In this section of your course project, describe how the Fed's actions can affect the daily business and the planning outlook of US Bank.

When analyzing a company, it is imperative that you get your hands on the company'sbalance sheet,which usually means locating a copy of the company's annual report, Form 10-K filing, or Form 10-Q filing.

Theannual reportis a document prepared by a company for all who are affiliated, including the shareholders, employees, and vendors. It outlines what happened in the business for the year.

TheForm 10-Kis an annual filing that the publicly traded companies are legally required to send to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It contains an explanation of company's operations, how it generates revenue, and the markets in which it operates.

TheForm 10-Qfiling is a smaller version of the Form 10-K filing. It is filed at the end of business quarter with the SEC.

To begin the project, use the Mergent Online database to locate the financial information for US Bank. Review and describe the balance sheet. Describe the types of assets and liabilities it has. What are the forms of income does it generate? Discuss how the bank could optimize its assets and liabilities. Be sure to cover the various performance metrics that the CEO and Board are concerned with, such as net interest margin, ROA, ROE, leverage, and bank leverage. Comment on the various forms of risk the bank faces in its daily operations and suggest methods for mitigating those risks.

To locate the bank's balance sheet:

1.Learn about the Mergent Online database by watchingthis video http://rasmussen.libanswers.com/faq/32789

• This video introduces you to using the database, and at 2:28 of the video, you will see where to access the reports and filings.

2.Find the 10-K or the Annual Report in the Mergent Online Database by going toits home page. The ticker symbol isUSB. http://guides.rasmussen.edu/mergent

23.Go to either theReportsorFilingspage. Practice downloading the filings in Microsoft Excel format so that you can use the spreadsheet to compute the metrics.