1. The Finnish banking market as a whole has excellent growth prospects, backed by a vibrant economy, low interest rates and strong consumer confidence. Household financial wealth in particular is set to grow at historically high rates, making asset management an area of special strategic interest. Our position as the leading bank for households in Finland, combined with our strong capital base, high profitability and superior brand, makes us ideally positioned to take advantage of these growth opportunities and increase our market share.
2. Basel II encourages us to develop more sophisticated risk management tools and practices, including an internal ratings system for credit risks. It will also lead to closer integration of risk management with pricing decisions. International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) necessitate improvements in financial management and reporting. The impact of these changes on our strategy will, however, be minor due to our strong capital base and the structure of our business portfolio.