samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
Particular attention has been paid to the examination of banks with a major share in the activity of the financial market, those subject to acquisition or merger processes, or banks experiencing rapid growth. Overall, the monitored institutions have responded duly to the recommendations, by undertaking the relevant measures. Increased attention has been paid to the supervision for the implementation of measures for the prevention of money laundering, in cooperation with the Directorate General on the Prevention of Money Laundering (DG PML). Cooperation with the DG PML was more intensive in the framework of the evaluation process for Albania by the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL). The Bank of Albania participated actively in fulfilling the comments related to the technical and effectiveness questionnaires. In the final MONEYVAL report, the effectiveness level of financial institutions was rated as “substantial/considerable”. In particular, banks show better awareness of the AML/CFT risks and of legal obligations, and have generally taken due measures in a way that is commensurate to the assessed level of AML/CFT risk. The evaluation process was accompanied by a plan of measures for addressing the main problems identified in the report; their realisation will continue in 2019 as well. In the framework of consolidation in the banking sector, in 2018 some changes took place in the ownership structure of the banking system. As a result of these changes, 14 banks operated in the Albanian banking system as at the end of the year.

These shocks led to a temporary imbalance of the demand and supply for foreign currency and contributed to creating expectations for further appreciation of the exchange rate, and were accompanied also by a change in the behaviour of certain operators in the economy. They initiated a fast appreciation spiral in the second quarter and were accompanied by a disorder of the functioning of the domestic foreign exchange market. Under these circumstances, the Supervisory Council judged that the rapid appreciation of the exchange rate jeopardised the achievement of our inflation target in the medium-term horizon. Consequently, in full compliance with the price stability objective and without affecting the free exchange rate regime, in June the Council decided: To lower the policy rate from 1.25% to 1.00%. In parallel, overnight loan and overnight deposit rates were also reduced; and, To initiate a foreign currency purchasing programme, aimed at decelerating the pace of exchange rate appreciation and creating the premises for a normal trading activity in the domestic foreign currency market. Lowering the policy rate was aimed at further reducing the costs of financing and mitigating appreciation pressures on the exchange rate. The intervention in the domestic foreign exchange market, as a temporary and extraordinary instrument of the monetary policy, was considered as necessary under the conditions when the space for further lowering the policy rate was limited. Interventions in the foreign exchange market were concentrated in the summer months.
Øystein Olsen: Monetary policy and financial stability considerations Speech by Mr Øystein Olsen, Governor of Norges Bank (Central Bank of Norway), at the European Banking & Financial Forum, Prague, 27 March 2012. *  *  *  The text below may differ from the actual presentation. This speech does not contain assessments of the current economic situation or interest rate setting. Introduction The past few years have clearly shown the costs of financial instability. The near collapse of the financial system in autumn 2008 led to the most severe economic downturn of our time. There was a dramatic decline in international trade, and total world output fell from one year to the next for the first time in generations. When financial markets failed, the authorities had to intervene. Bailout packages for banks shifted debt from private to public hands. Governments increased spending in order to curb the fall in activity. Many countries are now trying to rein in large deficits and rising government debt under difficult conditions. Pension rules and tax systems are under review. The costs of such structural reforms would have been lower in good times. A financial crisis has to be met with appropriate measures, but the main objective in our work on financial stability must be to reduce the risk of crises emerging. History tells us that a financial crisis typically arises when debt has accumulated over a long period. An important task is therefore to contain the buildup of imbalances and secure a robust financial system.

As a result, the Swiss economy has benefited from far more favourable monetary conditions than Germany, for example, which is subject to the same interest rate regime as those euro area countries in the process of convergence. Furthermore, the interest rate bonus has remained, partly because of the heterogeneous economic development of the euro area. Even if the international significance of the Swiss franc diminished, its unique character should strengthen in view of the increasing complexity and diversity of the euro area. The markets have correctly assessed this process. The development of the euro area also presents a challenge to the Swiss economy. In this context, Switzerland's monetary autonomy will remain a significant asset. BIS Review 16/2005  1
This is not just a temporarily blip, it is a new economic landscape to which we have to adapt. We therefore need gradually, over the next two to three years, to bring energy subsidies down towards zero. And to spread the energy bill more efficiently across businesses and households, making sure to be fair to households – via measures that are better targeted towards the worst affected – but also to keep businesses competitive. In the long term, the key is, of course, everything that beefs up our productive capacity through the three major supply-  1/2  BIS - Central bankers' speeches  side transformations: the energy transformation first; the digital transformation; and the transformation of labour, which must be both more abundant and more qualified. Our growth will benefit, and inflation will be kept more under control. To sum up, the weapon that will allow us to declare a lasting victory over inflation is not fiscal, it is first of all monetary and then structural. 2/2  BIS - Central bankers' speeches

