samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
It will tend to result in financial markets being hot-headed in the summer and frozen-eared in the winter. Table 1 demonstrates this pattern. It compares haircuts on a range of financial instruments used to back borrowing – so-called securities financing. They are shown on two dates, before (June 2007) and after (June 2009) the financial crisis. Haircuts rose by up to 90 percentage points in the space of these two years, as the scorching pre-crisis summer gave way to a frozen crisis winter. In other words, haircuts exhibited a rather dramatic procyclicality over the course of the crisis. Table 1: Typical haircut on term securities financing transactions (per cent) June 20071  June 20091  Medium-term G7 government bonds  0  1  Medium-term US agencies  1  2  AAA-rated prime MBS  4  10  Asset-backed securities  10  25  AAA-rated structured products  10  100  AAA- and AA-rated investment grade bonds  1  8  High-yield bonds  8  15  G7 countries equity  10  15  Source: Committee on the Global Financial System (2010). 1  Prime counterparty. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  This haircut cycle played an important causal role in the crisis. Secured financing became an increasingly important source of credit in both bank and non-bank markets over the past decade. In the US, the repo market financed roughly half of the growth in investment banks’ balance sheets between 2002 and 2007.

In the medium term, the Bank of Albania will focus its efforts on a number of initiatives, notably on further legal developments and infrastructure improvements. An important step in the medium term is the drafting of the bill “On the payment account". The bill will transpose the European Union Directive “On the Payments Account” and promote transparency by creating a public register to present all commissions applied by institutions, which can be easily compared. At the same time, during this period, the Bank of Albania will engage in a number of infrastructure developments that support financial inclusion, reduce the costs of using these instruments and is estimated to have an impact on the remittance market, mainly from the point of view of remittance receivers and their use. Here we can mention the creation of a national platform for processing payments in real time (instant payment and processing of card payments). The platform creates conditions for the development of innovative and low-cost services and also aims at market segments that create ample volumes by targeting state institution payments as well as daily payments that Albanian citizens make. Last but not least, I would like to thank the Government of Albania for the importance it places on this matter and its continuous support. In particular, I would like to thank the ministries such as the Ministry of Diaspora and the Ministry of Finance and Economy for their support and fruitful cooperation.
This is the only feasible option. But how does one accomplish this, in practice? In fact, we have already taken the first steps. In 2008, the supervision authorities, central banks and finance ministries of the European Union signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at improving cross-border cooperation. This European memorandum encourages Member States with common banking groups to enhance crisis preparedness by developing permanent cooperation structures. These cooperation structures, or so-called Cross-Border Stability Groups, should include a clear division of roles and responsibilities between the authorities and ministries. They should share information; discuss potential problems and solutions; and establish procedures on how to coordinate actions in a crisis. Over the longer term, such cooperation may also make it clear to the authorities involved that legal and regulatory harmonisation is a good thing. That looks good on paper. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Despite the fact that all EU Member States signed this memorandum almost two years ago, cooperation between authorities in different European countries remains limited. For instance, as far as I know, only one Cross-Border Stability Group is presently being established. I am quite proud of the fact that the Swedish finance ministry, the supervisory authority and the Riksbank – together with the other authorities and ministries in the Nordic and Baltic countries – are among the signatories. This Nordic-Baltic stability group has a clear governance arrangement and a comprehensive list of responsibilities. This certainly enhances our preparedness for managing a crisis in any of our common international banking groups.

