samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
MAS requires financial institutions to develop robust business continuity plans to address events that threaten to disrupt business operations – including pandemic events. These plans have been regularly tested through internal drills and industry-wide exercises jointly organised by MAS and the financial industry. So when COVID-19 struck, the financial sector was able to swiftly execute the necessary measures such as teleworking and operating under split teams to mitigate the risk of disease transmission at the workplace. The pervasive deployment of digital solutions has also been a key factor supporting the industry’s operational resilience. A good part of financial sector activity has moved online, especially customer-facing processes. The initiatives and investments by MAS, financial industry associations, and individual financial institutions over the past five years in digital transformation has reaped strong benefits during this COVID-19 period. Technology has enabled 85% of the workers in Singapore’s financial industry to work at home with minimal disruption during the Circuit Breaker period. A recently published IMF study[4] shows that Singapore has one of the highest teleworkability scores globally. Pervasive remote working arrangements and growing customer use of digital finance has however amplified cyber and technology-related risks. The increased use of remote access technology and video-conference platforms by financial institutions has expanded the cyber attack surface. MAS has also observed a rise in COVID-19-themed online threats, such as luring victims into opening malicious web links or email attachments that purportedly contain COVID-19 related information.

This new project could be another opportunity to develop new added value projects and partnerships between Paris and Mumbai, in both financial research and new business opportunities, as we know that the Mumbai financial centre aims to become a world financial cluster. The Paris financial marketplace today offers to initiate closer cooperation and develop joint programs with the Mumbai financial center. Thank you very much for your attention. BIS Review 51/2007  3
This Policy Document sets six principles or outcomes which financial service providers are required to deliver in their dealings with financial consumers. Key of which includes the requirement for the board and senior management to set clear expectations on fair treatment and ensure that these expectations are embedded in the institution’s corporate culture and core values. The existence of such rules coupled with effective enforcement when these rules are breached is essential, given that failures of corporate governance have been at the root of many wellknown cases of institutional failure. A recent example being the successful conviction of the operators of the infamous Genneva gold investment scheme for illegal deposit taking, which has landed its former directors and advisers in jail. And certainly there are many more. Let us all work together to weed out and prevent such nefarious schemes from taking root in Malaysia. Role of Financial Practitioners Most financial decisions at the individual level are determined by a person’s behaviour and mindset. In view of the uncertain economic conditions we are faced with, you play an important role in nurturing strong relationships with consumers to facilitate positive behavioural changes in them. Given the right intervention, motivation and self-discipline, we can elevate the level of financial literacy of any individual while promoting healthy financial attitudes and behaviour. In relation to this, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the MFPC committee members for its effective support and partnership with the Financial Education Network1 or FEN.

As the financial stability authority we are also responsible for monitoring stability at the level of the sector as a whole. While we have multiple policy hats the common denominator in this space is ensuring that the sector has adequate operational resilience – that is that firms can continue to provide critical services that are important for their own integrity and the functioning of the sector. If a firm’s operations are interrupted, we want to be sure that they can be recovered quickly and reliably especially where they are systemically important. Three observations at this point: a)  First to stress our accent on financial stability. Our efforts target first those firms where operational failures may result in disruption to the provision of vital financial services to the real economy or in dislocation to the rest of the sector. That does not mean the failures in customer facing applications do not matter. It is just that, where no immediate systemic dislocation results from such an outage, any consumer detriment will be a concern for our colleagues at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) more than it is for us. b)  Second, operational resilience is different from operational risk. In operational resilience we are describing a policy outcome we want to deliver in terms of the system functioning. This may be a by-product of effective operational risk management.
Sarah Dahlgren: The importance of addressing cybersecurity risks in the financial sector Remarks by Ms Sarah Dahlgren, Executive Vice President of the Financial Institution Supervision Group of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, at the OpRisk North America Annual Conference, New York City, 24 March 2015. *  *  *  Introduction I would like to thank Operational Risk & Regulation for inviting me to speak here today. I appreciate the opportunity to address this group and kick off what looks like a very interesting and comprehensive few days of dialogue around current and future risks facing the industry. As always, my remarks today reflect my own views and not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or the Federal Reserve System. I will begin my remarks with a high-level overview of the progress made in recent years in addressing some of the most significant risks facing the industry following the financial crisis. I will then go on to discuss one of the areas where I see some of the biggest challenges in the road ahead. As the industry continues to adapt to and implement necessary regulatory changes, it is also adapting to and leveraging technology changes: technology changes that offer both exciting opportunities and more complex risks than – I think – we are prepared for. Progress Coming out of the financial crisis, we all knew that we needed to be better prepared for future crisis events, whatever their character, source or timing.

