Annual Report Euram Bank AG 2014 / 2015

2. Anticipated trends and risks
Prospects for 2015/2016
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We anticipate that the growth of the global economy will gain momentum
in 2015 and 2016, but will remain subdued compared to
the time before the crisis; additionally, the distribution of growth
over the various global regions will change compared to the past
years. An acceleration of economic activity will be supported by
very favourable monetary conditions, a slower consolidation of
public households, an improved financial situation, and reduced
oil prices. However, investments need to pick up yet. The appreciation
of the US dollar versus most other currencies has resulted
in a marked adjustment of exchange rates. Due to the resulting
relative price effects, global demand is shifting more towards Europe,
Japan and some emerging markets. Within the group of
emerging markets, growth is slackening due to individual factors
in China, Brazil and Russia. Without structural reforms to
eliminate bottlenecks, growth rates might remain weak in these
countries. Exceptional risks include geopolitical upheavals and a
situation of serious financial instability that might emerge, if the
exit from the zero-interest strategy in the United States fails to
take place in an orderly manner, if Greece fails to reach a satisfactory
agreement with its creditors, or if the Chinese economy
experiences a hard landing. In order to avoid these risks and to
get the global economy back on a more sturdy, more stable course
of growth, mutually reinforcing measures of monetary, fiscal and
structural politics are required.
For the Private Banking division, the financial year 2015/2016
will bring a clear focus on integrated strategies to maintain capital
and assets, based on individual planning combined with firstclass
customer care. Additionally, the division plans to extend
its product range for clients from Austria and Germany – with
a focus on the financing of residential and commercial real estate
projects. With our competence in financing matters, swift
processing and transparent communication, we intend to use
these market opportunities successfully. The Asset Management
division will consistently pursue the conservative investment