QuickLinks
 -- Click here to rapidly navigate through this document

Exhibit 10.4  


STATE STREET CORPORATION

1997 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN  


 
  Incentive Stock Option Award Agreement    
    


Subject to your acceptance of the terms set forth in this agreement, State Street Corporation (the "Company") has awarded to you the option, qualifying as incentive stock
options under Section 422(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, to purchase shares of common stock ("Stock") of the Company, detailed in your award Certificate on this website and pursuant to the
State Street Corporation 1997 Equity Incentive Plan (the "Plan") and certain conditions set forth below (the "ISO Award Agreement"). A copy of the Plan document and the Company's Prospectus are
located on this website for your reference. All terms used herein shall have the same meaning as in the Plan, except as otherwise expressly provided. The term "vest" as used herein means the lapsing
of the restrictions described herein and in the Plan with respect to one or more options to purchase shares of Stock. The terms of the ISO Award Agreement are as follows: 



	1.
	Term and Exercise Period. Subject to paragraphs 6 and 7 hereof and to this paragraph 1, the Option shall vest according to the
vesting schedule detailed in your Certificate of Stock Option Grant. In no event, however, shall the exercise of the Option or any installment thereof be made later than ten (10) years from the
original grant date. You may not exercise the Option with respect to less than fifty (50) shares at any one time except when the number of remaining shares of the Option is less than fifty
(50); and except as is otherwise provided herein you may not exercise the Option or any installment thereof unless you are then an employee of the Company or one of its subsidiaries.



	2.
	Method of Exercising Option. You may exercise the vested option before the grant expiration date by stating the number of shares (but
not fewer than fifty (50) shares or the remaining shares under the Option, if fewer) which the exercise is intended to cover and paying in full for the aggregate grant price for such shares, in
cash, or by certified or bank check. In lieu of a cash payment in full, you may pay the grant price through the delivery (including by attestation of ownership) of a whole number of shares of Common
Stock of the Company held for at least six months with a fair market value equal to the grant price less any cash included in the tender. Payment for any shares subject to an Option may also be made
by delivering a properly executed notice to the Company, together with irrevocable instructions to a broker to deliver promptly to the Company the amount of sale or loan proceeds to pay the aggregate
grant price, and, if required, the amount of any federal, state, local or foreign withholding taxes. Certificates for shares that you purchased shall be promptly delivered per your instructions to you
or your broker.



	3.
	ISO Tax Treatment. No ordinary taxable income is realized by the optionee upon the grant or exercise of an ISO. If no disposition of
shares issued to an optionee pursuant to the exercise of an ISO is made by the optionee within two years from the date of grant or within one year after exercise, then upon a later sale of such
shares, any gain or loss recognized in the sale will be taxed to the optionee as a long-term capital gain or loss. If shares of Common Stock acquired upon the exercise of an ISO are
disposed of by the optionee prior to the expiration of the two-year or one-year holding periods (a "disqualifying disposition"), generally the optionee will realize ordinary
income in the year of disposition in an amount equal to the excess (if any) of the fair market value of the shares at exercise (or, if less, the amount realized on a sale of such shares) over the
option price thereof. Any further gain recognized will be taxed as short-term or long-term capital gain. Exercise of an ISO increases the optionee's alternative minimum taxable
income ("AMTI") by an amount equal, in general, to the excess of the fair market value of the shares acquired under the option over the option price. This increase may result in an alternative minimum
tax ("AMT") liability to the optionee. 









	4.
	Employee Rights and Duties. You shall not have any right of a stockholder with respect to the shares covered by the Option prior to the
issuance thereof nor shall this agreement grant you any rights of employment with the Company.



	5.
	Non-Transferability. The Option shall not be transferable otherwise than by will or the laws of descent and distribution and
it may be exercised only by you during your lifetime. Any attempt to assign or transfer the Option, either voluntarily or involuntarily, contrary to the provisions hereof, shall be null and void and
without effect and shall render the Option itself null and void.



	6.
	Termination of Employment.



	a)
	Generally,
an ISO will not be eligible for the tax treatment described above if it is exercised more than three months following termination of employment (one year following
termination of employment, in the case of termination by reason of permanent and total disability), except in certain cases where the ISO is exercised after the death of the optionee. If an ISO is
exercised at a time when it no longer qualifies for the tax treatment described above, the option is treated as a nonqualified option.



	b)
	If
your employment terminates by reason of disability (as set forth in Section 7.1 for the Plan) or retirement at or after the normal or early retirement age under any
retirement plan or supplemental retirement agreement maintained by the Company or any subsidiary prior to exercise, expiration, surrender or cancellation of the Option, the Option shall remain
exercisable after the date of such termination of employment in accordance with the Plan and this agreement whether or not such Option was exercisable at the time of such termination during the period
that ends on the later of (i) one (1) year after the Option first becomes exercisable or if exercisable in installments after the last installment becomes exercisable; and
(ii) one (1) year from termination of employment.



