samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
A researcher must understand these differences in order to understand the role that a particular kind of debt plays in household decision-making. But student debt is perhaps the most distinctive form. Let me explain what I mean. Unlike virtually all other forms of credit, student loans are generally not underwritten: they are frequently offered to young borrowers who have little or no credit history and little to no current income. The amount of credit extended, on average, runs in the tens of thousands of dollars. These loans are also not collateralized, nor are the interest rates risk-based. However, lenders (now primarily the taxpayers), are given additional security in that student loans, unlike other forms of debt, are not dischargeable in bankruptcy. This also means that delinquent student loans tend to remain on a borrower’s credit record long after the borrower has stopped making payments, thus leading to very high measured rates of delinquency. In addition, many special programs exist to allow borrowers to postpone repayment on their student loans to an extent not available for other kinds of household lending. New York Fed economists have shown that for the 2009 cohort of graduates, only 17 percent of their original debt had been paid down after five years.1 More than 20 percent of high-balance student borrowers owe more now than when they graduated in 2009. For the 2005 cohort of graduates, only 38 percent of their original student debt had been paid down, on average, nearly ten years after graduation.

Unfortunately, I cannot readily assess the level of support for the particular option which the Government have now chosen, since the researchers did not ask you to assess it - which is certainly a tribute to the new Government’s ability to surprise the market. But in these surveys I am always fascinated by the outlying views - the small minorities who express a contrary opinion. For example, when asked about the most appropriate regulatory structure 2 per cent of those asked said they thought the best option would be to abandon the SIB and the SROs, and the Bank of England, and that regulation should be carried out directly by the Treasury. I would be very grateful if that 2 per cent of you could stay behind afterwards, assuming they have not been institutionalised since the study was conducted. BIS Review 67/1997  -2-  The strongest message to emerge, though, was the need for regulators to consult the market effectively on both structures and on rules. I am certainly prepared to undertake here and now that we shall do so. We are charged by the Government to produce an over-arching framework pretty quickly, so our discussions with the market will need to start now. But, thereafter, we will consult intensively on the way in which the new structure will affect day to day regulation. I give you my firm undertaking on that point. But, as I said, today I am not speaking to you as the Chairman of the SIB.
This is because insurance forms one of the foundations to our daily lives, providing a risk transfer role for all facets of human activity. Risk transfer allows society as we know it to function effectively and as such, insurers oil the wheels for the engine of the economy to function. On the basis of what I have seen since last August, the UK insurance industry is one of the most advanced and successful in the world. The key to meeting the challenges of tomorrow’s world is for the industry and regulator to continue to develop and work together. 6  BIS central bankers’ speeches

In its role as the regulator, the Bank of Albania’s vision is to contribute to the future, aiming to establish a highly adequate environment for boosting financial innovations and modernising the financial structure. Our regulatory regime aims at fostering innovation, being a positive catalyser and not a barrier. We aim at being avant-garde for a modern financial infrastructure. But experience shows that technology always is a step ahead and rapidly spreading. Technology has no limits and we, as regulators, should adopt rules and laws that these technologies be used by the consumers, individuals or businesses. At the same time, we should be aware of the risks that accompany these new technologies. Finding a perfect balance between the promotion of new ideas and the regulatory prudence constitutes one of the major challenges in this regard. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  Bank of Albania has designed a payments regulatory framework, which paved the way for the development and modernisation. This framework provides all banks or other suppliers of financial services with the possibility to access the payment system in an equal and transparent way, thus contributing to the development of a competitive payment industry, without any asymmetry. Bank of Albania welcomes the contribution of innovation and technology in financial services as a support for achieving its strategic objectives for financial inclusion and reduction of cash use in the economy. These objectives serve crucially to both the transmission of the monetary policy and the safeguarding of financial stability.
Tarisa Watanagase: Mitigating fraud risk in financial institutions Keynote address by Dr Tarisa Watanagase, Governor of the Bank of Thailand, at the seminar on “Mitigating Fraud Risk in Financial Institutions”, Bangkok, 29 April 2008. *  *  *  Khun Kaisri, Distinguished Guests, It is my great pleasure to join you at this seminar on “Mitigating Fraud Risk in Financial Institutions”, hosted by KPMG Thailand. I would also like to thank the host for giving me this important opportunity to share the views of the Bank of Thailand on this topic. The globalization of the financial services industry, the increased sophistication and complexity of financial institutions and their services, and the ongoing advancement of technology continue to introduce new risks and opportunities for fraud. The pace and complexity of these advances have vastly accelerated beyond the risk associated with traditional credit and market risk activities. One of those emerging risks in financial institutions is fraud risk, which needs to be effectively controlled through effective governance and sound operational risk management processes. Fraud risk in financial institutions has increased as perpetrators use advanced innovation and technology to identify and exploit weaknesses in banks’ IT systems, databases, and delivery channels, including ATMs and the Internet. Financial institutions must take care to ensure that system security measures are effective as a means to combat fraud.

