ABF Journal spoke with leading executives, primarily from bank-affiliated ABLs, to get their perspective on where we might be headed through the remainder of this year and into 2013 and beyond. While most ABLs seem to agree there’s room for cautious optimism, the uncertainty surrounding a wide variety of factors — ranging from energy and commodity prices, to housing starts, to the viability of progress on the euro-zone debt crisis, to the uncertainty surrounding the vagaries of an election year — gives many a sense that progress will be limited until resolution is gained.