A letter to our shareholders
Over the years, U.S. Bank has built a reputation for being a company that does the right thing, delivers consistent results, and drives value for and earns trust with our various stakeholders. We are keeping our focus on the long term, while managing the short term effectively. We are proud of our proven record of responding to the environment and ensuring that our actions keep us on the right track for long-term success.
That commitment to being both responsive and proactive was on full display throughout 2023.
Optimism and confidence were high heading into the new year, on the heels of regulatory approval for and the closing of our Union Bank transaction. Much of our early planning for 2023 focused on integration and conversion, and refining efforts we had introduced the prior year as we accelerated our growth efforts.
That focus shifted quickly, however, when the crisis of confidence in the banking industry that began with the failure of Silicon Valley Bank demanded our primary attention. The implications stemming from that catalyst drove refinements to our strategic priorities, focusing our attention on client needs, a heightened regulatory environment, and increased expectations within the industry around capital and liquidity requirements. More than ever, setting a clear direction for where, when and how we would grow profitability while strengthening our balance sheet and enabling and safeguarding our customers was important.
Our strategic priorities evolved to keep pace with the changes in the external environment. This kind of reflection always requires a certain level of give-and-take. We paused some efforts and accelerated others. We put more energy into areas of the business that provided near-term results given current customer needs, and we pulled back – temporarily – on others that were more capital-intensive or with a longer runway for return on investment. We pushed our teams for prudent expense management and optimization.
Leading us through this time was a strong management team, fortified by a succession plan that we enacted as it was needed. Early in 2023, for instance, we announced several leadership changes given the retirements of three of our Managing Committee members. This afforded us the opportunity to elevate new leaders to our executive leadership team, enhance the roles others have, and leverage the moment to create synergies within our structure.
