samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
At a more general level, the lack of a level playing field in the enforcement of the new financial standards has a potential to fragment the global financial system and to lead to a suboptimal allocation of capital of liquidity and to overconsumption of scarce resources, such as the safe assets used as collateral by financial market participants. OTC derivatives are a case in point. I therefore strongly welcome the recent agreement reached between the European Commission and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on a common path forward regarding a number of measures on how to approach cross-border issues. In this context, the notion of substituted compliance is a useful tool, as it will help to reduce the risk of duplication and potential frictions of rules. Clearly, convergence at a very granular level may not be achieved. It may not even be desirable, as specific differences may reflect the specific institutional and regulatory frameworks in the jurisdictions concerned. Nevertheless, it needs to be ensured that the outcome in all material aspects is similar. A key objective of the G20 mandate for OTC derivatives reform was to ensure effective systemic risk reduction in these markets. It is unlikely that we will achieve this objective by converging on the lowest common denominator rather than by achieving common best practices. However, this may be the result if substantive regulatory differences are not addressed and consequently, opportunities for regulatory arbitrage open up.

It is also my hope that by establishing a robust global regime, we can mitigate the incentives for national regulators and supervisors to impose local rules that make it hard for globally active institutions to manage their operations on a global basis, thereby undermining the global integration of markets that has supported economic globalization. Over the next 12 to 18 months, regulators will be particularly busy in implementing these reform efforts. Broad legal statutes now have to be turned into specific rules and regulations governing business practices, conduct and operations. Doing this well – in particular, in a way that is sufficiently informed, deep and broad – will be very important. Basel III and the  1  Governor Daniel K. Tarullo, Comments on “Regulating the Shadow Banking System”. Brookings Panel on Economic Activity, September 17, 2010. 8  BIS Review 131/2010  Dodd-Frank Act are important markers on this road, but it will always be a journey to a neverreached destination of perfection. Thank you for your kind attention. I would be happy to take a few questions. BIS Review 131/2010  9
What makes one transmittal of funds different from another is purpose. An understanding of purpose often comes from meeting a customer in person and speaking with her about her business goals. Improve Communication One final way forward is to improve communication and information sharing. Here are some questions you might consider. 4/6  BIS central bankers' speeches  Within your firms, how does the front office communicate with the control and audit functions about money laundering risk? Is there a frank discussion about common challenges? Or do those discussions resemble depositions or some other defensive exercise? Between and among firms, do you take advantage of inter-bank information sharing opportunities pursuant to Section 314(b) of the USA PATRIOT Act? 16 If you are a smaller, community-oriented bank, how are you using recent federal guidance that encourages collaborative arrangements that pool anti-money laundering resources?17 Regardless of size, does your firm insist that customers use the proper SWIFT message type with all the required fields completed in the right format? And, if your firm processes high-risk activity with limited transparency, do you ask respondent banks to supplement payment messages with additional information? When communicating with the government, how helpful are your suspicious activity reports—or SARs, for short? Are you filing them in the spirit in which they were intended, or for defensive purposes? Are you picking up the phone to call law enforcement when you file a SAR that presents heightened concerns and perhaps should not wait to run through the formal reporting and referral process?

