US Bank 2015 Annual Report Download - page 7

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and a community connected through
culture, recreation and play — continue to
be at the heart of possibility for all of us.
In addition to more than 255,000
volunteer hours and more than
$25.4million in foundation grants, our
Community Development Corporation
(CDC) invested $4.4 billion in the
revitalization of communities and
economic centers across the country.
That’s why we are recognized every
year by organizations like Junior
Achievement, Americans for the Arts,
United Way and local Chambers of
Commerce as well as civic partners for
making our communities better.
We make possible happen for our
employees by investing in our collective
vision and skills to create value for
shareholders and customers while
building productive and successful
careers. We are one U.S. Bank. We
make sound nancial decisions for the
enterprise that protect our employees
when the external environment
becomes unsteady, like it was in 2015,
such as delaying spending and hiring
instead of reducing our workforce.
Likewise, we make sound nancial
decisions for the enterprise that
allow us to support and cultivate our
employees’ futures. We recently made
every employee a shareholder of U.S.
Bancorp by awarding an appreciation
stock grant — because we believe in
the power of ownership and we want
our employees to know their role
as visionaries for our future, with a
personal stake in our success.
That’s why U.S. Bancorp’s employee
engagement scores remain in the
top quartile of all companies, across
all industries and across all regions
of the world.
The Power of Possible:
Make Value Happen
I am extremely proud of the remarkable
nancial performance that U.S.
Bancorp delivered in 2015 and the
value we created for our shareholders.
Remarkable, because it was a year
underscored by persistent and
historically low interest rates, modest
economic growth, increasing
regulatory requirements and rapidly
evolving customer needs and
expectations. More than any year in
recent history, 2015 required strong
management focus and conviction as
we balanced decisions about operating
efciencies with opportunities for
investing in future growth.
U.S. Bancorp rose to that challenge,
delivering record net income and record
diluted EPS for the year and returning
72 percent of our 2015 earnings to
shareholders through dividends and
share buybacks. In addition, our return
on average assets (ROA), return on
average equity (ROE) and efciency
ratio continued to lead the industry.
As we managed the twists and
turns of a challenging 2015, we also
positioned ourselves for growth as
we head into 2016 — as was indicated
by our record fourth quarter revenue
driven by continued momentum in
payment-related fees, increasing loan
growth and stable net interest margin.
We also made solid progress toward
achieving positive operating leverage
as we nished 2015, due to our
continued focus on prudent expense
management.
The Power of Possible:
Make Growth Happen
With a solid foundation established,
we are well positioned for growth in the
years ahead. Our business footprint
is attractive, with leadership in the
most growth-oriented marketplaces
that we have chosen to compete in,
including Payments, Treasury Services,
Wholesale Banking, Consumer and
Small Business Banking and Wealth
Management. And, our capital position
is strong — having exceptional capital
ratios and among the world’s best debt
ratings in the banking industry.