago's retail market with the first five of 50 planned centers.

We also used the opportunity to rethink our banking center design, based on extensive customer research. As a result, our newly built banking centers look and feel more like retail establishments than traditional banks, with associates on the sales floor rather than behind desks.

Design features in our newer banking centers include:

• Open floor plans to reduce barriers between customers and bank associates;
• Host stations just inside the front door so that associates can welcome and direct customers;
• Advanced technology, such as safe deposit boxes accessed through electronic palm scanners;
• Customer lounge areas with comfortable seating, television news programming and financial publications; and
• Glass-enclosed rooms for more private discussions with customers.

We test these features and conduct formal "voice of the customer" research to continually improve our stores and create a truly welcoming, useful environment wherever our customers visit us. Even with the remarkable growth in online and telephone banking, neighborhood banking centers play a fundamental role in sales and service and continue to generate the most new customer relationships.