samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
Accompanying these changes has been the prevalence of abundant liquidity in the global financial markets, resulting in an intensified search for higher yields. These trends are encouraging flows into the capital markets of emerging economies, presenting new opportunities for wholesale banking and capital market related financial services. These flows, however, also pose potential risks of reversals in financial market conditions. This increases the need to ensure that we have the capacity to absorb or adjust to changing financial flows. A second significant trend shaping the future financial landscape is the intensification of regional economic and financial integration. Economic integration through trade is already well-advanced in Asia, with the share of intra-regional trade already more than half of the total trade in Asia . More recently, however, greater financial integration at the regional level has been an important development, bringing complementary and mutually-reinforcing benefits to the economies in the region. Intra-regional investments among the Asian economies have increased with an accompanying rise in cross-border financing activities. There has already been an increase in cross-border mergers and acquisition activity among Asian financial institutions in order to reap emerging opportunities. The transformation in the financial landscape in the current environment has not been confined to the Asian region but has also involved growing ties with other emerging regions. Of significance is the rising trend of trade and financial linkages between Asia and the Middle East and other parts of the world. Malaysian banks now have the capacity to take advantage of these trends.

The sector, in the banking and insurance industries, now provides employment to more than 123,000 Malaysians. Despite conditions that have remained challenging for a large part of the decade, the banking system remained consistently on solid financial ground with a risk-weighted capital ratio of over 13%, low NPL ratios, and continued profitability for eight consecutive years. Substantial progress has been made towards consumer retail finance and access to banking services. Such consumer lending has increased from RM134 billion to RM343 billion while loans disbursed to small and medium enterprises have increased from RM71 billion in 2000 to RM108 billion in 2007. Domestic banking institutions are also building on their strong domestic performance to expand beyond Malaysian borders. Today, six domestic banks have presence in 10 countries around the region. The current encouraging state of the banking system, however, should not make us complacent on the need to continually transform and reinvent. The road in front of us is likely to be significantly different from the one we have traveled on. As our previous experience has shown, we need to constantly recognize that strategies that serve well in today's environment would not necessarily be a formula for success in tomorrow's environment.
2021 PARIS EUROPLACE – STUDIO GABRIEL, PARIS ROADS FOR THE FUTURE: CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCY (CBDC) AND INNOVATIVE PAYMENTS  Closing address by François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Banque de France  Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a pleasure to be with you today streamed live from Studio Gabriel. I would like to extend my warmest thanks to Paris Europlace for having maintained through the crisis this fruitful dialogue with all stakeholders. Before turning to my main point today, I want to stress the resilience of our French financial institutions, which have played a decisive role in helping our economy weather the crisis. It was popular a year ago to predict a financial apocalypse, and certain Europeans, prone to self-flagellation, are still doing so today, whereas the Americans are more self-confident. The reality speaks for itself: French banks’ CET1 was higher at the end of the first quarter of 2021 (15%) than it was before the crisis; their profitability, however still insufficient, has improved sharply in this Q1; in general, French banks are in no way underprovisioned. France and Europe are not facing a “tsunami of bankruptcies”, and should, on the contrary, see a strong recovery: cumulative growth of more than 10% over 2021 and 2022. So we need to remain vigilant, but let’s stop scaring ourselves. This roughly reassuring situation is in no way a call for complacency and status quo. The Covid-19 crisis is acting as an accelerator for the major structural challenges banks and insurers are facing.

