The company's purpose is to finance and issue securities (including bonds, debentures, option certificates, options or other securities) to employees of companies that are directly or indirectly owned or controlled by or affiliated with ABB Asea Brown Boveri AG, Zurich, Switzerland, and to provide related services. The company may establish branches and subsidiaries in Switzerland and abroad and participate in other companies in Switzerland and abroad. The company may acquire, hold, manage, encumber, utilize and dispose of real estate and intellectual property rights in Switzerland and abroad, as well as finance other companies. The company may provide direct or indirect financing to its direct or indirect subsidiaries and third parties, including its direct or indirect shareholders and their direct or indirect subsidiaries, and provide collateral of any kind for its own liabilities and those of other companies (including direct or indirect shareholders of the company or companies in which these shareholders are directly or indirectly involved), including by way of pledges, fiduciary transfers or assignments of assets of the company, or provide guarantees, enter into suretyships or otherwise secure or guarantee obligations of the company or these other companies, whether for consideration or not. Furthermore, it may engage in liquidity balancing/cash concentration (cash pooling) with the aforementioned companies or join such an arrangement, including periodic account balancing. All of this may be done by the company without consideration, on preferential terms, without interest, excluding the company's profit motive, and assuming cluster risks. The company may engage in all commercial, financial and other activities that appear suitable to promote the company's purpose or are related thereto.