American Express 2008 Annual Report Download - page 3

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american express company
1
Virtually everyone has felt the effects of
the historic decline in real estate values, rising
unemployment, frozen credit markets and the
collapse of major financial institutions. I wish
I could tell you that American Express was
somehow immune from these forces. The reality
is that conditions were the worst we have seen in
many years, and our results were disappointing.
Earnings were down 33 percent from a
year ago, as cardmember spending slowed and
delinquencies rose. Clearly, our bottom-line
performance fell well short of our long-term
to our shareholders
in a year when the economy spiraled from
merely bad to the point of evoking comparisons
with the Great Depression, there was no escaping
the impact on our business.
targets. However, there are some things we
accomplished that, while modest when compared
to better years, demonstrate the resilience and
competitive strength of our company. In the face
of a global economic crisis, we earned $2.7 billion
in profits, grew revenues, enhanced our capital
position, invested in key capabilities, diversified
our funding sources and expanded our base of
high-quality customers.
We made many adjustments to navigate
through the worsening environment. At the same
time, we maintained a long-term view and took