A few years ago, the television show 60 Minutes covered an undercover operation that captured on video fifteen out of sixteen Manhattan lawyers offering advice on how an African official could secretly move funds into the country. 14 The investigator posed as an adviser to an African minister of mining who managed to accumulate millions of dollars for personal use— expensive real estate, a jet, and a yacht. In the end, no firms actually took on the client. These were just preliminary meetings. And they were a set-up. No actual crimes were committed. Still, only one lawyer out of sixteen told the undercover investigator to get lost. What an eyeopener. As a lawyer and a central banker—and as a New Yorker— I found this report deeply troubling. Where Do We Go From Here? So that’s where I see us today. Where do we go from here? Let me share some ideas, which are not mutually exclusive. Build Good Habits For starters, let’s be honest about “looking the other way.” Many financial institutions have, at times, turned a blind eye to evidence of money laundering, sanctions evasion, corruption, kleptocracy, and plain theft. Over time, some institutions become weak links in our system when they take on riskier clients, perhaps in order to chase profit, without developing the ability to manage those relationships in a responsible way. Often these relationships start small: one lowvalue, ethically suspect transaction.
Anyhow, the real exchange rate is currently at levels believed to be consistent with its long-term fundamentals (figure 9). Accordingly, in a context of high uncertainty about the evolution of global exchange rates, the CBC will continue monitoring the impact of the exchange rate path on expected inflation in its monetary policy decisions. In this scenario, annual inflation will be in negative territory for some months, to gradually converge to 3% toward 2011, while the economy will grow between 4.5% and 5.5% in 2010 (table 2). This scenario is consistent with a gradual closing of output gaps, a necessary condition for inflation to return to 3%. If we consider that trend GDP growth will be in the 4%4.5% range in 2010, a figure estimated by the CBC and consistent with the opinions of the committee of experts that perform the estimation for the design of the budget, such a range seems not excessive but rather moderate to close the output gap. If growth falls short, the economy will not close the gaps and, therefore, inflation will continue dropping or will adjust at a much slower pace, which obviously would require a stronger monetary impulse. 4  BIS Review 145/2009  Final remarks We have suffered the worst financial-economic crisis in many years. The strength of the Chilean economy, rigorously built over a long time period, has allowed us to mitigate the costs of a crisis that in the past would have impacted us much harder.

These included funds transfer, bill payment, card and loan repayment, purchase of share application and reload of mobile prepaid applications, which was valued at RM37 billion on average per year. So the usage of ATM for e-payment purposes was underutilised and the industry should do more to improve this situation. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  ATMs to cater to those that have not adopted online banking 92% (or 18.4 million) of the total adult population in Malaysia has banking accounts and of these, the internet banking population accounts for about 74% (13.7 million) of bank account holders. Whilst 74% of the bank account holders have internet banking access but only 43% (5.9 million) of the internet banking subscribers are active users in conducting financial transactions. Still a long way to go to encourage users to adopt electronic means in conducting their banking transactions. In this regard, we have to do more to reach critical mass where the public are familiar with or comfortable in using internet banking to conduct their financial transactions. To achieve this aim, banks should continuously increase their efforts to educate their customers and businesses on the safety of online banking practices and provide incentives to them to migrate away from cheques and cash. MEPS’ initiative on widening the ATM network would also provide convenient access points across the country to enable those who have not yet adopt online banking to migrate to cashless banking services. In particular, the target groups are the SMEs and microenterprises.
•  On the development front, we have launched a Financial Sector Technology & Innovation scheme to provide financial support, and will work closely with the industry and educational institutes to build competencies in Fintech and innovation. The insurance industry is well placed to take the lead in making Singapore a Smart Financial Centre, given the industry’s fertile ground for innovation and the application of technology. The cluster of innovation labs that have steadily been hubbed here over the years is a reflection of this. We are proud to be home to Aon’s Analytics and Innovation Centre and MetLife’s recently launched LumenLab. To be unveiled later this year in Singapore are AIA’s EDGE Lab, Aviva’s Digital Garage and AXA’s Data Innovation Lab. This dynamic mix of insurance brokers, life insurers and composite insurers bear testament to the vibrant and conducive innovation ecosystem here, supported by a strong Fintech community of start-ups and research institutes. Besides improving the efficiency of the insurance sector, I am heartened that they are actively exploring opportunities brought about by new technologies. This is an important step towards unlocking untapped insurance solutions and markets, and will go a long way in managing risks in this uncertain environment. To reinforce this Fintech ecosystem and as part of our broader efforts to modernise the insurance marketplace, we are supporting the establishment of an electronic reinsurance trading platform to enhance the efficiency of trading risks electronically.

