Westpac chair Ted Evans told the bank's annual meeting yesterday that he expects the next year to be one where "our balance sheet growth will slow and our impairment charges will grow as the economy slows".That was as much as Westpac offered up by way of an outlook statement at the AGM, though Evans did say he was confident even though "the world would effectively be in recession."Evans also, according to AAP, told the AGM that Westpac intended to maintain the level of dividend.