At the same time, unemployment continued on a downward path and economic sentiment improved across the board. Some recent signals point to a slowdown, yet they seem to have more to do with temporary influences, growth prospects continuing to look strong. The past year recorded, on average, positive developments in EU candidate and potential candidate countries as well, in spite of GDP dynamics delivering a more mixed picture (from over 7 percent in Turkey to around 2 percent in Serbia and even stagnation in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia). Nevertheless, the outlook is positive, with recent forecasts pointing to relatively robust growth in the coming years. However, against this relatively rosy background, I should highlight that our economies, even those that belong to the Eurozone, have still much to do in order to become robust and offer good living standards to most of their citizens. Some members of this Club, Romania included, had to go through very painful adjustments during the past decade, as the global crisis found them trapped in a pro-cyclical policy stance and it remains to be seen to what extent they will manage to break free from this pattern in the current good times; some need to fight high inflation, pressures on their currencies or to correct their external imbalances. Nevertheless, the common denominator of all our economies is having to deal with institutional weaknesses and the need to undertake reforms that should make them stronger.
Some observers thus claim that the lack of co-ordination between European economic policies, in the absence of a political federation, is likely to deprive the area of an appropriate policy-mix. Others blame the lack of instruments allowing us to tackle any asymetric shocks that may emerge, and underline the poor flexibility or the absence of mobility of the European labour force. Others claim that the presumed economic divergences and structural gaps among euro area countries are too large to ensure a viable monetary union. …appears invalid from an economic standpoint How can we address these important objections? It is not disputable that for EMU to function well, Member States, especially the major ones in terms of GDP, must be aware of the spill-over effects of all their national budgetary policies. The existence of spill-over justifies the implementation of close co-ordination between national economic policies. This is contained in the Treaty itself, which obliges Member States to treat national economic policies “as a matter of common concern” and subjects them to a multilateral procedure. In this regard, we have seen that for EMU to be successful, an appropriate level of co-ordination between economic policies is needed. To this end, Member States have designed institutions and mechanisms to promote the level of co-ordination. We can now say that EMU has in turn been beneficial to the European economic and financial integration as a whole.

I believe that we have to deal  5  with three main challenges: structural reforms, financial stability and the accession to the EU of new Member States. *  *  *  The challenges ahead Structural reforms The first challenge is beyond dispute to implement structural reforms in the euro area’s economies. Structural reforms were crystallised at the European level in what is called the Lisbon strategy. The first objective of this strategy is to substantially raise our potential output growth. The second is to make our economies more competitive. Implementing the reforms: the Lisbon strategy The European Council meeting held in Luxembourg in December 1997 explicitly mentioned structural policies among the items selected for strengthened co-ordination. The Lisbon European Council, held in March 2000, further enhanced the medium-term strategy to introduce structural reforms in the Union. This strategy aims at making the European Union the world’s most dynamic knowledge economy by 2010. It has since been rounded out to include social issues (at the Council of Nice) and environmental issues (at the Council of Gothenburg). Work to date in the field of structural reforms is quite encouraging. Noticeable successes have already been registered with regard to certain policies, such as new rules in telecommunications, electricity and gas markets. Before reviewing the priority areas where fresh impetus is required, I wish to briefly make two remarks: First, the responsibility for structural reforms in the European Union rests with the individual Member States.
They may also, under a compromise text, render partly redundant and ineffective the responsibilities of supervisors of home and host countries, as well as those of micro-prudential and macro-prudential supervisors. In this context, I believe that the creation of a banking union is to be supported. It would be a major development for banking supervision in Europe, which would bring numerous benefits and would enable us to efficiently address the current difficulties. Such a development would most likely have very positive consequences in that it would be a step towards greater European harmonisation. Naturally, the benefits of such a reform would be more far-reaching but such questions go beyond the scope of today’s conference. Questions regarding the impact and stakes of Basel III will already give ample food for thought in the rich debates and discussions this morning. I wish you all a fruitful conference. BIS central bankers’ speeches  3