It will not only reinforce the need for constant vigilance from all parties, but also help create an environment where everyone is risk conscious and responsible in protecting the interests of each other. These initiatives would not achieve the desired outcomes without effective  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  communication, and the media has a critical role to play in conveying the message from the banks. We have always acknowledged the importance of the media and I would like to record Bank Negara Malaysia’s appreciation for the assistance rendered by the media in creating awareness of this issue in the past. We hope that with the support of the media on this occasion too, this campaign will be a success, and the public will have heightened levels of understanding and vigilance over this issue. On behalf of Bank Negara Malaysia, I would like to thank all the banks for taking this initiative to undertake this joint e-banking awareness campaign. Our thanks also to Cyber Security and the Police Force for your ongoing efforts to collaborate with the banking industry. I wish all of you the best and assure you that Bank Negara Malaysia will continuously support you in this noble effort. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches
Mr Bäckström covers monetary policy in Sweden from 1996 to 1998 Opening remarks by Mr Urban Bäckström, Governor of Sveriges Riksbank, the Swedish central bank, before the Standing Committee on Finance in Stockholm on 18 May 1999. Introduction In the period 1996–98 the annual rates of inflation, measured with the CPI, were 0.8, 0.9 and 0.4 per cent, respectively. This means that in each of these years the change in the CPI not only deviated from monetary policy’s 2 per cent target for price stability but was also outside the lower tolerance limit of 1 per cent inflation. The Riksbank has indeed made assessments that subsequently proved to be a bit off the mark. As a result we have also made decisions that, looking back when the outcome was known, could have been somewhat different. But on the whole, the result of monetary policy in this period seems to be acceptable. In my opening remarks I intend to give this appraisal more substance. One major reason why CPI inflation has been low in the past three years is that the price trend has been affected by some specific price movements that monetary policy neither can nor should aim to counter fully. If the Riksbank attempts to counter such price movements, the result might be unnecessarily costly for the economy, that is, exaggerated fluctuations in economic activity as well as in the financial markets. It was against this background that the new Executive Board of the Riksbank clarified the inflation target earlier this spring.

And all are competing for business in a way unthought of a few years ago witness the competition between LIFFE and Eurex for the long and short ends of the euro yield curve. The latest score in that particular England:Germany match is one all. No doubt German supporters think this score-line would have been a fairer result on Saturday night, given the balance of play! 1  BIS Review 51/2000  Role of technology But the common factor in all of these developments is technology. Physical trading floors for exchanges are fast-disappearing, particularly on this side of the Atlantic, replaced by virtual floors with trading conducted electronically. And exchanges are utilising their markets and system expertise to become trading system providers as well as market operators: OM has been a leader in this field for some time now, and LIFFE has announced some exciting plans - the creation of - fittingly enough “LIFFE.com” and its recent tie-up with Cap Gemini. On balance, these developments must be in investors’ interests. They reduce costs, improve access and allow exchanges to respond quickly and effectively to users’ changing needs. But they also present a number of challenges. To move from a trading floor, with its mix of locals, brokers and market makers, to an electronic order book, undoubtedly changes the dynamics of a market. For regulators, remote trading also brings some difficult challenges. Technology does not respect national boundaries; nor does it recognise different jurisdictions.
Since the financial markets operate across national borders, the Riksbank works together closely with foreign central banks on these issues. For example, the Riksbank participates in several ECB committees related to stability issues and takes an active part in the ongoing work to reform the capital adequacy regulations. It is also stipulated in law that one of the primary functions of the Riksbank is to promote a stable and efficient payment system. In order to fulfil this task, the Riksbank must closely follow developments in those financial institutions that are of central importance to the payment system, i.e. primarily the four major banks, which are each sufficiently large to cause problems for financial stability if they fail. The analysis focuses on three main areas. The first area concerns general developments in the banking sector - how the competitiveness and long-term profitability of the banks are developing. The second area examines credit risks related to the banks’ lending to households and non-financial companies. 1  BIS Review 50/2000  The third area that is analysed is counterparty and settlement risks that arise in connection with the banks’ trading and taking positions in the financial markets. The analysis is undertaken on an ongoing basis and is presented in the Financial Stability Report, which is issued twice a year. I will mainly focus on the analysis of the banks’ credit risks associated with lending to households and companies. This is a subject that has attracted growing attention as lending, especially to the household sector, has risen significantly.

