The operating environment As I have done for a few years now during your General Membership Meeting, I shall begin my remarks by touching on our targets and expectations over our policy horizon.
In other words, they made use of the cyclical tailwind in the last few years. Second, enterprises became aware at an early stage that the stricter capital requirements under Basel II would mean them having to meet higher standards of creditworthiness. In many cases, an increase in equity capital meant that it was possible to avoid higher interest charges or less favourable credit standards.