President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, (EBRD) Jean Lemierre, (L) and Vice-President Finance Manfred Schepers address a press conference in central London, on March 6, 2008, to announce the company's annual results. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said Thursday that net earnings fell by a fifth in 2007 because of losses made on equity investments. The bank, created in 1991 to help former communist countries in Europe and central Asia in the transition to market economies, also warned it would face a difficult 2008 because of choppy world financial markets. AFP PHOTO/BEN STANSALL