The insurance protection gap is widening inexorably: •  Close to half of the world’s most underinsured countries are in Asia, and of these, half are in Southeast Asia. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  •  In the past two decades, Asia has borne 50% of the estimated global economic cost of natural catastrophes. Yet, less than 5% of all disaster losses in Asia are insured, compared to 40% in developed nations. •  The 2008 Sichuan Earthquake is a case in point. Less than 1% of the total economic costs of $ billion were insured. The disaster further left governments and taxpayers with a hefty reconstruction bill of almost $ billion after the event. Going forward, it will also no longer be sufficient to just focus on traditional risks. As Asia continues to grow and become more digitally-connected, new and emerging risks will arise and we should be proactive in adapting to these needs. I would therefore like to challenge the industry to: •  raise insurance penetration of traditional risks and find innovative ways to cast the net wider to cover more insureds, and  •  develop innovative and meaningful risk transfer products for new and emerging risks. Specifically, I would like to highlight 3 key growth drivers for insurers and reinsurers today: •  New and emerging risks  •  New capital  •  New technology and innovation.
Enhancing resilience in payments Speech given by Victoria Cleland, Executive Director; Banking, Payments & Innovation  PayExpo, London 8 October 2019  With thanks to Samantha Leighton and James Sanders for their assistance in preparing this speech. 1  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/speeches  It is a pleasure to be speaking at PayExpo at the Business Design Centre in Islington today, in an agenda packed with innovation and technological advance. I lived in Islington when I first moved to London, which had the great benefit of enabling me to walk to work. I now live further afield, but I am able to make the journey in similar time benefitting from advancements in new(er) technology – a bicycle! It is also a pleasure to be speaking at a second major payments event in London in a month, following hot on the heels of SIBOS in late September. This demonstrates the importance of London, and the UK, as a hub for payment innovation and fintech more widely. In the second quarter of 2019 funding for fintech companies topped $ growing 24% quarter-on-quarter1 – just one sign of a thriving industry.

And we continue to work closely with other FMIs such as SWIFT, Pay.UK and payment system operators in other countries to develop consistent approaches and solutions. To ensure resilience is maintained end-to-end, payment system participants, operators and suppliers will need to continue to evolve their resiliency arrangements and cyber security protocols. While some changes can be delivered by organisations in isolation, many require the industry to work together to improve the overall level of resilience, and ultimately stability. 8  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/speeches  8
The increasing interest in Islamic finance is a positive development as a larger number of institutions can contribute to more rapid growth of the industry. An increasing number of jurisdictions are now taking steps to modify their legislations to cater for Islamic finance. Ireland earlier this year published its Finance Bill 2010 which introduced significant amendments that are aimed at facilitating Islamic finance. France has also taken significant steps to push through changes to their tax and legal codes. Australia, Jordan and Lebanon are all reportedly working towards reviewing their legislations to be accommodative to Islamic finance. Given the importance of developing a supportive legal system, these global moves augur well for sustainable global growth of Islamic finance. In light of this development, I would like to make some remarks on the evolving legal framework for Islamic finance. In sharing my thoughts, I will draw heavily on some of the strategies and initiatives undertaken by Malaysia. BIS Review 161/2010  1  One of the key determinants for successful development of Islamic finance in any jurisdiction is the existence of a conducive legal framework that supports the operations and growth of the industry. Given that the legal infrastructure in any jurisdiction has evolved over the centuries to cater for conventional finance, understandably, governing legislations of a country have typically required modifications to accommodate Islamic financial transactions and structures. It is therefore of no surprise that jurisdictions that are able to quickly amend their legal framework have managed to achieve significant growth in Islamic finance.

I did subsequently enter reservations in favour of an increase in the repo rate several times in 2007 when the majority on the Executive Board decided not to increase it.9 The second thing is that I accepted such a low repo-rate path the first time we presented our own path in February 2007. This was just before the completion of wage negotiations for large parts of the labour market and it sent the wrong signal to the social partners; that is that wages could be significantly increased without consequences in the form of too high inflation. Wage expectations had then risen to the highest level since the mid-1990s. But we were too focused on all the work that was required to produce and decide on the repo-rate path for the first time for me to adequately realise the consequences of the decision. When visiting different venues to speak about monetary policy, I have often been asked why we raised the repo rate from 4.50 to 4.75 per cent in September 2008, just before the financial crisis hit Sweden with full force. The members of the Executive Board were divided on the issue, with three for (including me) and three against and Stefan Ingves had to use his deciding vote to push the decision through. I usually say that with the information we had at the time I would have made the same decision again.
I am quite sure that there has been a distinctive step-up in the recourse to notions of expectations and sentiments by forecasters in explaining their muted or upbeat prognosis for macroeconomic variables in the period ahead. 14. Andrei Shleifer and co-authors have worked on formalising the insights of behavioural economics, such as representativeness heuristics as the basis for realistic expectation formations, within familiar analytical frameworks [5] . Specifically, Shleifer shows how representativeness thinking may cause agents to over-weight the probability of good fortune, due to selective retrieval of information from memory, inducing excessive optimism [6] . Embedded in a dynamic model of credit, such drivers of expectations formation can amplify pro-cyclical booms and busts in the issuance of risky credit, credit spreads as well as in investment spending. 15. Separately, on the empirical side, we have also seen much eﬀort in the literature to better measure expectations. The point of departure is that survey expectations are not “noise”. They are a useful tool insofar as they reflect what market participants and other agents believe and act on. Our latest Macroeconomic Review featured an article by Professor Bernard Yeung and Sumit Agarwal of the NUS Business School, reviewing the latest research work on surveying and characterising consumer expectations [7] . Attempts to make inferences on the formation of expectations and validate any causal impact of expectations on economic behaviour are o en thwarted by endogeneity or imprecise estimates.

