SunTrust 2004 Annual Report Download - page 6

C l e a r l y, S u n T rust is not the o n l y financial services prov i d e r
these days talking about “customer focus.” In our case,
however, we havededicated significant resources to
identifying with great precision what our clients expect
from us. In turn, we use that information to deliver a
better client experience across our business units. And
we employ a distinctive operating model to help
achieve that goal.
Specifically, we are organized to deliver SunTrust’s “big
bank” products and service capabilities with the speed
and re s p o n s i veness that come with local decision making.
Through extensive research, our clients – consumers,
businesses, wealthy clients and institutions – indicate
we are succeeding.
People Who Care
The credit for our success goes to our people. Clients t e l l
us they perceive SunTrust employees as people who
g e n u i n e l y care about doing the right thing for their clients,
with the commitment to get it done. This insight inspire d
a new expression of our corporate mission – “to help
people and institutions pro s p e r ” – that is communicated
throughout the organization and that also provides
the basis for brand positioning in the marke t p l a c e .
We were gratified bythe results of a comprehensive
e m p l o yee survey undertaken in 2004 that indicated t h a t
an unusually high proportion of S u n Trust employees “care
about the Company” and are “engaged” in our business
–which means taking our clients’ interests to heart.
Perhaps nothing highlights the spirit of S u n Trust people
more vividly than the outpouring of support for our
communities and colleagues in the aftermath of seve r a l
s e ve re hurricanes that hit our markets, most notably
Florida, in mid-2004. Employees f rom across o u r
Co m p a ny w o r ked long hours to mobilize re s o u rces, pro-
v i d e recovery assistance, address critical client needs,
and quickly get our offices up and running.
To ensure that we remain an employer of choice, S u n Tr u s t
took several popular steps including expanding the inve s t-
m e n t choices in the Co m p a ny’s 401(k) Plan and incre a s i n g
the Company’s portion of healthcare costs. Experience
tells us the return on this type of investment will be a
good one.
Final Word
This letter traditionally concludes with an expression
of thanks to our employees. This year is no exc e p t i o n .
S u n Trust men and women did a great job d u r i n g
2004 in serving our clients, running our business
efficiently, contributing to our communities and repre-
senting our organization in a way that should make
shareholders proud.
We also wish to thank our Directors for their support
during a year that,while not as difficult business-wise
as some in the recent past, was not without its challenges.
Heightened regulatory and market scrutinyof corpo-
rate governance practices is a fact of life for SunTrust
as it is for all publicly held companies. We are f o r t u n a t e
to be able to draw upon the resources of an experi-
enced and dedicated Board as we deal with issues re l a t e d
to a new, and still evolving, compliance environment.
Finally, we recognizethat shareholders make a choice
when they invest in S u n Tr u s t . In the end, our highest
priority – the one we keep in mind every day – is d o i n g
all we can to see that our shareholders’ inve s t m e n t
choice is properly rewarded. We worked hardon this
priority in 2004 and it showed in the ye a r’s results. O u r
efforts are only intensifying. If all goes according to
plan – which is never a given in our industry – we look
forward to reporting another year of improved results
in 2005.
Thank you for your interest in SunTrust.
L. Phillip Humann
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
James M. Wells III
President and Chief Operating Officer
4S U N T R U S T 2 0 0 4 A N N U A L R E P O R T
Our corporate mission – “to help
people and institutions prosper” –
is communicated t h ro u g h o u t
t h e organization.