US Bank 2009 Annual Report Download - page 132

National banks are subject to the supervision of, and
are examined by, the Comptroller of the Currency. All
subsidiary banks of the Company are members of the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) and are
subject to examination by the FDIC. In practice, the primary
federal regulator makes regular examinations of each
subsidiary bank subject to its regulatory review or
participates in joint examinations with other federal
regulators. Areas subject to regulation by federal authorities
include the allowance for credit losses, investments, loans,
mergers, issuance of securities, payment of dividends,
establishment of branches and other aspects of operations.
Website Access to SEC Reports U.S. Bancorp’s internet
website can be found at usbank.com. U.S. Bancorp makes
available free of charge on its website its annual reports on
Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports
on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or
furnished pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange
Act, as well as all other reports filed by U.S. Bancorp with
the United States Securities and Exchange Commission as
soon as reasonably practicable after electronically filed with,
or furnished to, the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission.
Risk Factors The following factors may adversely affect the
Company’s business, financial results or stock price.
Industry Risk Factors
Difficult business and economic conditions may continue to
adversely affect the financial services industry The
Company’s business activities and earnings are affected by
general business conditions in the United States and abroad.
The domestic and global economies have recently
experienced dramatic downturns, with negative effects on
the business, financial condition and results of operations of
financial institutions in the United States and other
countries, and a continuation or worsening of current
financial market conditions could materially and adversely
affect the Company’s business, financial condition, results of
operations, access to credit or the trading price of the
Company’s common stock. Dramatic declines in the housing
and commercial real estate markets over the past two years,
with falling real estate prices and increasing foreclosures and
unemployment, have negatively impacted the credit
performance of real estate related loans and resulted in
significant write-downs of asset values by financial
institutions. These write-downs have caused many financial
institutions to seek additional capital, to reduce or eliminate
dividends, to merge with larger and stronger institutions
and, in some cases, to fail. Market developments may
further erode consumer confidence levels and may cause
adverse changes in payment patterns, causing increases in
delinquencies and default rates, which may impact the
Company’s charge-offs and provision for credit losses.
Continuing economic deterioration that affects household
and/or corporate incomes could also result in reduced
demand for credit or fee-based products and services. A
worsening of these conditions would likely exacerbate the
adverse effects of these difficult market conditions on the
Company and others in the financial services industry.
The Company may be adversely affected by proposed
legislation and rulemaking The United States government
and the Company’s regulators have proposed legislation and
rules that would impact the Company, and the Company
expects to continue to face increased regulation. These laws
and regulations, as well as restrictions contained in current
or future rules implementing or related to them, may
adversely affect the Company. Specifically, any governmental
or regulatory action having the effect of requiring the
Company to obtain additional capital, whether from
governmental or private sources, could have a material
dilutive effect on current shareholders. The Company may
be required to pay significantly higher FDIC premiums
because market developments have depleted the insurance
fund of the FDIC and reduced the ratio of reserves to
insured deposits. Other proposals are pending that would
impose significant fees or assessments on large financial
institutions, including the Company. Legislation and
regulation of overdraft fees, credit cards and other bank
services, as well as changes in the Company’s practices
relating to those and other bank services, may affect the
Company’s revenue and other financial results. Other laws
and regulations are expected to have the effect of increasing
the Company’s costs of doing business and reducing its
revenues, and may limit its ability to pursue business
opportunities or otherwise adversely affect its business. The
Company faces increased regulation of its business and
increased costs associated with these programs.
Other changes in the laws, regulations and policies
governing financial services companies could alter the
Company’s business environment and adversely affect
operations The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System regulates the supply of money and credit in the
United States. Its fiscal and monetary policies determine in a
large part the Company’s cost of funds for lending and
investing and the return that can be earned on those loans
and investments, both of which affect the Company’s net
130 U.S. BANCORP