samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
How the international downturn has influenced the Norwegian economy Turning to the Norwegian economy, our export industry is being severely affected by the sharp global downturn, and this is having repercussions on other Norwegian business sectors. Mainland GDP is expected to fall by 1 per cent this year. BIS Review 42/2009  1  As in other countries, a wide range of instruments is being used to counteract the effects of the financial crisis. In order to curb the fall in activity, government expenditure will be increased by over 10 per cent this year. Norges Bank’s bank lending survey shows that banks have been tightening credit standards substantially, particularly for corporate loans. To boost the credit market, a separate government fund 1 will buy private bonds. The government has also provided loans and guarantees for exports and expanded lending limits for the Norwegian State Housing Bank and other special vehicles for government financing. 2 At present, our banks are financially sound, but they need to strengthen their core capital in order to be able to supply credit as normal. The authorities are offering risk capital to banks, including core Tier 1 capital without voting rights, through a newly established State Finance Fund. To facilitate the funding of banks operating in Norway, a swap arrangement was established allowing banks to exchange covered bonds for up to NOK 350 billion in government securities. A number of banks have made use of this facility, so far in an amount totalling NOK 90 billion.

It therefore seems that the Asian banking and financial markets are moving along the right track and we should congratulate each other for this accomplishment. However, I am not entirely sure if Asia can afford to feel complacent because I believe Asia’s finance is still facing many short-run and longer term challenges. In the interest of time, I would just highlight two key challenges. a.  Short-run challenge: clearly this has to do with the Fed tapering and the normalisation of the US interest rates. The key question is to what extent the unwinding of the dollar carry trade, which prevailed for over 5 years since the collapse of Lehman, would lead to significant outflow of funds and tightening of market liquidity across Asia. The risk of a “new normal” causing a rise in interest rates, re-pricing of assets and a slow down of economic growth would be a big challenge for Asia in the next year or two. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  b. Longer term challenge: there are many structural reform challenges for Asia’s capital markets, but today I would just focus on infrastructure financing. It is beyond doubt that Asia needs heavy investments in infrastructure in the next decade or two. Some have estimated the amounts of funding needed for infrastructure financing to be in the order of $ bn a year. At the same time, Asia has accumulated a huge amount of savings, which are more than adequate to finance the infrastructural investments in the region.
BIS Review 51/2002  1  Developments in Iceland from the latter half of 1990s until the present time resemble in many ways the experience of some of the other Nordic Countries a decade earlier but differ also in important respects. Soon after liberalisation, domestic demand picked up, fuelled by rapidly rising credit in the wake of intensified competition in the financial sector and a sharp increase in credit availability. At that time, Iceland was pursuing a fixed exchange rate policy but not as rigidly fixed as the other Nordic Countries had done a decade earlier. The expansion in the economy at the end of last decade led to a very rapid rise in the current account deficit, climaxing in year 2000. Through the effects of a tightening monetary policy, the exchange rate of the króna gradually appreciated. In the spring of the year 2000, expectations in the market shifted for a variety of reasons, one of them being concerns about the current account deficit. Subsequently the króna began to depreciate and continued to do so more or less uninterrupted but on the whole in an orderly fashion over a period of a year and a half until the end of November last year. By that time, it had fallen by about a third against other currencies. This large depreciation is not without precedent in other countries.

The market is a strict master and serves painful punishment for mistakes or ill-thought initiatives. BIS Review 51/2002  3
Central banks need to focus on second round effects from inflation, and prevent large but temporary price surges, like those we have seen in very volatile energy and food prices, passing through into other prices, labour costs and inflation expectations. If they do, they could cause a wage-price spiral, which would then stop inflation from falling back to its medium-term target level after the temporary shocks have faded. The interaction of monetary, fiscal and structural policies High inflation is clearly a challenge not only for people, companies and central banks, but also for governments. Europe has recently witnessed significant turmoil in energy markets and governments have tried to find ways to provide relief to households and companies either by direct subsidies or through new regulations in the energy markets. But even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was expected that the green transition would push energy prices up. The signal given by that rise in energy prices was intended to have an important role in encouraging the green transition. The problem now is that not only are energy prices being steered by the green transition, but they have also moved much more sharply because of the extreme tension in geopolitics. We should distinguish between two features of the current problem. The first is that higher prices have undermined purchasing power, increased inequality and made energy intensive industries less competitive. The second is that energy prices have become increasingly volatile, and this in itself is a problem that policymakers need to tackle.