To conclude, I would like to reiterate the importance of preventive measures to combat fraud, and I applaud your efforts in holding a conference on this topic as it shows that you place a high degree of importance in this area. While no institution can ever be expected to be completely fraud proof, institutions maintaining key elements I discussed will have taken a big step towards fraud mitigation and avoidance. I wish you great success for this seminar. I hope you accomplish your objectives and I know you will all take a lot of valuable information from this timely and meaningful event. Thank you again for inviting me to join you today and thank you very much for your attention. BIS Review 52/2008  3
Focus was first placed on strengthening the institutional capacity of the domestic financial intermediaries so as to narrow the performance gap between the domestic and international financial intermediaries. In parallel with this was the intense effort to develop the domestic bond market. During this phase of the development of the financial system, significant advancement in the banking sector was made in terms of capitalisation, risk management and governance practices, delivery channels and in human capital development in the industry. This paved the way for the interest rate reform to move to greater market orientation, thereby supporting a more efficient pricing of financial products and services. The more competitive environment that it generated also became an important driver of productivity gains, customer centricity and innovation in the financial system. Equally important, was the attention that was given to the development of a deep and vibrant domestic bond market as an alternative channel for the efficient raising of funds, particularly by the corporate sector. The development of the bond market has enabled better matching of long-term projects with long-term funds, and by reducing the over-reliance on the banking system, it has contributed significantly to financial stability. Among the institutions that was established to support the development of the domestic bond market was the establishment of the domestic rating agencies and Cagamas, the mortgage corporation. The Malaysian bond market has since evolved to become the largest in South East Asia to now account for 110% of GDP.

Zeti Akhtar Aziz: Reflections on financial reform – Malaysia’s experience Speech by Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia (Bank Negara Malaysia), at the 2013 China Business News (CBN) Annual Meeting and Finance Summit “Reflections on financial reform – Malaysia’s experience”, Beijing, 8 December 2013. *  *  *  It is my honour and pleasure to be invited to speak at this 2013 China Business News Finance Summit. As the globalisation of finance intensifies, the world is becoming increasingly more inter-connected and integrated. This has largely been due to the trend towards increased financial liberalisation by most parts of the world. It has been maintained that such deregulation and liberalisation would facilitate the development of more efficient and robust financial systems and that it would result in a more efficient allocation of financial resources across borders. While such financial liberalisation may indeed bring such wide ranging benefits, it also brings with it increased risks that needs to be effectively managed. It was for these reasons that Malaysia adopted a conscious effort to put in place the financial and economic pre-conditions so as to enable us to benefit from such financial reforms involving the deregulation and liberalisation of our financial system. Allow me to share our experience in pursuing this agenda. Following the Asian Financial Crisis, Malaysia embarked on strategies for an orderly development of the financial sector.
Sabine Lautenschläger: How innovative should central banks be? Keynote speech by Ms Sabine Lautenschläger, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, at the Wirtschaftsgipfel 2014 “Wirtschaft neu denken – die Kraft der Innovation”, organised by Süddeutsche Zeitung, Berlin, 29 November 2014. *  *  *  Tradition and innovation in monetary policy More than six years after the start of the global financial crisis, monetary policy in the euro area still faces major challenges: Monetary policy, the ECB, faces a challenge – perhaps more than ever before. It faces a challenge because inflation rates are too low. At 0.4% for the whole euro area, the inflation rate is well below our target of nearly 2%. The prospects for economic growth and further price developments in the medium term are subdued. Monetary growth and lending are weak. Geopolitical risks are adding to the uncertainties which are causing investor appetite to continue to fall. Expectations of the ECB are high, from markets and from politicians. Every month people give us good advice, often referring to actions taken by other central banks. And they do so despite the fact that our monetary policy decisions from June and September haven’t yet been able to fully take effect. So what else can a central bank do in the current situation? How innovative may central banks be?