Chart 7: Canadian and Australian banks better  Chart 8: Real short-term interest rates were  capitalised than UK’s in 2005  generally lower in Canada and Australia Per cent 7 Australia  6  Canada  5  UK  4 3 2 1 0 -1 Sources: Bush, Guimaraes and Stremmel (2015). Tangible common equity as a share of total unweighted assets. 2005 and 2006 average. 10  1998  2000  2002  2004  Sources: Thompson Reuters Datastream and Bank calculations. See also Ferrero et al. (forthcoming). 8  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/speeches  8  II: Some simple mitigants If this is right then the gains from formal co-ordination might not be that significant. Even a single, “joined-up” committee would generally find itself reaching for macro-prudential tools to control financial risk and using interest rates to moderate cyclical swings in demand and inflation. Shortly, in the next section, I’ll offer a more positive reason to keep some distance between the two policies. Before that, I should point out that, even in instances where there may be gains from policy co-ordination, there are things you can do within the existing framework. One involves the appropriate choice of secondary objectives. As I’ve tried to explain, the case for cooperation is stronger the more severe and frequent any conflicts between the respective objectives. There’s a very general result that puts the same point the other way around: if you give the two committees exactly the same objectives there is no co-ordination problem.
Ladies and Gentlemen The new features on the K10,000 banknote are as follows: (1)  On the front of the banknote – there is a new bright silver demetallised holographic lead representing a fish eagle. This has replaced the old hologram of the head of a fish eagle. (2)  On the back of the banknote –the area around the value numeral, K10,000 in the right top corner, is printed with a special ink which shifts colour from copper to green when angle of view is changed. These are the two changes that have been made to the K10,000 banknote. All other features are basically the same. The reason for the introduction of these two features is mainly to enhance the security of the banknote. The Bank of Zambia would further like to inform the public that the new K10,000 banknote and the current circulating K10,000 banknotes shall circulate side by side. The new and current banknotes will therefore all be legal tender. The current K10,000 banknotes will be replaced by the new K10,000 banknote once they reach the end of their lifespan through soiling and/or mutilation. Therefore, I urge you to take a closer look at the new K10,000 banknote in order to inform the public correctly. I thank you. BIS Review 78/2008  1

This is because we understand that these implementations require that IT systems be developed because almost everything is now tied to IT. We want banks to be able to do this at the same time. There are exceptions when there are extraordinary situations or risks. Or when banks, due to the fact that this is an easing measure, a preferential regime, ask us to introduce these new changes faster. Sometimes we just let them choose: they can remain on the old system or migrate to the new system. This is more difficult for us, but we understand that it is easier for banks to work this way. In our opinion, this increases predictability of the implementation of all our changes in regulation. I would like to say that, together with you, we are trying to remove bottlenecks, to reduce costs where possible, so that banks of varying sizes have the opportunity to work and benefit their customers. For example, for a long time there have been discussions, on all the platforms and during meetings, of banks’ access to funds from the budget, state-owned companies, and today Mr. Aksakov spoke about this, about a draft law. We hope that it will indeed be adopted, and that this topic will no longer require constant discussion. We understand how serious it is from the point of view of ensuring an equal playing field regarding access to state and state companies’ funds. All the more so because they form a significant part of banks’ equities.
When the system is operational, all parties will benefit from advantages in terms of cost, efficiency, payment security and management of the associated liquidity in the context of an integrated, competitive and innovative market for all cashless payments in euro. 3. Improving the attractiveness and competitiveness of the Paris financial centre  The competitiveness of the Paris financial centre is an advantage in our crisis exit strategy and one that is important to continue developing – particularly after the announcement of  BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  ICE’s takeover bid for NYSE Euronext, which could substantially change the role of the financial centre’s players and generate new opportunities. It is essential that efforts undertaken to consolidate and develop market infrastructures as well as market and post-trade services be intensified. From this point of view, 2013 will represent an important step forward with the full deployment of the offer of clearing and triparty collateral management services for repo transactions in euro that has been developed with Paris’s principal financial operators, banks, clearing and settlement infrastructures and the Banque de France. We will also strive to take advantage of new opportunities as they emerge, particularly in the areas of services for financing, investment and settlement in increasingly international currencies (such as the renminbi) and infrastructures for enhancing market transparency (such as data warehouses for the repo market for example). 4.

The present Committee contains only one member (the present Governor) who has been there from the outset, and some of the early members served short terms. Might the latter day tendency towards changing rates only after a forecast reflect a generally less activist approach to setting rates? Table 1 provides an unscientific guide to Committee members’ degree of activism: it is arranged with the most ‘activist members’ (identified as those voting proportionately most frequently for a rate change) at the top.9 If personal preferences played no role, we might expect to see a relationship between activism and ‘MPC vintage’ – if MPC members responded to the same shocks, or their behaviour was affected by some other common factor, there would be clusters. Keen MPC watchers will no doubt find some support for the view that personality matters. But, in general, the members who voted for the most rate changes are associated with the earlier years of the Committee, consistent with the idea that the MPC may have needed to respond more frequently during that period.10  9  We have excluded the first 7 months of the MPC’s existence to allow for the possibility that the first rate changes were reflecting necessary adjustments to reach what the MPC thought was the right level of interest rates. 10  There are, of course, also other possible explanations, e.g.
First, there have to be strong incentives in the system – such as capital requirements on banks and securities dealers – to provide an impetus for dealers to standardize OTC derivatives trades whenever practical. The goal is fewer bespoke trades and more standardized trades. Second, the G20 leaders agreed that all standardized OTC derivative trades should be mandatorily cleared through CCPs by the end of 2012. Third, records for all OTC derivative trades – including bilateral bespoke trades – must be reported to trade repositories. The data as part of this reporting requirement would include key trade attributes and a legal entity identifier so that aggregate exposures could be readily calculated. Fourth, the two standard-setting bodies mentioned earlier – CPSS and IOSCO – would strengthen and broaden the principles for financial market infrastructures. Fifth, these Principles would be adopted globally, strengthening the resilience of the financial system. The logic behind these five elements of reform goes like this: Standardizing trades improves transparency and price discovery. This mitigates the opaqueness that helped to generate the illiquidity and loss of market function evident during the crisis. Requiring that such trades be cleared through CCPs is designed to reduce the aggregate amount of risk in the system. That is because the gross exposures can be netted down when all the dealers clear through one common central clearing party. In a CCP framework, the bilateral exposures of each dealer to one another are replaced by a single set of claims to and from the CCP.