	c)
	If
your employment terminates by reason of death, whether or not then exercisable, all Options held by you prior to termination may be exercised by your executor or administrator or
the person(s) to whom the Option is transferred by law or the applicable laws of descent and distribution during the period that ends one year after the date of death. In no event, however, shall an
Option remain exercisable beyond the grant expiration date.



	d)
	If
your employment terminates for any reason other than death, disability or retirement prior to exercise, expiration, surrender or cancellation of the Option, such Option shall
terminate three (3) months from the date of such termination, during which period the Option may be exercised only to the extent that it was exercisable on the date of such termination. In the
event that the award recipient is eligible to receive severance when terminated from the Company, the Option shall continue to vest through the end of the "bridging period" as defined in the Company's
severance policy; under such circumstances, the Option shall terminate three (3) months from the date the bridging period ends. If you die within such three (3) month period, the Option
shall expire (1) year after the date of your termination, during which period the Option may be exercised at any time by the person or persons to whom your rights shall pass by will or by the
applicable laws of descent or distribution, but only to the extent it was exercisable on the date of such termination. In no event, however, may the Option be exercised after the grant expiration date
set out in the applicable Certificate.



	e)
	Your
rights with respect to any unexercised Option after termination of your employment other than by reason of death shall be subject to the conditions that until any such Option is
exercised you shall (i) not engage either directly or indirectly, in any manner or capacity as advisor, principal, agent, partner, officer, director, employee, member of any association, or
otherwise, in any business or activity which is at the time competitive with any business or activity conducted by the Company or any of its direct or indirect subsidiaries, and (ii) be
available at reasonable times for consultations at the request of the Company's management with respect to phases of the business with which you were actively connected during your 














employment.
In the event that either of the above conditions is not fulfilled, you shall forfeit all rights to any unexercised Option. Any determination by the Board of Directors that you are, or
have, engaged in a competitive business or activity as aforesaid or have not been available for consultations as aforesaid shall be conclusive. Notwithstanding the foregoing this paragraph shall be
inapplicable following a Change of Control (as defined in the Plan). 




	7.
	Acceleration of Options. Upon a Change of Control (as defined in the Plan), all Options outstanding as of the date of such Change of
Control is determined to have occurred and which are not then exercisable shall become fully exercisable. Optionees subject to Section 16 shall have certain rights to receive cash in lieu of
exercising the option in the amount of the Spread, all as set forth in the Plan; provided, that for purposes of this Option, "Spread" shall mean, with respect to any share subject to the Option, the
excess of fair market value of such share on the date of exercise over the per-share grant price. After a Change of Control (but subject to Section 7.3 of the Plan), the Option
shall remain exercisable following a termination of your employment other than by reason of your death, disability or retirement for a period of seven (7) months after termination of
employment, or until expiration of the original term of the Option, whichever period is shorter.



	8.
	Changes in Capitalization. The Board of Directors of the Company may make appropriate adjustments in the aggregate number and kind of
shares and the grant price per share subject to the Option when it deems such action necessary by reason of any stock dividend, split or any recapitalization, reclassification, merger, consolidation,
combination or similar transaction.



	9.
	Withholding. The Committee will have the right to require that you remit to the Company an amount sufficient to satisfy any withholding
tax requirements, or make other arrangements satisfactory to the Committee with regard to such requirements, prior to the delivery of any Stock. If and to the extent that such withholding is required,
the Committee may permit you to elect at such time and in such manner as the Committee provides to satisfy your withholding tax requirement with the proceeds from the sale of shares resulting from
your option exercise. If at any time an ISO is exercised, the Committee determines that the Company could be liable for withholding requirements with respect to a disposition of the Common Stock
received upon exercise, the Committee may require as a condition of exercise that the person exercising the ISO agree (i) to inform the Company promptly of any disposition (within the meaning
of Section 424(c) of the Code) of Common Stock received upon exercise, and (ii) to give such security as the Committee deems adequate to meet the potential liability of the Company for
the withholding requirements and to augment such security from time to time in any amount reasonably deemed necessary by the Committee to preserve the adequacy of such security.



	10.
	Securities Act Considerations. The shares of Common Stock acquired by you upon exercise of the Option are registered under the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Act"). Under current regulations, you may freely resell all or a part of such shares from time to time, provided you are not deemed to be an "affiliate" of the
Company as that term is defined in the Act. Officers filing Forms 4—Statement of Changes in Beneficial Ownership are deemed to be affiliates. As an affiliate of the Company, you may resell
such shares only pursuant to a currently effective registration statement on Form S-3 or Form S-1 as promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, or
pursuant to Rule 144 or other exemption under the Act. 




By
your accepting this agreement, this agreement shall take effect as a sealed instrument. 











QuickLinks


Incentive Stock Option Award Agreement