Though proud of our national heritage, we're no longer just a British bank. We have a large international presence across Europe, the USA, Africa and Asia where our 123,000 employees move, lend, invest and protect money for more than 27 million customers and clients worldwide.
We have a clear view of where growth will come from over the coming years. While there will be significant growth opportunities in the UK, we see many more internationally.
We returned a profit of £7.1bn in 2007 thanks to our portfolio of businesses, which is unique in the industry, our growing international presence, and our innovatory people.
Our strategy is simple: earn, invest and grow. It is driven by our ambition to be one of a handful of universal banks leading the global financial services industry, helping our customers and clients worldwide to achieve their goals.
The acquisition of a controlling stake in Absa, the development of Global Retail and Commercial Banking, and the continued rapid growth of Investment Banking and Investment Management are all designed to enable us to grow faster.
We're not the only global bank but we are different. We're proud of our reputation for innovation, our global structure, and the fact that we are building the best teams available throughout our organisation.
Our people are fundamental to what we do. That's how we maintain our competitive edge.
Barclays has been in business for more than 300 years and the excellence of our people has been a common thread throughout that long history. Being able to recruit, develop and retain the best people is the most important ingredient in our success.
We attract some of the most talented people in the world to work with us. Our focus on excellence is unswerving; our shareholders and our customers deserve the best. We work harder than anyone to ensure that we have the best people at all levels of our organisation, and we reward them for their performance.