In the meantime, the success of the SLGS has garnered a consensus to develop a sustainable, market-oriented platform to cater for the ongoing SME financing needs upon the phasing out of SLGS. Taking this opportunity, the Government-owned Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation launched a new SME Financing Guarantee Scheme (SFGS) on 1 January 2011 to facilitate a smooth transition from the temporary SLGS to a sustainable market-based mechanism. Operating based on prudent commercial principles, the SFGS does not require government subsidy and the scheme size can be flexibly adjusted to respond to changes in market demand. The SFGS also provides a broad range of options on the product features such as tenor, facility type, loan amount and guarantee coverage to fit the different needs of banks and SMEs. Initial market response to the SFGS has been positive, with a good participation  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  rate from banks and an encouraging number of applications received from a broad variety of SMEs. It is expected that the SFGS will over time play an important role in helping SMEs obtain stable and sustainable financing while assisting banks in managing their risks, in particular when market conditions become volatile and uncertain. I am happy to share this experience of Hong Kong, China of how the “exit” of an extraordinary government measure has facilitated the “entry” of a long-term market-based solution for sustainable SME financing.
30.08.2022  Central bank money for the digital age: reflections on the new paradigm Keynote address/ Central Bank Research Association (CEBRA) Annual Meeting Margarita Delgado Deputy Governor  It is with great pleasure that I take up the opportunity of addressing such a distinguished audience tonight with a topic that I very much feel falls within CEBRA’s remit. In that respect, given the turbulent times we are living in, leveraging a space where an open and constructive dialogue between us and the academia can take place is sure to prove even more instrumental now than it has been the case in the past. Yet, over and above the daunting challenges of inflation, climate change, macroeconomic stability and many others which you are touching upon in this year’s conference programme, in the next few minutes I would like to turn my attention on to something very different. I am talking about the so-called central bank digital currencies, one of the most prominent examples of financial innovation. Being digital is no longer a prophecy awaiting realization as Nicholas Negroponte 1 once forecasted in his now renowned examination of the frontiers of digital technology and its effects on the future of our society. Instead, it has already become an all-encompassing phenomenon which the pandemic helped expedite by a few decades. Being digital in the financial industry means new opportunities for incumbents to acquire new clients, to expand their current share of the wallet and to obtain efficiencies unheard of.

The digital euro project faces little chance of success unless it can prove to rely on a solid theoretical foundation. That means one that takes into account aspects such as potential distortions of CBDCs to cross-border capital flows, the prospect of a displacement of international reserve currencies or the degree of fragmentation of capital markets they may introduce due to unresolved interoperability issues. Hence, the time is ripe to ask and encourage you all to actively consider including CBDCrelated topics in your respective research agendas as means to broadly support our efforts in landing at the best possible blueprint for a digital euro: one that helps maximize its benefits while containing its hazards. And having said that, I think it’s about time that we not only feed our minds and souls but our bodies, too. So, thank you very much for listening and bon appétit! 2
This is especially the case at board and senior management level, where leaders are often not fully on board with Regtech adoption because they do not fully understand its potential benefits. Regtech promotion 31. So those are some of the key challenges that we need to overcome. Before talking about the solutions, let me share our vision for Regtech in Hong Kong – what we call “Regtech 2025” – which is the underlying theme for the White Paper. 32. Regtech 2025 requires us to achieve 4 key goals by the year 2025. We can crystallise 3/6  BIS central bankers' speeches  these goals in four action-driven verbs : Lead, Adopt, Grow, and Nurture. In terms of “Lead”: Hong Kong aims to become one of the global leaders in Regtech by the year 2025 In terms of “Adopt”: we want to ensure that Regtech will be extensively adopted by the Hong Kong banking sector in the next few years As regards “Grow”: not only do we want wide adoption of Regtech among banks, we also want Hong Kong to become a breeding ground for growing Regtech solutions for financial institutions And finally on “Nurture”: we want to ensure that Hong Kong will emerge as a hub for nurturing Regtech talent 33. With these four key goals in mind, the White Paper sets out 16 recommendations across five core areas, all designed to accelerate Regtech adoption. 34. We can summarise the five core areas using the following framework: 35.

The five core areas are: – Minds Matter Solutions Matter Regulators Matter Talent Matters And Momentum Matters 36. Let me briefly talk about how each of these areas really matters in achieving our overall goal 37. First of all, “Minds Matter” refers to the importance of awareness. High awareness is essential for gaining buy-in across an organisation, and securing the appropriate resources to implement solutions. A fundamental step in promoting Regtech adoption is therefore to boost awareness of the benefits of Regtech adoption across a wide group of stakeholders, and to highlight the available use cases in the market. 38. One of our recommendations is to establish a “Regtech Knowledge Hub”. This is a centralised knowledge platform for sharing information on Regtech experience and potential usages. 39. There are also opportunities to expand the scope of Regtech events to reach different stakeholder groups. Therefore another recommendation is for a series of targeted Regtech events to be hosted to raise the industry’s awareness of this subject. 40. On our part as regulator, another way of boosting awareness is by issuing practical guidance to help the industry better understand how Regtech can be applied in Hong Kong. 41. Next, “Solutions Matter”. It refers to the importance of developing solutions that are specifically tailored to the banking industry in Hong Kong. So our second area of focus is to promote Regtech solution innovation. 42. We believe that competition is a key catalyst for innovation.
Among our activities, we monitor economic performance on a monthly basis, we tap into the insights of the members of our Small Business and Agriculture Advisory Council and Upstate Advisory Board, we have constructed a consumer credit panel that allows us to better understand the financial condition of homeowners and students, we have developed a “Regional Mortgage Conditions” dataset and other housing tools at the county and zip code level to ensure that policymakers and counselors are well informed, and we conduct a biannual poll of small businesses to understand their credit needs and availability. Interestingly, our most recent poll, released in May of this year, shows improvements in small businesses’ ability to get credit throughout the region, though it remains a major growth challenge for these types of firms. As you can see, we have a lot to keep us engaged with the region. Much of this information can be found on our website, which I would invite you to visit and use as a resource. Now, I’d like to review recent developments in the local and national economies, and at the end of my talk will be happy to answer any questions you have. As always, what I have to say reflects my own views and not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve System or the Federal Open Market Committee.

The Great Recession and sluggish recovery that has followed has made it difficult for people to find jobs, and I’m sure you may be wondering about whether going to college will turn out to be a good investment, especially if faced with the burden of student debt, something we track quite closely. Let me reassure you, the benefits of a college degree remain significant. Research we have undertaken at the New York Fed shows that young people with a college degree are more likely to have a job and they tend to earn considerably higher wages than those without degrees – and this is true even for those who may be underemployed initially when they first enter the labor market after graduation. Although the labor market has been challenging for college graduates in recent years, I am confident that most will find work and transition into higher-skilled jobs as they gain experience and as the labor market improves. Now, I’d like to turn my attention to recent developments in the national economy. National economic conditions Let me begin by taking stock of where we are at the moment. Then I will address my expectations for the performance of the economy in 2014 and 2015. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  Since the end of what is now called the Great Recession in mid-2009, the U.S. economy has experienced 17 consecutive calendar quarters of positive growth of real GDP.
5 “Sul tempo della ratifica della CED” 1 March 1954 in Einaudi, Lo scrittorio del Presidente (1948–1955), Giulio  Einaudi Editore, Torino, 1956. 5/5  BIS central bankers' speeches

I believe that we can say something similar about the arc of progress. Europe moves forward in stops and starts. It often learns lessons the hard way. But its arc bends towards a stronger and more united Europe for all citizens. The common currency 3/4  BIS central bankers' speeches  reflects this continued progress, with support for the euro at its highest level on record at 80%, up from 66% a decade ago.8 This should give us hope as we look to the future. And it should give us confidence that, even when Europe may seem divided or lacking in direction, there is a thread guiding us forwards. Over my career, I have had the privilege to watch this process unfold up close, to share in its highs and lows. I have been lucky enough to see it from three different perspectives – national, European and global. And I am honoured to continue working to take Europe forwards. I am very pleased to see the contributions of the European Central Bank recognised through my acceptance of this prize. Thank you. 1 Common Equity Tier 1. European Banking Authority (2020), “Basel III monitoring exercise – results based on  data as of 31 December 2019”, December. 2 Lagarde, C. (2019), “The future of the euro area economy”, speech at the Frankfurt European Banking  Congress, 22 November.
Kerstin af Jochnick: Unusual measures in unusual times – experiences with the Riksbank’s unconventional monetary policy Speech by Ms Kerstin af Jochnick, First Deputy Governor of the Sveriges Riksbank, to SACO (Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations), Stockholm, 29 January 2016. *  *  *  Accompanying charts can be found at the end of the speech. I would like to thank Carl-Johan Belfrage, Hanna Köhler and Cecilia Roos-Isaksson for helping me with this speech. The start of a new year – particularly after such an eventful year as 2015 – can be a good time to look back and try to learn a few lessons from the past year’s experiences. I will therefore focus today on the reasons for the new monetary policy ground broken by the Riksbank in 2015. This includes our introduction of a negative repo rate and our initiation of government bond purchases as a complement to repo rate cuts to further boost demand in the economy and increase inflation. The inflation target is worth defending. This is why we have taken to unusual measures under unusual circumstances and these measures seem to have contributed towards good growth and a rising inflation trend. At the same time, there is reason to remember that the low level of interest rates is leading housing prices and mortgages to develop in a dangerous direction. I also intend to present a few preliminary reflections on the recently published assessment of the Riksbank’s monetary policy. Why is the inflation target so important?

The risk otherwise is that we will create new problems that may lead to low growth further on and new difficulties for monetary policy to reach the inflation target. I am concerned about Sweden’s position as one of a handful of countries in Europe that has not succeeded in getting a functioning macroprudential policy into place. With such a large financial system and the obvious major vulnerabilities present in the Swedish economy, our focus should be on urgently adopting measures. Valuable evaluation of monetary policy We thus have an unusual time behind us that has required unusual measures over the past year. Under such circumstances, it is natural to wonder, for example, how well the inflation target is functioning and which areas monetary policy should be responsible for. It therefore seems appropriate that the Riksdag Committee on Finance has just published its latest assessment of monetary policy.6 First and foremost, I would like to say that it has been a privilege to have my work reviewed and assessed by people with such impressive academic and practical credentials in the area of monetary policy as those possessed by Messrs. Goodfriend and King. Assessments are a key ingredient in every kind of work to improve operations and this assessment contains many reasonable opinions and suggestions for discussion and further work. We will do this over the spring, before submitting our consultation response in April.
Since then, DFIs have contributed to the economic transformation of Malaysia and helped to reduce inequality. For example, through them, the unserved and underserved segments of society have increased access to financial services. Rural communities have benefitted from microfinance initiatives and agent banking services. Last but not least, DFIs have contributed to macro-economic stability through the provision of counter-cyclical financing during periods of financial instability. The strategic role of DFIs make them well placed to contribute to the development priorities of the nation, and assist in the materialisation of the SDGs. Specifically, DFIs can play an important role in contributing to the advancement of the following SDGs: no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, quality education, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, industry, innovation and infrastructure, reduced inequality, sustainable cities and communities and climate action, amongst others. Thus, as institutions designed with developmental mandates in mind, DFIs are primed to serve the greater good. For Malaysia, the developmental story is not over as we seek to transform our economy into a high income nation while ensuring no one is left behind. The task ahead of us is challenging, but it is not insurmountable. As such, the stakes are higher than ever. In this environment, it is important for DFIs to ensure that they remain relevant. The urgency for change remains high, as shifts in the global economic and social landscape continue to create risks and unforeseen externalities that may dampen growth.

Given the digitalisation of finance and proliferation of technology in financial services, DFIs need to remain at the frontier of these developments. This could include leveraging on big data and forging partnerships with technology firms to develop digital solutions at lower cost and increased efficiency. At the broader level, the development finance architecture should also shift to be more effective in channelling resources and catalysing private investment to developmental oriented projects and initiatives. Whilst most DFIs have been self-sustainable for the past few years, DFIs will need to diversify their sources of funding and ensure that the structure of liabilities is appropriate for the assets that they hold to be sustainable in the long run. DFIs cannot be dependent on fiscal support to carry out their mandates. DFIs should aim to have strong competitive position on new growth sectors supported by a sustainable strategy and management execution capabilities. Last but not least, DFIs are required to continuously review their institutional fit and business models to increase their development impact while remaining financially sustainable. Effective DFIs should also be able to act as catalysts to promote private sector investments and support economic growth. One example of a financially sustainable business model is demonstrated by the experience of Nacional Financiera (NAFIN) as an enabler to Mexico’s aspiration to combat climate change through the Renewable Energy Financing Facility, or REFF.