Other paths to growth. As I've written here before, we believe the best companies have the skills, knowledge, resources and will to pursue multiple paths to growth. Each of the activities I've highlighted below represents a key part of our overall strategy for growth - by expanding the franchise, investing in a fast-growing economic sector, claiming a leadership role in a key product category or helping to strengthen the communities in which we do business.

Acquisitions
Our acquisition of LaSalle, which closed last October, brings our company several immediate advantages. We now hold leading market positions in both Chicago and Detroit, the third and 10th largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in the United States, respectively. We can greatly expand on the range of services available to our new consumer and commercial customers in these markets. Greatly heightened visibility in these markets also creates opportunities for our wealth management business.

Our acquisition strategy over the past several years has been tightly focused on the markets that, according to extensive research, have the greatest potential to produce growth for our company in the coming years. We have methodically built leading positions in the most important wealth and growth markets, cornerstone products and key distribution areas to drive the company's future growth.

These include our acquisitions of FleetBoston (2004), MBNA (2006), U.S. Trust (2007), LaSalle (2007) and, later this year, Countrywide.

Countrywide Financial Corporation
In January, we agreed to acquire Countrywide Financial Corporation, a transaction we anticipate will close early in the third quarter of this year. This transaction will make Bank of America the nation's leading mortgage lender and loan servicer, adding another key asset to what has become a long list of financial products and services in which we hold a lead market position.

I've had a lot of people ask me why we chose to do this now. My answer is that now is the time - the price is right, and the deep due diligence we performed confirmed our belief that there is great long-term value embedded in Countrywide's business. Countrywide has excellent technology, a huge distribution network and extremely talented associates who will help us build the best mortgage business in the country. The mortgage sector is weak today, but I'm confident that home ownership in America is a market we'll be happy to lead over the long term.

Financing the "green economy"
Earlier this year, our company announced a 10-year, $20 billion initiative to support the growth of environmentally sustainable business activity. Much of this initiative involves efforts to reduce the environmental impact of our own operations and to build "green partnerships" with environmental groups, government agencies and our friends in the business community.

What I am most excited about, though, is that the emerging and fast-growing green economy has the potential to drive future growth for our company. Fifty years from now, it's likely that many of our current technologies will be obsolete, replaced by innovations that provide for greater sustainability. We are working with clients in existing and emerging industries to finance these new technologies, and the vast majority of our $20 billion goal is dedicated to this activity.

We believe the United States should be at the forefront of this economic change, building the new industries that will lead the world to a cleaner, greener and more prosperous future. There is huge economic opportunity embedded in this shift, and Bank of America will benefit greatly from our decision to lead.

Strong communities, strong markets
One of the most important ways we apply knowledge, insight and innovation to grow the company is through the work we do to strengthen our communities.

Through our Neighborhood Excellence Initiative™ (NEI), part of the Bank of America Charitable Foundation's 10-year, $1.5 billion goal for giving, we are creating a new approach to corporate philanthropy, including a focus on local priorities, funding flexibility and leadership development. Our associates also showed their leadership in community support, as the bank matched more than $20 million in 2007 in volunteer grants and associate gifts. The Foundation in 2007 again donated more than $200 million overall.

We are excited about opportunities in 2008 to extend our philanthropic model into new markets in Illinois and Michigan, to sustain LaSalle's generous level of giving, and to expand our community development work as we continue ahead of schedule on our 10-year, $750 billion community development goal. We view all these activities as the best examples of "doing well by doing good" - raising our visibility, building our brand, cultivating relationships and strengthening the neighborhoods on whose prosperity our success depends.

Next: Looking toward the future