enforce stricter penalties for those who do wrong are a positive development. We support the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation, the New York Stock Exchange guidelines and other measures to strengthen corporate gover- nance and restore public trust in business institutions. Many of the steps required by the new regulations were already in place at American Express. Therefore, we did not have to make significant changes to our corporate governance structure or practices. While rules are essential, I believe the true foundation of corporate credibility resides within the values of a company and its leaders. American Express has been guided through its 153-year history by a strong values system that emphasizes integrity and trust at all levels of the organization. We have strived to remain true to these values over the years. When we made mistakes along the way, we faced up to them and learned from them. We expect all of our people to act with the highest standards of integrity in everything they do, and we manage our business in a manner that helps to ensure that is the case. The results we delivered for 2002 contributed to shareholder returns that surpassed the major market indices and most of our peer companies. For the year, American Express’ total shareholder return was up 0.1 percent, compared with declines of 15 percent for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, 22 percent for the S&P 500 Index and 15 percent for the S&P Financial Index. Of course, it was difficult to find much to cheer about in the equity markets this past year, with continued volatility and lower values due to concerns about  the economy, the global political situation and corpor- ate ethics. While I am not satisfied by our stock performance on an absolute basis, I am pleased that we performed as well as we did relative to the market overall and to our peers.  With our improved business results and stronger financial position, the company reinstated its share repurchase program in June.  Shareholder Returns  I 5 AXP I American Express S&P Financial Index S&P 500 Index $50 $100 $150 $200 02 01 00 99 98 97 $123.54 $113.29 $97.12 Returns compounded on a monthly basis TOTAL RETURN TO SHAREHOLDERS _ American Express posted a slight gain (0.1 percent) in total shareholder return during 2002. This was in contrast to declines of 22 percent for the S&P 500 Index  and 15 percent for the S&P Financial Index. Over the past five-year period, American Express’  cumulative return to shareholders outperformed both the S&P 500 and S&P Financials. 