With reference to the question above, I can tell you that there have been several reasons to begin with these three countries, but the main reason for which we compare today the present situation in Sweden, Turkey and Romania is due to the diligent and assiduous activity of the Ambassadors of these two countries in Bucharest. Then, I would like to salute their presence here today: His Excellency Mr. Anders Bengtcén, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden, and His Excellency Mr. Ömür Şölendil, Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey and to particularly extend my gratitude to them and to all the persons involved in the materialization of this conference. I also thank Mr. Klas Eklund, Senior Economist at the Swedish Bank SEB and Adjunct Professor of Economics at the Lund University and Mr. Çağri Memişoğlu, Deputy General Manager at Garanti Bank Romania. There are, of course, historical links between the three countries. I do take this opportunity to highlight a few of them. With the Republic of Turkey one could go back to the proclamation of the new state as a republic, last century, and even more, centuries of ties between the Romanian Principalities and the Ottoman Empire. I also like to notice the connection between our two central banks. In the National Bank of Romania’s archives there are letters, exchanged between Governor Mitiță Constantinescu and Governor Salâhattin Çam, regarding the organization of a conference for the governors of the central banks in the Balkanic Coalition, in November 1937, in Ankara.
BANCO DE ESPAÑA  15	 TESTIMONY BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE BANCO DE ESPAÑA BEFORE PARLIAMENT IN RELATION TO THE DRAFT STATE AND SOCIAL SECURITY BUDGET FOR 2019  OTHER STRUCTURAL CHALLENGES  CHART 15  TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY  116  POTENTIAL OUTPUT GROWTH AND CONTRIBUTIONS  1995 = 100  4  LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYMENT RATE AND TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT RATE (a)  % pp  16  114 3  112 110  2  108 106  1  104 102  0  100 98 1995  2001 SPAIN  2007  2013  GERMANY  2019  -1 1995  EURO AREA  2001  2007  2013  2019  % of labour force % of dependent employees  36  14  34  12  32  10  30  8  28  6  26  4  24  2  22  0 1995  20 2001  2007  2013  2019  EMPLOYMENT  CAPITAL  LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (b)  TFP  POTENTIAL OUTPUT  TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT RATE (right-hand scale)  SOURCES: Eurostat, INE and Banco de España. a Annual data for Q2. b Unemployed seeking work for more than one year.

It is also a pledge by the industry to provide the required support by allocating the needed resources in our endeavour to create and promote an internationally recognised Islamic finance professional body. Industry recognition to the bearers of CIIF qualification as highly qualified and competent professionals will give an added boost to the entity as it embarks on this important journey. Although CIFF is only being officially launched today, the entity has completed two guiding principles and two guidelines which will be launched today. These issuances will set the minimum requirements on the pathway of becoming Chartered Professionals and for financial institutions to become accredited institutions that would enable the training of staff as Islamic finance professionals. More is in the pipeline and I am confident that CIIF is committed towards developing the highest quality of guiding principles and guidelines that are in line with the current and future developments. Another bold action that we shall embark on is the transformation of The Association of Shariah Advisors in Islamic Finance (ASAS) to become the leading professional body for Shariah advisors. This transformation would further complete the Islamic finance service providers ecosystem. This is envisioned in the Financial Sector Blueprint, with standards to be set for professional programmes, qualifications and continuous professional education on Shariah. I would like to congratulate the Board and management of CIIF on its official launch. I am confident that CIIF can contribute towards higher professionalism for the Islamic financial services industry.
•  If central bank reserves are included in the leverage exposure measure, banks must think carefully before accepting a deposit. If it implies an increase in their overall asset size, their leverage capital requirement will increase commensurately, and that will bring a shadow regulatory cost of the same order of magnitude as those calculated in the paper. This disincentivises competition for deposits, and drives a wedge between the central bank policy rate and rates that banks will pay on wholesale deposits. •  If central bank reserves are removed from the exposure measure it instantly gives banks somewhere to place cash without impacting their leverage ratio. They would therefore maximise profits by competing for deposits at rates all the way up to the rate that can be earned on reserves at the central bank, thus improving passthrough to average bank deposit rates and strengthening the transmission of  2  For example, IMF (2009) and Aikman et al (2014), and others. BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  monetary policy to the real economy. And the early indication from market participants is that they do indeed expect this change to strengthen the link between money market rates and Bank Rate. In short, although regulatory innovations such as the leverage ratio are here to stay, we can and should attenuate some of their impact on money market function where it is possible to do so without reducing the financial stability benefits.

