securities business, Dean Witter provided investment consulting services to individual investors. The firm managed approximately $10.4 billion of assets in its consulting business as of the end of 1996. Within its securities business, Dean Witter focused on three segments: Equity Securities - Dean Witter provided order execution, stock trading and equity research services primarily to individual investors but also to institutional clients. In many equity securities, Dean Witter acted as a market maker and as a specialist on various exchanges. Dean Witter's research department provided economic analysis and commentary, market and quantitative research, as well as making recommendations with regard to broad individual companies and industry sectors. Fixed Income Securities - Dean Witter provided trading and order execution services for a broad range of fixed income securities, including U.S. Treasury bonds, mortgage-backed securities, corporate bonds, municipal bonds and certificates of deposit. The company was a primary dealer in U.S. Treasury bonds. The firm largely eschewed proprietary trading focusing its trading activity on establishing and maintaining an inventory of various securities. Futures - Dean Witter also provided order execution and clearing services for the trading of futures contracts. Investment banking Dean Witter also operated as an investment banking firm, even before its merger with Morgan Stanley. Like many of its peers, Dean Witter provides a range of advisory services to corporate clients including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, leveraged buyouts, restructurings and recapitalizations. The Company generally does not commit capital to merchant banking transactions. However, the firm always maintained a strong connection between its investment banking business and its core business focused on individual investors. As a result, the investment banking division was involved in the research, development, and origination of investment products focused on individual investors including limited partnerships and other retail-oriented products. The company's InterCapital subsidiary, with $90.0 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 1996, was one of the largest investment management businesses in the U.S. Credit cards (Discover Card and Novus) Dean Witter was also active in the issuance of credit cards through its Discover Card business. Discover Card, which today operates is the company's most widely held proprietary general-purpose credit card and generated a majority of Credit Services' revenues and net income in 1996. Prior to its merger, Dean Witter's credit cards business accounted for 52% and 47% of the company's net income in 1995 and 1996, respectively. In addition to the Discover Card, the