Sergio Ermotti
Analyst · Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Please go ahead
Thank you, Tom. So the strategic change we initiated four years ago was driven by our desire to focus on our core strength and expectations of more demanding regulation. So having completed our transformation, we have the right business model today with no need for further radical change to comply with the strict new too big to save proposals and with the competitive landscape. This puts UBS in a unique position among our peers. Therefore, we can capitalize on our early mover advantage built on our execution track record and continue to implement our strategy to better serve our clients, drive shareholder value and grow capital returns. In the current macroeconomic and regulatory environment, our commitment to our remaining cost reduction program and our efforts to drive operational excellence remains resolute. But we also have a strategy for growth. We will modestly increase balance sheet capacity for our businesses to support sustain long-term growth in a disciplined way, and we will continue to invest both in technology and digitalization, strengthen our position in Switzerland, Asia Pacific and the Americas, and ensure we have the right people to drive our future success. You will have noticed that we announced changes to our leadership team today. Let me start by thanking Bob, who will continue to play an important role working with clients and on strategic priorities, as well as Phil and Chi-Won, not only for their tremendous contribution to the firm, but also for working with me for the last few months in order to allow me to align the changes to the right time, I believe, is the right one for the firm. I welcome Kathy, Sabine, Axel, Kirt and Christian to the Group Executive Board and Tom in his new role. And also on my side, I'd like to thank Tom, particularly, for an outstanding job he did over the last 18 quarters. Following the completion of our strategic transformation earlier this year and as we continue executing our plans, this team will help take the firm to the next level providing the right mix of expertise and continuity. Back to our results, we reported another set of solid numbers, which once again demonstrated strong risk control and discipline. For the past four years, we have demonstrated that our business model works for our clients and investors, and we will continue with the same determination to execute our strategy in order to create sustainable value to our shareholders. Thank you. And now, Tom and I will take your questions. [Operator Instructions]