The relationships we form with our customers provide us with
a distinct competitive advantage in the financial services marketplace. Our
relationship managers are known for their ingenuity, flexibility, responsiveness,
and attention to detail.
They are seasoned professionals whose experience level is among the financial
services industry’s highest. By staying
close to our customers, we are able to provide them with the solutions, products
and quality services that help them
be successful.
We have included some examples of our outstanding customer relationships in the pages that follow this letter.
Comerica’s relationship model has flourished in several niche markets. These include financial services, municipalities, heavy equipment dealers, title and escrow companies, and private equity-sponsored companies. We are expanding these specialty areas to all of our markets.
We do an excellent job training and rewarding our relationship managers to cross-sell the bank’s products and services. Based on a recent customer survey of our middle-market customers in three of our major markets, overall customer satisfaction is high. This is evident in the fact that on average, Comerica captures 92 percent of its customers’ total treasury management business. That’s very high, given that customers are willing to give a maximum of 97 percent of their treasury management business to a single provider. In fact, Comerica received very strong scores for ease of doing business and for the depth of our products and services.
Wealth and institutional management provides another example of our ability to increase the depth of customer relationships from cross-selling other bank products and services. Our wealth and institutional management strategy is consistent with Comerica’s core strength: It starts with a relationship-based sales model. To that, we add strong investment performance and customized and flexible solutions for our customers.
Comerica’s focus on relationships also extends to the communities where we do business. Through contributions, employee volunteerism and partnerships, we are helping to make a difference in the communities we serve. In 2006, we provided nearly $16 million to not-for-profit organizations nationwide, including nearly $9 million from the Comerica Charitable Foundation. We also raised $2.4 million in employee pledges for United Way and the Black United Fund.
In summary, our strategy for success is working and delivering solid results, thanks in large part to our employees, who are committed to our vision of helping people be successful. Our businesses continue to grow. We’re beginning to move the needle on the balance of our earnings mix, and we expect those results to accelerate. We believe a balanced growth strategy will produce more stable and consistent earnings over time. In this competitive environment, relationships matter the most. We expect to continue to see the benefits of this approach as we apply our relationship-based model to our growth products and markets.
We believe the result will be a bank with an improving growth rate; a more stable, more diversified mix of revenues; and excellent credit management. Combining that with an attractive dividend payout and capital management program provides a formula for solid returns to our shareholders.
Ralph W. Babb, Jr.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer