Developments in 2016 reflected the economic downturn and high impairment losses on loans, and the return on equity of 10. The main factor was lower personnel expenses in 2015 due to the transition from a defined-benefit to a defined-contribution pension scheme. We must do more of this in the future. Subsidiary subject in political science and criminology at the University of Oslo. These will be important contributions to reducing costs.
Towards the end of the year, the Ministry of Finance adopted a new home mortgage regulation. Our position as the leading investment firm in Norway was strengthened. Customers can rest assured that the company carries out its operations in accordance with prevailing legislation and regulations when interacting with both buyers and sellers. Education: Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and political science from Temple University, California, and training from the Armed Forces. If you already have access to the Internet bank, you can do mobile banking right away. When oil exploration is no longer the main engine in the Norwegian business community, we must look for opportunities for growth in the digital economy.
The decline in income reflected the conversion from defined-benefit to defined-contribution pension schemes. Other professional experience Customer-oriented positions in Handelsbanken and Fokus Bank. In Norway, activity levels in the mainland economy are expected to increase somewhat, but hardly enough to cause any major reduction in unemployment levels. We provide advice on restructuring, and mergers and acquisitions. In 2016, we demonstrated that we are capable of changing quickly, and we implemented some key initiatives to become a more digital bank. Adjusted for exchange rate movements, risk-weighted assets are expected to be stable. At the same time, there was a slight increase in the sale of non-lending products.
Long-term funding costs are expected to decrease somewhat from 2016 to 2017. Clear the temporary cache and cookies on your browser to make sure that you have the most recent version of the web page. The Ministry of Finance also raised the counter-cyclical buffer requirement from 1. Individual impairment losses stemmed primarily from a small number of large customers. Customer satisfaction surveys are used actively to refine our product offering to our customers.
Profitability in the large corporate segment must be strengthened in a market where there is strong competition for the most attractive customers. The ambition behind Vipps is that it will solve all payment needs. We will be there for everyone who aims to grow. Furthermore, we help businesses manage risk and volatility in exchange rates, interest rates and commodity prices. Average customer deposits declined by 4. There was a healthy level of profits in 2016, in spite of a reduction in income from upfront pricing. It is also anticipated that the speed of development will increase considerably through 2017.
A high percentage of customers 29 per cent do not complete a shopping process online due to complicated payment solutions. Over the last few years, a number of new regulations setting stricter requirements for the financial services industry have been introduced or announced. The large corporate segment is characterised by strong customer relations and sound banking and industry expertise. One of our challenges is to make sure that digitalisation makes us more personal when we meet our customers, not less. Both political and economic uncertainty represents risks that we need to take into account in the period ahead. We need to have an appropriate mix of skills and relevant expertise. The principal target is still to achieve a return on equity above 12 per cent towards 2019.
How will you contribute to securing a healthy economy for Norwegian businesses? There is a high tempo, and it is important to be adaptable and curious. Education: Master in Management degree from Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Nice-Sophia Antipolis. Income from bonds increased, partly in consequence of narrower credit spreads, while the fact that Norway has its own currency resulted in strong income levels from currency trading. It is obvious that our overall digital competence must be improved. This is about both giving each individual new opportunities and ensuring that we contribute to the restructuring society is now going through. In the housing market, prices rose significantly in the second half of the year. The income statements and balance sheets for the segments are presented in accordance with internal financial reporting principles, according to which revenues, costs and capital requirements are allocated to the segments based on a number of assumptions.
A payout ratio of 49. A wide range of products and a higher focus on cross-selling also gave a significant boost in other operating income, particularly within payment transfers and capital market services. What are you doing to further cultivate initiatives related to the art of serving the customer? Please note that your country, service provider and browser information will be displayed next to your comment to better analyze a possible outage. The bank therefore terminated its cooperation with one company and entered into closer cooperation with other law firms that are working proactively to improve the gender balance in partnerships. Impairment losses on loans are expected to remain stable at a low level. This is where our relationship managers are trained to become better strategic advisers who are able to find the best financing solutions for our customers.
In the future, it will be even more important to find more flexible ways to work together. The new organisation strengthens the governance model, which refines the customer segments, highlights the focus on simple digital payment solutions and creates more straightforward interfaces. We will continue to launch new digital self-service solutions, and help customers to perform basic banking services themselves. What are the most important opportunities and risks for your area during the coming year? Net loans to customers showed a satisfactory trend, rising by 4. It is gratifying to see that the Norwegian business community shows a great willingness and ability to restructure itself, either by finding more effective ways to operate or by using expertise in other ways or in other industries.