21.   Union Bank of Switzerland spokeswoman Gertrud Erismann said the banks had decided to act unilaterally as expectations had now risen both inside and outside Switzerland.

22.   He said expectations were rising that a rebound in bank lending will lag substantially behind the gradual recovery emerging in the economy.

23.   One broker said construction issues attracted moderate buying interest as expectations rose that they would benefit from orders to rebuild the western Japan region following the quake.