samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
These banks are on course to meet these new requirements five years before the deadline, having raised more than half a trillion dollars of new equity. In the UK alone they have raised £ To ensure that this is sufficient, the Bank of England will begin annual concurrent stress tests of major institutions this year. The Bank is also working with international peers to tackle worryingly large differences in bank risk models through tighter supervision, more standardised approaches and better disclosure. To make markets safer, funding and derivatives markets are being overhauled. Recognising that this will transform the use and importance of collateral, the Bank is reforming our market operations. We are also working to develop market-based sources of finance so that the real economy can be less reliant on banks. To make the system fairer, the days when banks privatised gains but socialised losses must end. The Bank is at the forefront of international efforts to agree common standards to create classes of debt holders that can be bailed in to recapitalise failing institutions. By complementing this so-called gone concern loss absorbing capacity with cross border agreements, plans on resolution, and new derivative contracts with automatic stays, we can create the situation where the incentives of shareholders, management, bondholders, and citizens are aligned. Firms that take excessive risks will bear the full consequences of the market; consumers, businesses and taxpayers who rely on critical banking services will not. It is not the Bank of England’s role to champion the City.

It is not just that nearly three quarters of a million more people are out of work than before the crisis; another three quarters of a million more people are involuntarily working part time. The effect of this slack in the labour market is evident in wage inflation, which is at around 1% so that, even with weak productivity, unit labour cost growth remains below 2%. The fact that underemployment is exerting downward pressure on costs also reflects better than expected performance on the supply side of the labour market. In the jargon, the extent to which high unemployment has caused hysteresis seems to have been less than in past recessions. It now seems likely that the rate of unemployment consistent with stable inflation in the medium term is somewhat lower than the MPC assessed back in August.2 In part that is because rates of transition into jobs, even for those who have been unemployed for more than a year, have been sustained at high rates, minimising the extent of skill atrophy. In addition, other measures of slack in the labour market, such as involuntary part-time working remain high. 2  “Monetary policy, trade-offs and forward guidance” Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee, August 2013, p 34.
In consultation with other important stakeholders in this  BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  process, legal amendments to the Civil Procedures Code and to the Civil Code have been drafted. These amendments aim to accelerate the obligatory collateral execution, avoiding procedural delays caused by bank debtors. More specifically, the proposed amendments address the following: •  Courts do not take measures to secure charges/sues, when the bailiff actions are rejected;  •  Courts do not take measures to secure charges and do not suspend the execution of collateral, when the debtor requests the invalidity of the executive title, arising from a bank credit;  •  Reduction by 50% of the initial price of the immovable property, placing an acceptable average for the debtor and the bank, and making clearer the value (price) of the item with which the second auction begins. We are informed by the Ministry of Justice that these amendments are in process of finalisation and this legal package will be sent for approval to the Council of Ministers and then to the Parliament of Albania. I take this opportunity to iterate the need for these legal proposals to be approved by the Assembly of Albania at an earlier time possible. Improvements in the legal framework and collateral execution practice would provide public authorities with new spaces to boost lending in Albania. 2 – Monetary policy pillar I mentioned earlier that Bank of Albania’s monetary policy has been easing recently, undertaking 6 consecutive key interest rate cuts.

