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Amy Woods Brinkley, Global Risk executive, and Alvaro G. de Molina, chief financial officer, above the Bank of America trading floor.
Seizing new opportunities. As I wrote above, our commitment to growth by one means does not preclude our ability to take advantage of growth opportunities by other means. In 2005 we again demonstrated our ability to act decisively and to maximize the value of the assets we acquire.
Our top priority from the beginning of the year was to complete our transition work in the Northeast related to our acquisition of Fleet. Through the spring and summer of ’05, we executed major systems conversions across all our lines of business, affecting thousands of associates and millions of customers and accounts, all without a significant hitch.
Then, in June, we agreed to acquire MBNA. The opportunities for growth in this acquisition are significant, from product and distribution benefits for customers, to revenue opportunities resulting from our combined strengths, to cost savings derived from consolidating our operations. For example, the combination of our distribution platform and customer base with MBNA’s products, affinity relationships and marketing expertise creates huge opportunities for our company.
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Barbara J. Desoer, Global Technology, Service and Fulfillment executive, and Milton H. Jones, Jr., Global Quality and Productivity executive, at the Bank of America Command Center.
As the largest issuer of credit and debit cards in the country, we will have the opportunity to lead in the ongoing evolution of the payments system in the United States. This leadership role will result in many benefits, including greater negotiating leverage with partners in the process and the ability to develop and deploy new capabilities and technologies in the payments system.
Also in the early summer, we agreed to buy 9 percent of the stock of China Construction Bank (CCB) for $3 billion, with an option to increase our stake to 19.9 percent in the future. Just as important, we have launched a consultative effort with CCB through which we will assist in their efforts to improve their operational efficiency and effectiveness and bring their financial management and governance processes in line with international standards.
Communities and leadership. As we pursue growth, we take our responsibility to our shareholders very seriously. And in considering how we grow, we take our responsibility to our communities just as seriously. I’d like to highlight the work we’re doing to strengthen our communities in two key areas: community development and philanthropic investment.
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