On the other hand, financial globalisation may have reduced the natural rate of interest by increasing global demand for safe assets. With regard to all these factors, it is worth considering whether globalisation affects inflation via structural changes in markets, pricing behaviour or mark-ups. Its impact is ambiguous. On the one hand, as discussed above, trade and participation in global value chains could increase competition and generate strategic complementarities. On the other hand, it has been argued that the interplay between globalisation, digitalisation and the increase in importance of intangible assets may give rise to high-margin firms with considerable market power, lower pass-through of costs to prices 21 and implications for inflation volatility, the transmission of monetary policy and the natural interest rate. 16  Fo rbes, K. (2019). “Inflatio n dynamics: dead, do rmant o r determined abro ad? ”. Bro o kings Papers o n Eco nomic Activity, Fall. 17  In highly interlinked financial markets, lo ng-term interest rates and risky asset prices are expected to be increasingly affected by glo bal facto rs. 18  Geo rgiadis, G. and A. Mehl (2015). “Financial glo balisation and monetary po licy effectiveness”. Jo urnal o f International Eco no mics, 103, pp. 200-212. 19  Fo r example, as the exchange rate depreciates in respo nse to mo netary po licy lo osening, imported inputs used in the pro ductio n o f expo rts beco me mo re expensive, inducing expo rters to raise their ho me currency price.
In some instances, the board and management will also have to deal with increased and sometimes conflicting regulatory and 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  legal requirements across the different jurisdictions. For such financial groups, the lines of accountability and reporting must be clearly established to avoid the business becoming “toobig-to-manage”. A more diverse board reflecting the financial group’s cross border presence might also be necessary. As the operating environment becomes more complex, it is not an impossibility that sometime in the near future there would be a demand for “professional directors”. Secondly, financial innovation, including in the area of Islamic finance, will continue to expand as institutions seek their own competitive edge. While we should encourage such innovations within the bounds of prudence, the implication of financial innovations on governance arrangements and practices must be properly understood. For example, the introduction of new financing structures based on different Islamic contracts such as equitybased or risk-sharing concepts will likely demand different and more robust governance arrangements. In this context, the Bank is introducing Shariah and operational standards to promote greater legal and operational certainty and quality in Islamic finance transactions. These standards will set out, among others, clear duties and responsibilities of the various parties involved in Islamic contracts with the aim to ensure end-to-end Shariah compliance. At the same time, there will be enhanced disclosure requirements on risks associated with potential misconduct and negligence.

This will supplement the role of existing disclosure requirements which help investors assess the financial condition and risk profile of financial institutions. Conclusion It is my hope that as we venture into the future, this workshop will steer a dialogue towards developing a deeper understanding of the contemporary issues that confront the industry and yield new perspectives and insights around governance issues. Programmes such as this make an important contribution to that process. On that note, I wish you a productive and engaging workshop. BIS central bankers’ speeches  5
Ravi Menon: Covid-19 - we need more connectivity, not less Keynote speech (via video conference from Singapore) by Mr Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, at Caixin Summer Summit 2020, 22 June 2020. * * * Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Thank you for inviting me to the Caixin Summer Summit 2020. COVID-19 has triggered the sharpest contraction in the global economy since the Great Depression of the 1930s. We can expect a gradual recovery from the third quarter onwards as countries re-open their economies. But there is considerable uncertainty about the strength and durability of this recovery. The trajectory of the economy will be largely shaped by the trajectory of the pandemic – which is itself a significant source of uncertainty. The risk of secondary waves of infection is not trivial. Those countries that have put in place strong safe management measures and a robust regime of testing, contact tracing, and swift isolation of infected persons, are more likely to minimise a second outbreak of infections and sustain their economic recovery. China’s experience is encouraging in this regard. It has been taking decisive steps to contain new outbreaks of infection while lifting movement restrictions and restoring economic activity. It is important that as countries seek to contain the pandemic, they do so in a way that does not undermine connectivity among them. Closer integration – through trade and investment – has underpinned the prosperity and poverty reduction we have seen globally since the Second World War.

