At the same time, confidence in the recovery is improving considerably. The latest European Commission economic sentiment indicator improved notably in March and was driven by a pick-up in both consumer and business confidence. This improvement was also echoed in the latest data in Germany, with consumer confidence rebounding strongly in March and business confidence indicators continuing to expand.
In the former, the relevant horizon is long and the role of the customer relationships is essential. The latter has a different logic – that of beating the market and collecting transaction fees. Profits often come from counterparts instead of customers.