Albanian economy in the face of the global crisis Like all developing and emerging economies, the Albanian economy has undergone a rapid economic growth on its path to catching up EU economies. This growth has been mostly supported by rapidly increased consumption in economy and has been financed by using previous savings or foreign financing sources. The main beneficiaries of this demand are construction and services, i.e., the sectors that use labour force intensively and ensure increase in wages and employment but which are slightly export-oriented. On the other hand, industry and agriculture slowed down, suffering from lack of attention by the banking system, a higher degree of investments and expertise, and longer time needed for return on investments. This tendency has left Albania with a small base of export-oriented industries or of those competing with import products. The global crisis served as an important testing for this growth model. It highlighted its limits to face external shocks and its restrictions in an ever challenging global environment. In  2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  simpler words, the global crisis revealed the importance of maintaining sound balances in both public and private sectors. It also depicted that more competitive economies that have successfully competed in global markets are those economies that have higher and more sustainable growth rates. It is my pleasure to state that this lesson has been learned by the Albanian economy at both consumer and producer level. More specifically, Albanian households have been more reluctant to spend and more inclined to save.
Zeti Akhtar Aziz: Enhancing SMEs’ awareness on access to financing Keynote address by Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, at the Banking Industry Seminar “Enhancing SMEs' Awareness on Access to Financing”, Kuala Lumpur, 9 July 2008. *  *  *  Introduction It is my pleasure to be here this morning to speak at this seminar, to enhance greater SME awareness on access to financing organised by the Association of Banks in Malaysia. The development of a strong and dynamic SME sector is a priority on the national agenda. It is part of the efforts towards creating sustainable and balanced economic growth. The reasons for this are clear. SMEs account for 99% of the total business establishments in Malaysia and for 56% of total employment and contribute about 32% to gross domestic product and 19% of total exports of the nation. Over the recent five years, SMEs have also increased their contribution to growth. In several developed countries, SMEs contribute at least half of the gross domestic product. Taking SMEs in these economies as a benchmark, there is clearly significant potential for SMEs in Malaysia to increase their contribution to the economy. My remarks today will focus on three areas. Firstly, the implications of global economic and financial developments on the Malaysian economy, and in particular on businesses and SMEs. Secondly, on the strategy adopted by the Government and Bank Negara Malaysia to develop the potential of the SME sector as a source of economic growth.

Christian Noyer: A review of the financial crisis Speech by Mr Christian Noyer, Governor of the Bank of France, at the Hearing before the Finance Commission of the Assemblée nationale, Paris, 7 October 2008 (updated 15 October 2008). * 1. *  *  A number of comments on the developments of the past month  The bankruptcy of the investment bank Lehman Brothers on 15 September 2008 marked a crucial turning point in the crisis. The direct consequences of this failure, involving over USD 600 billion in assets, appear to have been correctly contained and managed up to now. Nevertheless, it exacerbated the crisis of confidence, with the following major repercussions: •  first, interbank markets increasingly seized up, because banks perceived there to be a rise in counterparty risk. Overnight dollar interbank rates rose to particularly high levels of close to 7%;  •  second, significant pressure on other money market segments, in particular the US commercial paper market, where yields on 30-day paper have been climbing since mid-September to reach levels close to those observed at the end of last year;  •  lastly, the deterioration in the financial position of AIG, the largest US insurer, followed by its exceptional bailout. A two-pronged rescue plan was implemented: on the one hand, the Fed made an USD 85 billion loan at a penalty rate of three-month Libor plus 850 basis points and, on the other, the US government took a 79.9% stake in the company.
This retail banking model was under debate before the financial crisis broke out in summer 2007, and many analysts considered it obsolete. However, it has proved to be more resilient in the current situation than the originate-to-distribute model which was used intensively in certain banking systems, and lies in fact at the heart of the crisis. Other considerations aside, since the institutions hold on to the risks originated, the perverse incentives associated with the originate-to-distribute model have not been generated in the extension of credit and in its subsequent monitoring. A second factor why the international financial crisis did not directly impact the Spanish banking system has been the Banco de España’s prudent regulation and supervision. I can offer two widely known and acknowledged examples. The first refers to supervision of credit institutions. The broad scope of this supervision acted as a deterrent for the creation and use of certain off-balance sheet vehicles. The second example refers to the area of regulation and, in particular, a system of provisions characterised by very demanding specific-purpose provisions and, especially, dynamic provisions. Under this latter type of provisioning, which has been in force in our system since mid-2000, latent risks and losses in upturns must be recognised, with the result that their build-up on banks' balance sheets has an immediate effect on institutions’ income statements. Obviously, the above-mentioned measures have not been sufficient to isolate Spanish institutions from the financial crisis.