Central banks can also contribute to the function of money markets more broadly, by being willing to act early to address potential liquidity needs, and to support money market infrastructure more generally. I’ll end with a word on central banks’ “footprint.” Many of the developments raised in the paper and that will be discussed over the course of this conference have been a response to the needs of the day: having more reserves in the system is a reflection of the monetary policy stance required by economic developments; the leverage ratio has been developed as a part of the response to failure of the pre-crisis capital framework; and our intervention in risk-free benchmark rates is intended to avoid a co-ordination failure in which the most appropriate and robust benchmarks would not be adopted by the market. So while it is true to say that central banks’ footprint in money markets is larger now than in the days prior to the crisis, this has been out of necessity rather than design. As a tribe, central bankers retain a strong belief in financial markets’ ability to facilitate price discovery, allocate capital efficiently, and provide useful signals about the macro economy and financial stability. References Duffie, D and Krishnamurthy, A (2016), “Passthrough efficiency in the Fed’s New Monetary Policy Setting”, Preliminary version for presentation at the 2016 Jackson Hole Symposium. Fender, I and Lewrick, U (2015), “Calibrating the leverage ratio”, BIS Quarterly Review, December, pages 43–58.
I can tell you now, in my view any meaningful revision of the European fiscal framework calls for a paradigm shift, rather than the incremental reform approach that has prevailed over the recent decades.3 Reform of the fiscal governance framework and the policy mix Starting with the reform of the fiscal governance framework, I believe that an optimal design and implementation of the European fiscal rules should fulfill the following three objectives. First, ensure debt sustainability and contribute to building up sufficient buffers in good times for use in subsequent crisis periods, especially against a backdrop of high public debt ratios. Second, provide for an optimal aggregate fiscal stance for the euro area as a whole. Third, offer support for long-run growth. In my view, the primary tools to achieve these objectives should be developed along the following lines: First, existing fiscal rules should be made simpler and more credible, and their governance should be strengthened. This is important in order to address one of the shortcomings identified in their design: the failure to ensure that countries build up fiscal buffers in good times for use in crises. Greater automaticity in the correction of deviations and affording a more prominent role to national independent fiscal institutions may be the right way forward.

And, in this regard, the link between the access to funds and the implementation of reforms should be seen as a crucial incentive. Allow me to also highlight the importance of insisting on a European, medium-term, economic growth-enhancing agenda. In this context, recent energy market developments and the global value chain bottlenecks highlight the importance of reflecting on the principles and way forward for achieving a European “strategic autonomy”. EU-wide structural policies promoting European integration and strengthening the single market will also make our economy more competitive internationally. The Important Projects of Common European Interest, developing new batteries and microelectronics, and those under way in the fields of Hydrogen and Cloud Infrastructure and Services, supported by NGEU funds, are good examples of this. Nevertheless, while it is important to promote these developments from a 8  European perspective, we should also keep in mind that increasing the scale of these projects might generate divergences across Member States. In order to make this compatible with a level playing field and to extract the advantages of economies of scale, it is therefore necessary to fundamentally improve our risk-sharing mechanisms and move further and faster towards a frictionless single market, both for capital and for labour. Banking union and capital markets union The final elements of reform I would like to mention today relate to the completion of the banking and capital markets unions.
Conclusion - lessons from the 1990s Allow me to set my concluding remarks in the contest of the specific question posed for this panel, namely "Fix versus float - what have we learned from the 1990s?" My answer falls into two parts. First, the 1990s served to confirm what had already become apparent from our experience with a currency board in the 1980s, namely that a currency board can be a viable and, arguably, optimal regime for certain types of economy, but not all. The necessary conditions for success include sufficiently flexible costs and prices, a sound banking system, adequate fiscal discipline and the requisite foreign exchange reserves to back the monetary base, preferably free of other encumbrance. Not all these desiderata were satisfied in one instance of a 1990s' currency board, which has since passed into history. The second lesson concerns the novel feature to emerge late in the 1990s and persist through to the current decade - namely deflation. Society globally has been re-learning how to live with this, after a gap of a lifetime. It seems perfectly possible to live with modest deflation, as our ancestors did, once you have adapted to it. We are reasonably confident that the US economy, to whose monetary stance we in Hong Kong are tied, will not develop in such a way as to make our problem - if that is indeed what it is - any worse.

