American Express 1998 Annual Report Download - page 9

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7
As we have stated, our goal over the next sev-
eral years is to expand our overseas operations to
the point where they contribute half of our earn-
ings (excluding Financial Advisors). That would
represent an increase from about one-third today.
Our aim is to achieve that level against a back-
drop of continued strong growth in the United
States, thus implying international expansion of
25 to 30 percent annually, on average. We fell
well short of that rate in 1998. The ongoing
economic difficulties in some countries mean
this goal will take longer to achieve than we orig-
inally thought.
States. These new products helped to increase our
customer base and the business billed on our
cards. This, in turn, fueled momentum in other
parts of the business, bolstering efforts to add
new merchants who accept our cards. The per-
centage of Cardmembers’ general purpose plastic
spending that can be accommodated on our mer-
chant network outside the United States reached
83 percent, up from 80 percent a year ago. That
number continues to climb.
Separately, we are refocusing American
Express Bank on businesses geared toward indi-
vidual clients: Personal Financial Services and
Private Banking.
American Express is enhancing the
way it works with financial advisors
and clients.We acquired Securities America, a
broker/dealer that will help form the basis of a new
platform that provides operating support and invest-
ment products to independent financial advisors. We
launched a new computer-based service that allows
advisors to generate more sophisticated financial
plans for their clients. Our 401(k) website now allows
participating employees at registered client compa-
nies to view their retirement accounts online.