News conference  15 December 2022, 10.00 am  Introductory remarks by Andréa M. Maechler In my remarks, I will talk in more detail about the implementation of today’s monetary policy decision, which Thomas Jordan has already touched on. I will start, however, by giving you an overview of how we have steered interest rates since the switch to a positive SNB policy rate in September. The switch from a negative to a positive SNB policy rate required us to make an adjustment to the implementation of our monetary policy in the money market. The new approach comprises two elements: reserve tiering – that is, tiered remuneration of the sight deposits that banks and other financial market participants hold at the SNB – and reserve absorption. This approach has proved successful. Following our monetary policy decision on 22 September, secured short-term Swiss franc money market rates moved quickly towards the new SNB policy rate (cf. chart 1). We are also continuing to see solid activity among participants in the money market, which ensures a robust basis for the calculation of SARON. From the outset, the market responded favourably to the deployment of our monetary policy instruments to absorb liquidity. On the very day of the monetary policy assessment in September, we started conducting repo transactions on a daily basis and issuing SNB bills on a weekly basis (cf. chart 2). In this way, we were able to reduce the liquidity supply in the money market sufficiently to allow us to steer interest rates effectively.
On the Friday before the monthly MPC meeting we meet with the Economics and Markets staff of the Bank, in what is known as pre-MPC, to go through the latest data; and this process takes a whole morning. Doing it on a Friday allows us a few days to commission any additional work we need ahead of the MPC meeting itself. This is held in our main committee room under the watchful eye of Augustus John’s portrait of Montagu Norman (Governor of the Bank between 1920 and 1944) and starts on a Wednesday afternoon. This meeting is given over to a discussion of the key issues raised by the data presented at the pre-MPC; and of any tactical considerations. The following day, Thursday morning, we meet and after a brief resume of the previous day’s discussion from the Governor, proceed to go around the table with each member indicating the factors he or she considers relevant and his or her vote. The policy decision (ie interest rates up, down or constant) is released to the market at 12 noon on the Thursday. The minutes of the meeting, including the individual votes of members, are released two weeks later. Much has been written about the MPC’s constitution and operation, but perhaps I might make a few observations. In the first place, whilst there is a good deal of talk about the Bank of England’s independence, it is important to put this in context.

The MPC process, however, involves no pressure to reach agreement. We are each accountable for our views; full minutes are taken and published; our individual vote is publicly recorded. This is counter-intuitive for anyone from a PLC background. It is impossible to believe that a split in the Board of a major corporation, certainly a split that was aired in the press, could exist for any length of time. Either the split would need to heal rapidly, or more likely some high-profile departures from the Board would ensue. But in the MPC a system which permits different views to surface publicly is both refreshing and appropriate. Since economic analysis involves a great deal of peering into the future, it is not surprising that there should be disagreement. There is, of course, the old joke of putting nine  BIS Review 102/2000  2  Economists into one room and getting ten views. But it is better to be open about the disagreements than try to forge a false sense of consensus. Of course, alongside this transparency and open voting system goes a degree of personalisation within the Press. An industry has grown up geared to guessing our personal habits, psychoanalysing our personalities and classifying us into different species of the aviary. And alongside this has gone a demand for even greater transparency which falls only a little short of having TV cameras in the Committee Room.
A number of possible explanations have been provided as to why this apparent arbitrage opportunity exists, including preferences by fund managers for “high-beta”, i.e. risky, assets to try to beat peers and attract inflows, or because there is insufficient risk adjustment when assessing asset managers’ performance. 15 The second factor that may be affecting perceptions of risks is regulatory clarity. The crisis stimulated an unprecedented programme of reform of the prudential regulation of banks. Most of the main components of that reform are now being implemented. Some important elements remain, however, including in relation to the capital framework for banks. Uncertainty around the future end point for bank capital could be affecting investors’ assessments of the returns required from banks. The official sector needs to give as much clarity as possible about the overall end point of the capital framework. For the UK, the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee has done that, setting out in December last year its view of the overall capital framework. 16 Internationally, the Group of Governors and Heads of Supervision has said that it does not expect the completion of the remaining elements of the risk-weighted capital framework to increase significantly overall capital requirements. 17 Closing the gap Taking all this together, there is clearly at present a wide gap between banks’ disappointing returns on the one side and investors’ expectations on the other. This is reflected in current price to book ratios. This gap may need to be closed from both directions.

