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an interest rate policy geared to the needs of the swiss economy. membership would also spell the end of the interest rate advantage with respect to the euro area, which still stands at one and a half to two percentage points. this would entail the loss for the swiss economy of an important competitive advantage. if there are grounds for hoping that an enlarged eu will lead to greater stability and prosperity on the european continent, it is also conceivable that a larger market will open new opportunities for switzerland. once the bilateral agreements have been extended to cover the new member countries, our economic relations with the enlarged eu will be regulated by the same network of bilateral treaties, as is the case with the current eu. the swiss economy will thus enjoy easier access to a greatly expanded market totalling 450 million people. however, eu enlargement also represents a challenge for switzerland. a larger union needs to work out its joint position in lengthy internal consultation and decision - making procedures. it could thus become increasingly difficult for us to defend our own interests. enlargement is therefore very likely to influence our relationship with the eu. let me now move to one of the key features of our economy : our financial sector, which currently also faces some major challenges. 4. switzerland as a european financial centre since the beginning of the last century the swiss financial sector has been a mainstay of our economy. it accounts for just under 6 % of total employment, but currently generates over 10 % of the country ’ s gdp. relatively speaking, therefore, it is more than twice as big as the german or french financial sectors, for example. switzerland ’ s globally active big banks and insurance groups are also major international competitors in most market segments. the two big banks are among the world ’ s ten largest banks. in terms of value added by the financial sector, switzerland occupies fourth place behind new york, london and paris, but is ahead of frankfurt. switzerland plays a leading role in banking, above all, in asset management. almost four trillion francs worth of assets are managed in switzerland. this accounts for around one - third of the world ’ s portfolios of cross - border investments. over the last 10 years, our financial institutions have also greatly expanded their activities abroad on a global basis. in 2000 the value of their foreign investments amounted to some 54 billion swiss francs, which is equivalent to around 14 % of total swiss investments abroad. switzerland is also a magnet for foreign banks. nearly one in every two banks in switzerland