I am very pleased to announce that Discover Financial Services began trading as an independent company following our June 30 spin-off from Morgan Stanley. This marks the next chapter in our long and proud history. As a standalone company, Discover is well positioned to create long-term value and build on the success we achieved when we were part of Morgan Stanley.
We have a clear strategy to increase profitability by continuing to grow our card-issuing business and seize growth opportunities in the payments industry.
We have an impressive new Board of Directors that will complement our strong management team. And we have 14,000 dedicated employees committed to offering outstanding customer service and creating new products and features that continue to meet and exceed consumers' needs.
With more than 50 million cardmembers, Discover is one of the largest card issuers in the United States and a leader in payments processing. That gives us more than 50 million reasons to continue to be a leader and innovator in the financial services industry.
Sincerely,
