美國運通(American Express)首席執行官陳納德(Ken Chenault)正春風得意。

Ken Chenault, chief executive of American Express, is riding high.

這家全球最知名的金融服務公司再次取得可觀的利潤；它的信用卡業務在美國和海外市場都擁有激動人心的新機遇；它的股票評級在業內所有領先企業中獨占鰲頭，其中部分原因在于，多數其它公司都愿意買入它的股票，只要它們買得起。

The world's best-known financial services company is making handsome profits again. Its card business has exciting new opportunities in the US and overseas. And its share rating is the highest of any leading company in the sector, partly because most of the others would love to buy it - if only they could afford to.

這與2001年年底的情況相比真是大不相同。那時9.11恐怖襲擊事件剛過，美國運通面臨的狀況被陳納德先生形容為“完美風暴”。

How different from the picture at the end of 2001, when, after the September 11 attacks, the group faced what Mr Chenault describes as "the perfect storm".

“顯然， 9.11事件對全世界來說是個破壞性事件，而從小范圍來看，它嚴重打擊了我們公司，”陳納德說。

"Obviously, 9/11 was a devastating event for the world and on a parochial basis it hit our company very hard," he says.

公司因恐怖襲擊遭受“創傷”，隨后又眼看其信用卡業務陷入低谷，因為商務接待和旅行支出暴跌。但陳納德先生利用這個時機加快實施一項重組計劃，該計劃是他在2000年接任首席執行官一職不久后啟動的。

The organisation was "traumatised" by the attacks and then watched the bottom drop out of its card business, as spending on business entertainment and travel tumbled. But Mr Chenault used the opportunity to speed up a restructuring programme he had initiated soon after taking over as chief executive in 2000.

他當時擔心，盡管美國運通在上世紀90年代末增長強勁，但美國經濟增長可能放緩，且全球經濟正步入一個更加不確定的階段。集團的重組目標之一，是加快其步調遲緩的管理層對各種事件作出反應的速度。決策體系得到了“再造”，以便先前“按序”進行的各項步驟能“同時”實施。

His concern then was that while American Express enjoyed strong growth in the late 1990s, the US economy was likely to slow and the world was heading into a period of greater uncertainty. One aim was to increase the speed with which the group's slow-moving bureaucracy could respond to events. Decision-making was "re-engineered" so that processes previously done sequentially were carried out "in parallel".

據公司首席財務官加里•克里藤登(Gary Crittenden)稱，這番改變成效顯著，特別是在營銷方面：“過去我們在市場上進行一次推廣需要6個月，現在我們幾天就能做到。”

According to Gary Crittenden, chief financial officer, this has had a dramatic effect, notably in marketing: "It used to take us six months to get a promotion in the market. Now we can do it in a matter of days."

9.11之后，美國運通新出現的敏銳嗅覺令該集團能迅速削減支出，以應對疲軟的市場形勢。這也意味著它在2002年下半年發現有機會從競爭對手那里奪取份額時，能迅速展開營銷攻勢。美國運通一直密切監視競爭對手發送直郵廣告的水平，因為陳納德先生認為，即使經濟狀況開始改善，但有些對手為達到財務目標，可能還是會被迫削減開支。

After September 11, the new nimbleness allowed the group to cut back quickly in response to poor market conditions. In the second half of 2002, it meant it could turn the marketing tap on fast when it saw an opportunity to take share from rivals. American Express had been carefully monitoring the level of direct mail being sent out by rivals because Mr Chenault thought some might be forced to cut back on spending to meet their targets even as the economy started to improve.

“我們一看到（郵件數量）下跌，就開始投入資金。”陳納德先生說，結果在2003年，美國運通成功令其業務擴展速度超過許多同類公司。

"As soon as we started to see that drop [in mailings] we started to pour in the money." As a result, Mr Chenault says American Express managed to expand its business much faster than many in 2003.

集團盈利在2001年減少了一半，但在2002年反彈到原有水平。而在去年，美國運通輕松達到了年均每股收益增長12%至15%、年收入增長8%的長期目標。

Group earnings, which halved in 2001, bounced back in 2002 and last year American Express comfortably met its long-term target of earnings per shares growth of 12-15 per cent and revenue growth of 8 per cent a year.

通過增加旅游和娛樂之外領域的信用卡消費，以及在其規模相對較小的銀行部門逐步停止商業借貸業務，該集團已成功降低了風險特性。

The group has managed to reduce its risk profile during the past few years by increasing card spending in areas other than travel and entertainment and by winding down the commercial lending side of its small bank.

但是，并非一切都很美好。美國運通財務顧問(American Express Financial Advisors)去年為集團貢獻了四分之一的利潤，但目前的表現仍令人失望。該集團通過一個由1.2萬名經紀人組成的網絡向中等收入客戶銷售共同基金與年金，但集團糟糕的投資業績，包括在垃圾債券上的重大損失，令上述銷售業務深受困擾。

Not that everything is rosy. The performance of American Express Financial Advisors, which provided a quarter of profits last year, is still disappointing. The selling of mutual funds and annuities to middle-income customers through a network of 12,000 brokers has been dogged by poor investment performance, including big losses on junk bonds.

陳納德先生承認，在面向更高收入客戶的信用卡業務上，幾乎不存在交叉銷售，此外，有關美國運通將把財務顧問部門分拆出去的傳聞不斷。但是，去年收購英國資產管理公司斯瑞尼德(Threadneedle)的舉措，突出表明陳納德先生決心提供更多可供銷售的內部產品，來建立這一業務。

Mr Chenault admits there is little cross-selling with the more upmarket card business and there have been persistent rumours that American Express would spin off the financial advisers' arm. However, last year's purchase of UK asset manager Threadneedle underlines Mr Chenault's determination to build the business by giving it more in-house products to sell.

克里藤登先生說，美國運通可能會在產品領域進行更多并購交易，而且有意收購其他經紀人以擴展業務網絡。

Mr Crittenden says it could do more deals on the product side and would like to buy other brokers to build the network.

公司的經紀人網絡現與投資銀行集團摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)擁有的網絡規模大致相同。摩根士丹利的信用卡業務同樣表現欠佳。摩根士丹利有傳聞稱，其董事長兼首席執行官裴熙亮(Philip Purcell)樂意與美國運通合并，并最終把控制權交到陳納德先生手中。

Its broker network is roughly the same size as that owned by Morgan Stanley, the investment banking group, which also has an underperforming card business. Gossip at Morgan Stanley is that Philip Purcell, chairman and chief executive, would love to merge with American Express and eventually hand over the reins to Mr Chenault.

雖然美國運通單干得似乎很不錯，但一些銀行家認為，這樣的合并意義非同一般。過去，美國運通的“金融超市”模式已證明是災難性的，而陳納德先生是否想讓美國運通回歸這種模式，那就是另一回事了。

Though American Express seems to be doing well on its own some bankers think such a merger would make a good deal of sense. Whether Mr Chenault would want to return American Express to the "financial supermarket" model which proved so disastrous for it in the past is another matter.

譯者/李功文