KEY TOPICS
1. State of the banking industry
- Global banking industry with moderate TSR performance in Q1 2015 (3.1%)—still top performer on a year-over-year basis
- Western European banks heavily benefiting from ECB’s quantitative easing
- CDS spreads for BRICS banks decreased slightly due to calming of markets in Russia – but negative outlook for profitability
2. Key banking drivers
- BRICS GDP growth under pressure – drop by 1pp expected for Q1 15 and forecast adjusted downwards
- Western Europe and US with inflation rates slightly above zero and partially negative for Q1 2015
- ECB’s quantitative easing further decreases yield curves in Germany
3. Special topic: The power of central banks
- ECB and SNB with historic decisions driving European markets
- Besides direct effects, banks have to tackle with uncertain second-round effects
Picture: Skyline San Francisco