That is well above the trend rate for the past 20 years, of just over 2%. Employment has increased by 1.2 million over this period, while unemployment has fallen almost month by month, on the familiar claimant count measure, from a peak of over 10% in 1993, to some 4.7% now. That is the lowest rate for 18 years. Meanwhile retail price inflation (on the Government’s target measure) has averaged around 2¾% - that’s the lowest for a generation. There’s not much evidence here that low inflation inevitably means low growth and employment. But, of course, we started this period with demand below capacity - with a fair amount of slack in the economy which we were gradually taking up. By last year it had become clear, in the evidence of rising capacity utilisation and of growing tightness in the labour market, that unless we acted to moderate the growth of demand we were at risk of overheating. That’s why we tightened policy over last summer - to slow things down before inflation took off - and to head off a subsequent recession. And although, as I say, you can never be sure - economic forecasting is a very uncertain business - a necessary slowdown rather than a more serious recession is what we think we’re seeing, and, as I understand it, that is what your own General Council thinks too. Our problem in slowing the economy down has been enormously complicated by the increasing imbalance between the domestic and the internationally-exposed sectors of the economy.
2021, a year of uncertainties, but also one of work, the year of a rebound and even a year of progress: that is all I wish for us, and that I wish to each and every one of you. Happy New Year!

Michael Gondwe: 50 years of central banking in Zambia – repositioning for the future Speech by Dr Michael Gondwe, Governor of the Bank of Zambia, at the official launch of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Bank of Zambia, Lusaka, 10 May 2014. *  *  *  •  Deputy Governor – Administration  •  Senior Directors and Directors  •  Representatives from Commercial banks  •  Members of Staff and Former Members of Staff Present  •  Members of the Press  •  Ladies and Gentlemen  I would like to extend a warm welcome to you all on behalf of the Bank of Zambia and indeed on my own behalf, to the official launch of the Bank of Zambia’s 50th Anniversary Celebrations, since its establishment on 7th August 1964. The theme for the Bank of Zambia’s jubilee celebrations is “50 Years of Central Banking: Repositioning for the Future”. This is indeed a momentous year for our country, as it will also mark the commemoration of Zambia’s Golden Jubilee. Distinguished Colleagues, the Bank of Zambia has during the last 50 years gone through different phases of transformation and development. I am proud to say that the Bank has, from the time of establishment in August 1964, matured into an institution whose roles have changed to respond to the growing and changing demands of an emerging economy and deal with complexities of globalisation.
The results of our market operation in August and our technical measures in September have been stable interest rates and financial markets that have been free of the manipulation that posed such a threat to stability and confidence over the summer. For an economy that is still working its way through its worst recession in more than a generation this is good news. Many critics, however, were shocked by what they saw as a gross violation of free-market principles in a city that had been held up as one of the world’s great models of free-market economics. We did not, and do not, see it in this way. And, six months or so after the event, now is perhaps an appropriate time to place the events of last summer in some perspective. Free markets 14. What, then, is a free market? It might be helpful to go back to basic economics to set out a few simple principles. In bald terms, a free market is a market in which buyers and sellers are free to trade on whatever terms they wish without government interference. The great writers on free markets, from Adam Smith to Milton Friedman, argue that free markets and free enterprise, rather than governments or monopolies, are the most efficient means of producing and distributing wealth and, as a consequence, the soundest basis for a just and prosperous society.

Our stabilisation policy rests on four pillars that were established in the 1990s and in 2001: the oil fund mechanism, the fiscal rule, a floating exchange rate and inflation targeting. This system was introduced against the backdrop of wide fluctuations in economic developments during the first twenty years of the oil age in Norway. Under the oil fund mechanism, increased government petroleum revenues are invested abroad, which curbs the impact of oil price swings on demand and output - and on inflation and the krone exchange rate. A floating krone exchange rate also has a stabilising effect, and the exchange rate normally appreciates in favourable periods and depreciates during adverse periods. It is easiest to express the advantage of this during adverse periods. If the krone remains at a level that is too strong, real wage growth must be lower than productivity growth in order to strengthen enterprises and employment. This only occurs when unemployment is high. With a flexible exchange rate, competitiveness may also strengthen as a result of a depreciation of the krone. A flexible exchange rate can reduce fluctuations in employment and output. The fiscal rule that provides for a steady phasing-in of petroleum revenues and the inflation target anchor expectations concerning developments in the krone exchange rate and inflation. Moreover, the fiscal rule contributes to restraining the pace at which international exposed industries are scaled back. When these policy guidelines are adhered to, they are in principle just as conducive for coping with favourable periods as with adverse periods.