[Plans to set up this Forum were announced by the Bank in June 2019 as part of our response to the Future of Finance report.] The purpose of the Forum is to further dialogue between the public and private sectors in order to better understand the use and impact of AI in financial services. The Forum, which is expected to run for one year, will consist of a series of quarterly meetings and workshops structured around each of three topic areas: Data, Model Risk Management, and Governance. In terms of membership, the Forum will draw on the knowledge and experience of 21 leading AI experts from across the financial and technology sectors as well as academia; the Forum also has observers from the Information Commissioner’s Office and the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation and more may be invited. The goal is to ensure that the Forum’s design reflects a wide variety of views. The full list of members can be found on our website.
It is a lot easier to ensure that our streets are clean when people don’t think it is morally right to litter rather than having thousands of street cleaners sweeping the streets day and night, or having thousands of health inspectors giving out penalty tickets to those who litter. (III) Appropriate Incentives System – it refers mostly to financial incentives but there could be non-financial incentives, that accrue to the staff members at different levels within a bank. It is crucial that the incentive system aligns with the letter and spirit of the rules, codes and culture statement of the bank in order to induce the appropriate staff behaviour to produce the desired outcomes consistently over time. It is not possible to achieve sound banking without all the three components, as they tend to support and reinforce each other. Quoting the famous words of Mencius, supplemented by a modern economics overlay, I would like to conclude today’s Conference with the following phrases: 徒善不足以為政 徒法不能以自行 1/2  BIS central bankers' speeches  徒利不可以為繼  which, using my interpretation in the context of sound banking, basically mean that it is neither possible to depend solely on good laws or solely on high moral principles or ethical values to produce the desired policy outcomes nor sustainable in the long run if one solely pursues profit maximisation. We will need the trilogy to produce sound banking and I hope that you, the INEDs of banks in Hong Kong, will join hands and work together to accomplish this important common goal.

I look forward to seeing you, fellow INEDs, this time next year at the 2nd Annual INED Conference. 2/2  BIS central bankers' speeches
In addition, about $ billion of Treasury securities mature between now and the end of 2011, giving the FOMC scope to reduce its asset holdings even further if it chooses to not replace some of those maturing securities. While the passive strategy of relying on redemptions may be appropriate for now, it might not be sufficient over the longer-term. One problem is that relying only on redemptions would still leave some MBS holdings on our balance sheet for several decades. As indicated in the minutes from the January meeting, the FOMC intends to return to a Treasuries-only portfolio over time. This consideration could motivate the FOMC to sell its agency debt and mortgagebacked securities at some point, once the economic recovery has progressed sufficiently. Draining tools: control of short-term rates Under the strategies just described, the Fed’s asset holdings are likely to still be elevated at the time that the FOMC wants to raise short-term interest rates. That creates a challenge for controlling those rates, because of the large amounts of reserves that were created from the Fed’s purchases of those assets. It is therefore important for the Fed to determine the way in which it will raise short-term interest rates in an environment with so much liquidity – a topic that I will now cover. The primary vehicle for making adjustments to short-term interest rates in that environment is the ability to pay interest on reserves.

