State Street's clients are the world's most sophisticated global investors, and our deep long-term relationships with them are a strategic advantage for us. They trust us with large volumes of assets and rely on us as the collaborative partner they need to reach their goals.

To enrich these relationships, we will continue to develop and deploy timely, effective and consistently superior business solutions that deliver maximum value to our clients worldwide. We are focused more than ever on ensuring that State Street's IT vision and business strategy are aligned with our clients' demands and needs.

Our guiding tenets in State Street's information technology organization are responsiveness, quality, timeliness, productivity and accountability. Adhering to these tenets enables us to develop the IT solutions that solve business problems for our clients, strengthen our position in the markets we serve and position State Street for future growth.

Technology is a fundamental part of everything we do at State Street and we have a long track record of being a technology leader. Our company has received numerous industry accolades due to our commitment to innovation in technology. Because we devote 20-25% of our operating expense budget each year to technology, we can respond nimbly to the rapid rates of change in the industry. We have a strong process in place for prioritizing IT spending involving participation among the business leaders who set the strategic direction for the company. We also have a culture of informed, collaborative cross-organizational decision-making and action where we continuously share innovations and knowledge to meet the challenges of today's complex technology environment.

All of this ultimately serves to benefit our clients, who have always counted on us to provide the technology tools and support they need to achieve their objectives. It is our focus on providing meaningful benefits to our clients that will extend our proud track record of technological expertise and leadership in the months and years to come.