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Basis of Presentation
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2013
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Basis of Presentation
Basis of Presentation
The accounting and financial reporting policies of State Street Corporation conform to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, referred to as GAAP. State Street Corporation, the parent company, is a financial holding company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Unless otherwise indicated or unless the context requires otherwise, all references in these condensed notes to consolidated financial statements to “State Street,” “we,” “us,” “our” or similar references mean State Street Corporation and its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis. Our principal banking subsidiary is State Street Bank and Trust Company, or State Street Bank.
We have two lines of business:
Investment Servicing provides services for mutual funds, collective investment funds and other investment pools, corporate and public retirement plans, insurance companies, foundations and endowments worldwide. Products include custody, product- and participant-level accounting, daily pricing and administration; master trust and master custody; record-keeping; foreign exchange, brokerage and other trading services; securities finance; deposit and short-term investment facilities; loans and lease financing; investment manager and alternative investment manager operations outsourcing; and performance, risk and compliance analytics to support institutional investors.
Investment Management, through State Street Global Advisors, or SSgA, provides a broad range of investment management strategies, specialized investment management advisory services and other financial services, such as securities finance, for corporations, public funds, and other sophisticated investors. Management strategies offered by SSgA include passive and active, such as enhanced indexing, using quantitative and fundamental methods for both U.S. and non-U.S. equity and fixed-income securities. SSgA also offers exchange-traded funds.
The consolidated financial statements accompanying these condensed notes are unaudited. In the opinion of management, all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, which are necessary for a fair statement of the consolidated results of operations in these financial statements, have been made. Certain previously reported amounts presented in this Form 10-Q have been reclassified to conform to current-period presentation. Events occurring subsequent to the date of our consolidated statement of condition were evaluated for potential recognition or disclosure in our consolidated financial statements through the date we filed this Form 10-Q with the SEC.
The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions in the application of certain of our significant accounting policies that may materially affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, equity, revenue and expenses. As a result of unanticipated events or circumstances, actual results could differ from those estimates. Amounts dependent on subjective or complex judgments in the application of accounting policies considered by management to be relatively more significant in this regard are those associated with our accounting for fair-value measurements; other-than-temporary impairment of investment securities; and impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets. Among other effects, unanticipated events or circumstances could result in future impairment of investment securities, goodwill or other intangible assets.
Our consolidated statement of condition at December 31, 2012 included in the accompanying consolidated financial statements was derived from the audited financial statements at that date, but does not include all notes required by GAAP for a complete set of financial statements. The accompanying consolidated financial statements and these condensed notes should be read in conjunction with the financial and risk factors information included in our 2012 Form 10-K, which we previously filed with the SEC.
Recent Accounting Developments:
In June 2013, the FASB issued an amendment to GAAP that prescribes certain criteria for an entity to qualify as an investment company.  The amendment is not expected to significantly change which entities qualify to use specialized accounting for investment companies, but introduces new disclosure requirements that apply to all investment companies, and revises the criteria used to measure certain interests in investment companies.  We are not an investment company, but we are affiliated with investment companies in our role as an asset manager, and we provide accounting and reporting services to investment companies in our role as an asset servicer.  The amendment is effective, for State Street, for interim and annual periods beginning on January 1, 2014.  While the amendment could affect how we measure our interests in investment companies, our adoption of the amendment is not expected to have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements.
In July 2013, the FASB issued an amendment to GAAP that requires a liability associated with an unrecognized tax benefit, or a portion of that unrecognized tax benefit, to be presented in the financial statements as a reduction of a deferred tax asset for a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward. The amendment is effective, for State Street, for interim and annual periods beginning on January 1, 2014, and is required to be applied on a prospective basis. Our adoption of the amendment is not expected to have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements.