Consumer Banking is our most visible line of business, and AmSouth is a regional leader in several aspects, including our ATM network and lending. That leadership has been built by bankers, like Maurice Butler, who provide personalized attention supported by the resources of a large, regional bank. It’s service you would expect in a small town combined with the freedom to use any of nearly 1,250 ATMs or 600 branches across the Southeast.

In focusing on continuing our aggressive growth in Consumer Banking, we plan to take several actions.

We also plan to boost our core deposits by continuing to develop innovative products and pricing them competitively. In 2000, we introduced five new deposit products and aggressively marketed CDs, driving traffic to our branches and creating opportunities to provide more services.

To grow Consumer Banking, we will also add new households and deepen the relationships we have with existing customers by uncovering unmet needs and providing products to fill them.

We will increase our equity lending portfolio. We’ve shown that we can grow this type of loan, and we plan to build on that success. The prospects for continuing this growth are excellent: it’s a solid portfolio for the bank and a product of choice for customers because of the convenience and tax deductions. And we’ve only begun to tap the homeowners in our markets. That’s a great combination.

By increasing the number of products each customer uses, we’ll have a customer base that is more loyal and generates more revenue.

Like our other initiatives, this one will build on our proven success. Look at our track record with CheckCards —more than 1 million AmSouth customers now carry this convenient card.

To be successful, we must focus on providing superior service and competitive products and understanding what’s important to our customers.