Scholars and researchers need to think through what it takes to internationalise the industry, how to enhance cross border transactions of Islamic Finance services or how products could be structured to meet the sophisticated needs of the economy. Second, broaden your worldview to think about all issues surrounding the ummah, not just those directly within the realm of Shariah and Islamic finance today. We now see many traditional sectors ripe for disruption, with incumbents blindsided by new technologies and new business models. Islamic Finance will not be isolated from these rapid changes. The Islamic finance community must be innovative and competitive to fulfil the needs of Islamic Finance users and ensure products and services offered remain relevant. That would entail understanding issues faced by society at large. Some of the most critical issues confronting the economy and society all over the world include accessibility to affordable housing, quality of living standards, and better avenues to good healthcare and education. How could Islamic finance and Shariah scholars contribute towards solving some of the problems in the real world? How should Islamic finance position itself to become the preferred solutions providers on issues faced by the real economy and society? Third, start “walking the talk”. As scholars, you will have plenty of ideas about how to make the world a better place. I call on you to translate these ideas and proposed solutions into concrete actions. We have enough of polemics and preaching. You will likely need to work with others to make this happen.
Looking more closely at the external dimension, an important characteristic that distinguishes us from other models, such as the one in Cyprus, is the fact that the international banking sector in Malta is only lightly linked to the domestic economy and to the remainder of the Maltese banking system. Meanwhile, unlike the situation in other countries, the core domestic banks have very low reliance on non-resident deposits. They operate along traditional lines, applying a prudent business model and, like the rest of the banking sector, carrying minimal exposure to securities issued in the distressed economies. The core domestic banks are highly capitalised, profitable and liquid, and the other categories of the banking sector are similarly robust. …in terms of interest rates, Malta needs to further align with its peers. Although various indicators place Malta with the stronger performing group, there is room for further improvement. Interest rates on loans to businesses are currently around 2% to 3% higher in Malta as compared with Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Austria, and Luxembourg. In contrast, deposit rates offered by Maltese banks are broadly in line with those across the euro area, as shown in Chart 6. As a result, bank interest margins are higher in Malta, as shown in Chart 7. A closer alignment of margins with those of our peers appears to be warranted. The recently proposed Budget measure to conduct a review of bank charges to businesses makes sense.

Africa Meeting of the Econometric Society  Introductory Speech of Mr. Abdellatif Jouahri Governor of Bank Al-Maghrib  Rabat, July 11 2019  Honorable guests, Distinguished researchers and professors, Dear friends and colleagues, Ladies and gentlemen,  First of all, I would like to assure you that I will not venture giving a lecture in front of such an audience. I am here today more to listen. That being said, I would like to start by expressing how pleased I am to welcome you in Bank Al-Maghrib and to wish our visitors from abroad a wonderful stay in Morocco. I would also like to thank all officials for joining us, the distinguished researchers for kindly accepting to speak at the plenary sessions and the mostly-young researchers for coming from different spheres to present their works. I also extend my warmest thanks to Econometric Society which approached us to organize this conference, thus paving the way for a valuable cooperation between both teams. We view this meeting as an opportunity for us as a central bank, as well as for all the national institutions here represented today, to inquire about the progress made in economics research, namely with regard to quantitative economics. It is also an opportunity to strengthen the bonds with the academia and initiate new cooperation relationships.