iBank – Company Writeup

American Express
About Company: (www.americanexpress.com)
American Express (Amex) is one of the largest providers of travel related services, payment
services, financial advisory services and banking services in the world. Together with its
subsidiaries, Amex provides financial products and services to individuals, businesses,
corporations and institutions. It has a worldwide presence, although the company’s chief market is
the US. Following the spin-off of its subsidiary Ameriprise in the fiscal year 2005, the company
realigned its operations and now conducts its operations through four business divisions, which
are US card services; international card and global commercial services; global network and
merchant services; and corporate and other.
WWRIM: World Wide Risk & Information Management
Executive team
Kenneth I Chenault, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Executive Board
Daniel Henry Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Edward P Gilligan Vice Chairman, AmEx Company and Group CEO, B2B

Company Locations

American Express primarily operates in the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific. It is headquartered in
New York City, New York.

Worldwide operations in close 90 countries.

Product / Services
Personal
• Cards
• Financial Services (Deposit Accounts, Investment Services, Loans, Insurances)
• Travel Services (Travelers Cheques, Travel Services)

Business
• Financial Services (Accounts & Deposits, Investment, Trade & Forex Services)
• Corporations (Corporate Card, Corporate Travel)
• Merchants (Online Merchant Services, Promotional Materials etc)
Customers/Clients
Corporate and Individuals

Competitors
The following companies are the major competitors of American Express Company:
• Bank of America Corporation
• Capital One Financial Corporation
• Citigroup Inc.
• HSBC Holdings plc
• JP Morgan Chase & Co
• KeyCorp

Final Placements Page 1 of 2

 COMPANY WRITEUP
• MBNA Corporation
• Morgan Stanley
• TUI AG
• Metris Companies, Inc.
• CompuCredit Corporation
• MasterCard Incorporated
• Visa International
• First Banks Inc.
• Pocket Card Co., Ltd.
Financials
The company recorded revenues of $26.73 billion during the fiscal year 2009, from its total $620
billion in total consumer transactions. For the third quarter of 2010, American Express had total net
income of $1.1 billion, a 71% increase from its 2009 third quarter net income of $640 million. A significant
driver of the increase in profits was due to American Express decreasing its provision for loan losses, as its
provisions were only $373 million compared to $1.2 billion a year ago.
SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weaknesses
Strong market position Relatively lower profit margins
Robust increase in spending per card Weaker presence in the debit card services
Strengthened top line Weak returns on resources
Opportunities Threats
Focus on high growth and high return Increased regulatory pressure on interchange
businesses rates
Better prospects for banking industry Consolidation in financial services industry
Untapped global consumer spending High interest rates in UK
Company’s culture
Since its founding in 1850, American Express has conducted business according to several
guiding principles that over the years have become inextricably linked with the company’s brand,
products, services and – perhaps most notably – its people. Generations before the phrase
“company values” entered the corporate lexicon, American Express employees across the
organization were demonstrating the same core principles upheld by the company today:
• Customer Commitment
• Quality
• Integrity
• Teamwork
• Respect for People
• Good Citizenship
• A Will to Win
• Personal Accountability
Recent Market Information

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