Our own experience in Malaysia with the Centralised Credit Reference Information System or CCRIS that is managed by Bank Negara, and the experience in other developed and developing countries where SMEs form the backbone of the economy have shown that greater access to credit information has in fact contributed to greater access to financing and reduced loan processing times. By enriching the information available to financiers to support credit risk assessments, the asset quality of financial institutions are also improved, thereby reducing the cost of financing to borrowers and enhancing the capacity of financial institutions to continue extending credit to deserving SMEs. Allow me to elaborate the benefits to SMEs, with particular reference to the SME Credit Bureau: Firstly, the Bureau assists the SMEs to build track records. One of the key factors in credit evaluation is the historical conduct of accounts. SMEs that have no previous banking history would not have the “reputational collateral” that would otherwise give them easier access to financing. The SME Credit Bureau will be able to address this information gap by collecting and disseminating information from a wider base, including trade credit data that captures the dealings between SMEs and their suppliers. In this manner, SMEs which have no financial relationships with banks, but which have strong credit standing among their trade creditors and suppliers, will be rewarded through favourable ratings that can be used to support financing applications when the need arises.
Can we in some way ensure that macro economic factors and systemic risk factors have a better impact in our policy measures and supervisory systems? Bursting bubbles with interest rate policy? Many analysts consider that one important factor behind the current financial crisis is that interest rates have been kept at a low level for a long period of time, particularly in the United States. The outlook behind the policy conducted was that central banks are not particularly good at assessing whether or not an asset bubble is being built up. Monetary policy should therefore only respond to a rapid increase in house prices and indebtedness if the forecast is that this risks leading to overheating in the economy and thereby to excessively high inflation. If this is not the case, the central bank should wait and see, but be prepared to quickly ease monetary policy if the housing market were to collapse and demand in the economy were to fall drastically. This view has come to be increasingly questioned, not least as the work on "cleaning up afterwards" has proved to be fairly extensive if the central banks have been too passive during the build-up phase. This is particularly so if the price bubble can be linked to a credit expansion. In most cases it is the credit expansion – and not the prices themselves – that is the most worrying. Should it not therefore be possible to use monetary policy more actively to subdue an upturn in asset prices?

The Riksbank has also cut the repo rate to the lowest level it has been at since we introduced an inflation target. How monetary policy can be conducted under the prevailing conditions is a question that I will discuss in more detail later. The financial crisis has of course changed these conditions a great deal. But before we get into that, I would like to say a few words about how monetary policy is supposed to work under normal conditions. How monetary policy works normally Normally, monetary policy aims to keep inflation at a low and stable level and to stabilise the real economy. To achieve this, the Riksbank controls the shortest market rate, that is the overnight rate which is the interest rate on loans between the banks from one day to the next. The overnight rate in turn affects the interest rates charged to the general public, and thereby activity and prices in the economy. We have a system in which we influence the overnight rate by determining the conditions for the banks borrowing and lending with the Riksbank so that it is close to our policy rate, the so-called repo rate. The repo rate expresses the level at which the Riksbank wants the overnight rate to lie. The way in which the monetary policy conducted has an impact on, for example, the banks' lending rates, the development of the real economy and inflation is usually called, somewhat loosely, the transmission mechanism.