Brian P Sack: Preparing for a smooth (eventual) exit Remarks by Mr Brian P Sack, Executive Vice President of Markets Group of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, at the National Association for Business Economics Policy Conference, Arlington, Virginia, 8 March 2010. *  *  *  Thank you for inviting me to speak today. In my remarks, I will provide an update on the progress that the Federal Reserve is making toward preparing for a smooth exit from the extraordinary policy actions that were taken in response to the financial crisis. 1 I should note up front that I will not be providing any information about the likely timing of policy tightening; those decisions will be made and communicated by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). Instead, I will focus my comments on the policy tools and strategy that are likely to be used whenever that exit becomes appropriate. I will also discuss the preparedness of financial markets for the Fed’s exit, in order to assess how financial conditions may evolve as the exit approaches and gets under way. When the time comes to tighten monetary policy, the Federal Reserve will be embarking on a tightening cycle like no other in its history. First, this tightening cycle will have two policy dimensions, in that the FOMC will have to decide on the path of its asset holdings in addition to the path of the short-term interest rate.
Second-quarter data for activity and demand brought no surprises either, and the projections for this and next year, which I will analyze in more detail in a while, show only marginal changes. Considering this, we have kept the monetary policy rate (MPR) at 3.5% for several months. At the same time, we have changed the bias of our monetary policy by stating that, if the baseline scenario comes true, there will be no need over the projection horizon to follow through with the 1 / 14  BIS central bankers' speeches  increases we had foreseen up to the latest Report. On the domestic front, like in June, our main concern has to do with the slow growth that the Chilean economy continues to experience. For this year we expect growth to be in the 1.5% to 2% range, and for next year it should be between 1.75% and 2.75%. If this is the case, the economy will complete four years growing on average around 2%. This is definitely not satisfactory, and is something we must not only worry about, but assume with top priority. It should be noted that, although in our baseline scenario we expect no further deterioration of the global economy, neither do we expect a significant recovery of output and demand. This, in some way, makes it ever more important that, as a country, we deepen our analysis of those domestic elements that could be holding back growth in our economy.

Most recently, the exchange rate broke the upward trend it followed for several quarters. Actually, it has dropped compared with its levels early in the year. Symmetric to our previous actions, if for this reason inflation were to fall temporarily below our target, we would not apply a more expansionary monetary policy, unless after some time we saw second-round effects jeopardizing the return of inflation to 3% over a two-year horizon. Importantly, any changes in the policy stance in either direction can be warranted only if our medium-term inflation forecast suggests that it will deviate away from the 3% target. Of course this would be determined by changes in its fundamentals. What are the risks we identified in our baseline scenario? On the external front, one of the main risks is a reversal of the improved international financial conditions. As I said, the path that the Fed will ultimately take to adjust the policy rate is critical. An increase in the fed funds rate is very likely within this year, and the markets’ expectations point at very gradual subsequent adjustments. A more aggressive action by the Fed could increase global volatility significantly, affecting asset prices, capital flows and currencies. The Brexit vote materialized one of the risks outlined in June but, to this date, its effects seem 4 / 14  BIS central bankers' speeches  bounded. However, its true consequences are still in the making, so further repercussions on medium-term growth in the UK and Europe cannot be ruled out.
I should be injecting some levity into the event, though it is hard to do so when one talks about our feckless fiscal authorities. But there are witty people who have found a way to do so. Take a look at this parody of Congress that my staff found on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li0no7O9zmE. There you have the prevailing modus operandi of our fiscal authorities: pass the bill rather than the American dream to our children. What a sad tale! You asked me to talk about the economy. In a nutshell, my answer is this: Monetary policy provides the fuel for the economic engine that is the United States. We have filled the gas tank and then some. And yet businesses will not use that fuel to a degree necessary to realize our job-creating potential and create a better world for the successor generation of Americans until Congress, working with the executive branch, does the responsible thing and pulls together a tax, spending and regulatory program that will induce businesses to step on the accelerator and engage the transmission mechanism of job creation so they and the consumers they create through employment can drive our economy forward. 7  “Q&A: German Finance Minister Takes On Critics,” by Marcus Walker, William Boston and Andreas Kissler, Wall Street Journal, Jan. 29, 2012. BIS central bankers’ speeches  7

