There also appear to be several hur

There also appear to be several hurdles down the road.
Near-term global growth will likely be subdued, surpassing
three percent only in 2015.3
In the United States, the
expectation is worse: the real GDP growth rate is expected
to be below three percent until 2016.4
The continuing
political gridlock and unresolved fiscal issues are other
factors dampening the current sentiment.
With possible signs of tapering occurring soon, the
Federal Reserve’s unwinding of unconventional monetary
policy is another factor contributing to uncertainty in the
markets.5
Rising interest rates could impact banks’ capital
levels via unrealized losses, and may not provide relief
to net interest margin (NIM) pressure until loan demand
picks up. Furthermore, interest rate risk, whether repricing
risk or yield curve risk, could pose challenges to some
banks, if not properly managed.