(X) “A million dollar question” has been asked at Forbes, about whether exchange rate stability can be maintained under such circumstances. The answer is: yes, given the current modalities, it can be maintained as long as we manage to repay our debts and as long as we can obtain new loans from abroad. In this respect, the current world situation is favourable, because free liquidity grows again and waits to be placed, credit supply goes up and buyers are sought for this money. A continuation of EU accession negotiations improves the political perception of Croatia as a debtor. Therefore, I have no doubts that the current search for a billion dollars, or euros or whatever, will be successful. This is a relief, but it also poses the most serious dangers to this country: the danger of inactivity, the danger of believing that we can go on functioning by following the established routine and the danger that we neither have learned, nor will learn enough from the crisis. It is often repeated that our problems are of a structural nature and that it takes time to carry out the necessary reforms. This statement is not unfounded. However, an old Chinese wisdom says: “Even the longest way starts with the first step.” The truth is that the first step is often the most difficult, and we have been putting it off for a long time. BIS Review 2/2010  3
The ECB orients monetary policy to maintain price stability, which has been defined as inflation of less than 2 per cent. 8  BIS Review 19/2001  In recent years, cost inflation in the euro area countries and among trading partners has been relatively low. Growth in labour costs in Norway has been roughly 11 percentage points higher than in the euro area and 10 percentage points higher than among trading partners for the past three years. A number of other small, open economies have recorded a decline in unemployment and lower growth in labour costs than Norway. In Sweden, unemployment has shown a substantial decrease over the past five years and wage growth is below 4 per cent. Three-year wage agreements are now being concluded, underpinning the basis for low cost inflation. In the Netherlands, unemployment has fallen to a very low level. Wage growth has picked up, but is lower than in Norway. In Denmark, unemployment has come down without an increase in wage growth. In Finland, unemployment has fallen sharply from the high level that took hold in the 1990s, and wage growth has slowed. In the euro area, unemployment has dropped without an increase in wage growth. In Norway, the high growth in labour costs may be a source of rising unemployment. Interaction with fiscal policy It is important that the annual budgets are based on a long-term strategy that takes into account possible fluctuations in oil revenues from one year to the next.

With large and, to some extent, varying budget revenues, the basis for determining central government expenditure and taxes from one year to the next may easily be impaired. If budget spending is allowed to vary in step with oil prices, the Norwegian economy may experience abrupt shifts and instability. Changes in oil prices may then quickly influence wage and price expectations, the exchange rate and long-term rates. In addition, short-term rates would have to be changed frequently and sharply. BIS Review 19/2001  9  In recent years, central government real underlying spending growth has accelerated somewhat. In 2000 and 2001, spending growth has been higher than 2 per cent, which is higher than normal growth in the mainland economy. At the same time, direct and indirect taxes have increased. Fiscal policy has thus had a virtually neutral effect on domestic demand for two years while wage growth has been substantially higher than in other countries. A possible interpretation of this development is that it is more demanding to use the government budget to dampen cyclical fluctuations during an upturn than during a downturn. The willingness and ability to pursue a counter-cyclical policy may in itself be cyclical. Another interpretation is that a neutral fiscal stance this year, with a strong increase in government financial wealth, is a balanced approach to using the budget to stabilise the economy while phasing in an increase in financial income in the economy. Conclusion The Norwegian economy is fragile and vulnerable.