Rae, G (1885) The country banker: his clients, cares, and work from an experience of forty years, Jon Murray. 10  BIS central bankers’ speeches
When China, India and Eastern Europe joined the global market economy, the labour force of countries participating in world trade doubled.9  Norges Bank Economic perspectives 15 february 2018  The result is that workers in advanced economies face competition from new groups, which pushes down wage growth and affects the income distribution between labour and capital. Lower unionisation levels have also weakened workers’ bargaining power. Since 1980, unionisation in the OECD area has fallen from around 35 percent to below 20 percent. Low wage growth feeds through to prices for goods and services. Many firms also face competition from firms that have relocated production to lower-cost countries. In addition, online shopping reduces the advantage of physical proximity to customers, narrowing the scope for passing on higher costs to prices. Globalisation thus restrains the general rise in prices. Cheap imports from low-cost countries have long been an important source of low inflation in advanced economies. In Norway, prices for clothing and footwear have fallen by almost half over the past 20 years. The price effects of globalisation have not been exhausted. A rising number of low-cost countries are competing on the global stage. So far, global competition has had less influence on services prices than on goods prices (Chart 8). However, global trade in services has increased recently. This may lead to renewed downward pressure on prices. Chart 8 Goods and services inflation. Average annual change 2000 – 2017.

Norges Bank Economic perspectives 15 february 2018  The krone depreciation, combined with moderate wage settlements, has contributed to a marked improvement in business profitability and competitiveness. This has provided a considerable boost to Norwegian firms exposed to international competition. At the same time, an expansionary fiscal policy and lower interest expenses have been important in sustaining domestic demand. This year, the policy rate may be increased for the first time in seven years – this is a good sign. Two years since the cyclical trough was reached in Norway, growth has gained a firm footing and the unemployment rate is approaching a normal level (Chart 15). The impetus from abroad has strengthened and exports are picking up. There is renewed optimism in the petroleum industry. A number of large development projects will contribute to a rebound in oil investment in the coming years. Chart 15 Mainland GDP. Four−quarter change. Percent 4  4  3  3  2  2  1  1  0 2012  0 2013  2014  2015  2016  2017  Source: Statistics Norway  Increased economic activity should lead to a pickup in inflation. On the other hand, the effects of technological advances and a more integrated world economy may continue to exert downward pressure on wage and price inflation. In its conduct of monetary policy, Norges Bank weighs the outlook for inflation against developments in output and employment.
By delegating the lender of last resort function to the central bank, and making it clear that the central bank will not support insolvent banks, the politicians can avoid the temptation to use central bank funds to bail out banks in financial difficulty. Another reason for giving the central bank formal operational independence is that only then can the Executive Board of the central bank be made fully accountable for the bank's operations, and as I have said already, accountability is a crucial means of attaining efficiency. Transparency Accountability is intertwined with the issue of transparency, not only through clearly defined objectives, but also through actions. A central bank should be clear about which actions are being taken and for what reasons. Most people agree that central banks should do their best to minimise uncertainty over policy actions, as this will make policy more efficient. As my colleague Mervyn King said, if monetary policy becomes so undramatic and predictable that it is boring, then we will really have achieved a low level of policy uncertainty! The issue that remains open to debate is which information should be published and when. At the Riksbank, we have chosen to publish our inflation forecasts four times per year and to publish edited minutes of the Executive Board meetings, where interest rate decisions are taken with a lag of about two weeks. While we strive to be as open as possible, there are of course limits.

Caleb M Fundanga: Catering for the un-banked population in Zambia Speech by Dr Caleb M Fundanga, Governor of the Bank of Zambia, at the official opening of Stanbic Bank Limited’s Mazabuka branch, Mazabuka Town, 10 October 2006. *  *  *  •  The incoming Member of Parliament for Mazabuka, Honourable Gary Nkombo,  •  The Regional Managing Director of Stanbic Africa, Mr. Clive Tasker  •  The Town Clerk, Mr. Chingangu  •  The District Commissioner, Mr. Chinda  •  Traditional leaders here present; Chief Mwanachingwala, Chief Mwenda, Chief Hanjalika, Chief Nalwama, Chief Monze  •  The Chairman of Stanbic Bank (Zambia) and all Board members present  •  The Managing Director of Zambia Sugar Plc, and Managing Director of Stanbic Bank (Zambia) Ltd  •  Stanbic Bank Management and staff present  •  Distinguished invited guests, ladies and gentlemen  It is an honour and privilege to be invited to officiate at this important occasion. Today I join the Bank’s Board Chairman in thanking the people of Mazabuka for the effort and support that has been extended in establishing this Stanbic Branch, which I believe is the first in Southern Province. Distinguished Ladies and gentlemen, I have keenly followed the progress and growth of Stanbic Bank in the last few years and I must say that as Governor of the Central Bank, it has been very gratifying to witness the progressive strategies of a privately owned commercial bank.