However, this poses a new challenge for users with little prior experience with digital tools, or with little financial knowledge, as they will not be given personalised advice when engaging services. Mirroring what I have said, concern over citizens’ level of financial knowledge has been increasing in recent years. In developed and emerging countries financial education is viewed today as an essential element of stability and balanced economic development in society. On OECD recommendations, many countries have developed national financial education strategies. In Spain, since 2008, the Financial Education Plan has been rolled out by means of a collaboration agreement between the CNMV (National Securities Market Commission) and the Banco de España, subsequently entered into also by the Ministry of the Economy and Enterprise. We consider these efforts to be essential and wish to boost them further in the future. 4  It is widely known that the engagement of banking services is through standard form contracts, which hamper or prevent negotiation between the two parties. 11/13  In addition, it has been opted to integrate financial education into the compulsory secondary education system, and specific subjects address these matters in greater detail in higher secondary education. Notwithstanding these efforts, much clearly remains to be done.
In the case of the U.S., this could include changes in immigration policy, infrastructure investments that remove bottlenecks and job training programs that improve the quality of human capital. Implications for U.S. monetary policy Undoubtedly, we will continue to learn as we seek to implement monetary policy most effectively. Let me give a few examples of how my own thinking may evolve. In terms of our asset purchase program, I believe we should be prepared to adjust the total amount of purchases to that needed to deliver a substantial improvement in the labor market outlook in the context of price stability. In doing this, we might adjust the pace of purchases up or down as the labor market and inflation outlook changes in a material way. For me, the base case forecast is not the sole consideration – how confident we are about that outcome is also important. Because the outlook is uncertain, I cannot be sure which way – up or down – the next change will be. But at some point, I expect to see sufficient evidence to make me more confident about the prospect for substantial improvement in the labor market outlook. At that time, in my view, it will be appropriate to reduce the pace at which we are adding accommodation through asset purchases. Over the coming months, how well the economy fights its way through the significant fiscal drag currently in force will be an important aspect of this judgment.

Immediately upon reaching the zero bound, we provided additional stimulus by expanding our balance sheet and deploying forward guidance on the policy rate. These actions, in the context of a strong commitment to both our inflation and employment mandates, succeeded in preventing deflation expectations from taking hold, even though real outcomes were disappointing. We also took steps to formalize our 2 percent inflation objective.7 The Fed’s large-scale asset purchase programs differed from those originally undertaken in Japan both in theory and in practice. They were concentrated in longer-term securities – Treasuries and agency mortgage-backed securities. This reflected a different perspective on how purchases affect financial conditions and the economy, as well as the different structure of our financial system. Our view is that asset purchases work primarily through the asset side of the balance sheet by transferring duration risk from the private sector to the central bank’s balance sheet. This pushes down risk premia, and prompts private sector investors to move into riskier assets. As a result, financial market conditions ease, supporting wealth and aggregate demand. The fact that such purchases increase the amount of reserves in the banking system and the size of the monetary base is a byproduct – not the goal – of these actions. The U.S. also moved relatively quickly to recapitalize core financial institutions – partly as a result of good judgment, but also because the intense pressures of a capital markets-based financial system forced us to confront these issues.
Third, that despite these improvements, inflation dynamics continue to depend on the continuation of our current monetary policy stance – a stance that is determined by the interaction between all three main policy instruments: interest rates, asset purchases and forward guidance on both. Monetary policy is working For a large part of the crisis, the story of the euro area was one of abortive recoveries. The rebound that took place from 2009 to 2011 was derailed by the onset of the sovereign debt crisis. We then saw a nascent recovery beginning in mid-2013, but it also lost steam by the summer of 2014 as the external environment became more uncertain. The euro area economy, in other words, was consistently struggling to gain momentum and seemed highly vulnerable to new shocks. This is not surprising given the severity of the crisis and the depth of the economic slump. Even today, the legacies of the financial crisis are still a drag on the recovery and the global environment remains uncertain. The balance of risks to the growth outlook remains tilted to the downside due to geo-political factors. But things have also been clearly improving. Since mid-2014, the recovery has evolved from being fragile and uneven into a firming, broad-based upswing. Quarterly GDP growth has been consistently between 0.3% and 0.8%. Employment has grown by more than 4.5 million people.

It is determined by the calibration of, and interaction between, the whole array of instruments we have introduced: the level of policy rates, the pace of asset purchases, and our forward guidance on both. It is the combination of all these tools that sets a given stance. The different elements have complementary effects on preserving the very easy financing conditions that are necessary for generating sustainable inflation convergence. Our current interest rate policy and our forward guidance on the future path of rates affect the risk-free term structure of interest rates, which is the benchmark for the pricing of all other assets and interest rates. Our asset purchases complement these interest rate policies by directly compressing the term premium and other risk premia, both via portfolio rebalancing effects and by underlining the central bank’s commitment to keep interest rates at a low level – i.e. signalling effects. And since the Governing Council deems the current stance fully appropriate, it confirmed at its last meeting that net asset purchases will continue until the end of December 2017, or beyond, if necessary, and in any case until we see a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation consistent with our inflation aim. It also confirmed its expectation that key ECB interest rates will remain at present or lower levels for an extended period of time, and well past the horizon of our net asset 5/6  BIS central bankers' speeches  purchases.