Gent Sejko: Remittances from Albanians abroad positively influences the Albanian economy Speech by Mr Gent Sejko, Governor of the Bank of Albania, at the high-level meeting on the remittances from the Albanian diaspora, Tirana, 11 December 2017. * * * Dear Minister Majko, Dear guests, Welcome to the premises of the Bank of Albania! I would like first to thank the Minister of State for the Diaspora, Mr Pandeli Majko, for his initiative for higher attention to drawing in and effectively using the remittances sent by Albanians abroad. Today’s meeting is the first in a series of common steps to be taken by Albanian institutions, in an effort to give its due place to the financial contribution by Albanian emigrants to the welfare of their families at home. This contribution is also vital for the sustainable and long-term development of the Albanian economy. The Bank of Albania has always considered the remittances as a very important contributing factor for the economy of Albania and beyond. In this light, the Bank of Albania measures and analyses the available statistics, and conducts non-quantitative assessments related to the geographical distribution of the sources of remittances, at the national and international level. The assessment of factors contributing to the level of remittances and the cyclical volatility of their flows over the years remains at the focus of our work. For Albania, remittances represent a steady and considerable source of inflows, which surpass foreign direct investments, being thus a substantial source of financing economic growth in Albania.
  Structural reform fatigue is settling in, with electorates weary in both creditor and debtor countries to pursue tough measures to ensure medium-term fiscal consolidation and containment of the sovereign crisis in Europe. Moreover, financial markets remain jittery as the final outcomes of agreed commitments are not a foregone conclusion.   The risk of disorderly outcomes is high, and balance sheet repair, especially of those banks most exposed to the European periphery, should be bolstered. Hoping for the best is no substitute for preparing for the worst, and the markets are well  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  aware of that. More extreme measures on debt restructuring might be unavoidable if fiscal transfers are ruled out and fatigue settles in debtor countries.   In an environment of financial uncertainty and fiscal retrenchment, monetary policy should remain supportive. Emerging Market Economies (EMEs) and smaller, financially stable AEs, are threading carefully in this uncertain environment, and as we saw a few years ago, it is unlikely that full decoupling will occur under most scenarios. The Fund’s advice should properly recognize that the rebalancing challenges are not the same across this heterogeneous group of economies; thus, an adequate level of differentiation in terms of policy advice is called for.

BIS Review 152/2009  also be looked at in Islamic finance, which has also to deal with additional issues of harmonised regulation. The G20 has agreed to establish a new global Financial Stability Board, with a wider group of developed and emerging countries as part of the new international financial architecture. It will be responsible for coordinating banking regulation, developing regulatory and supervisory standards, preparing early warning reports and exchanging information with supervisors. It is important that this forum gives due recognition to Islamic finance given its increasing importance in the international financial system and its potential role in contributing to global financial stability. In the Islamic financial industry, the IFSB is at the forefront of international efforts to increase regulatory cooperation, and encourage common rules and enhanced monitoring of international financial risks. The IFSB and the IDB has an important role in building cross-border consensus and collaboration on the strategic direction for the Islamic financial services industry for better alignment to the objectives of financial stability. As Islamic finance continues to become an integral part of the global financial system, there is scope for the current framework of cooperation to be strengthened and broadened to address the new challenges that have emerged. Islamic finance has been inclusive in its development, not only at the national level but also across jurisdictions. At the national level the Islamic financial system provides the full spectrum of financial services from the large multinational corporations to micro-enterprises and to households.
Domestic policies, institutions and rules, important factors behind crises … Although several of these factors may have played some part in the run-up to recent financial crises, it is important to bear in mind that financial crises almost always originate in an unsuccessful domestic economic policy and in the structure and regulation of the domestic financial system. While modern international financial markets have possibly contributed to an earlier appearance of crises and to their spreading, a deregulated financial system with free capital movements as such is not the basic problem. It is striking that several countries most affected by financial turbulence in the 1990s were relatively new participants in the international financial system without having first established a sound domestic financial system and a sound economic policy. That conclusion also holds for my own country, Sweden, which experienced a severe crisis in the early 1990s. One obvious insight is, and I quote Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, “that participation in the international financial system with all its benefits carries with it an obligation to maintain a level of stability and a set of strong and transparent institutions and rules if an economy is to participate safely and effectively in markets that have become highly sensitive to misallocation of capital and other policy errors”. Thus, emerging market economies must reform their domestic financial systems, just as we did in Sweden after our crisis, if they want to enjoy the benefits of an open international financial system.

That conclusion is underscored by a look at existing attempts to build early-warning systems for various types of crisis. Either these systems miss out on crises that actually occur or they sound the alarm for crises that do not occur. Nevertheless, given the costs and the difficulties of managing the successive crises over the past decade, we must continue to devote considerable efforts to avoiding future crises and try hard to understand the kinds of vulnerability that lie behind them. The crises during the 1990s have revealed serious flaws not only in macroeconomic management but also, just as important, in the structure and regulation of the financial system in both debtor and creditor countries. The work now being carried out in various international fora is thorough and can be summarised under three headings: •  Crisis prevention, including the development of good practice standards and transparency codes, and incentives for both borrowers and lenders to act prudently. •  Crisis containment, including the establishment of official contingent lines and possible forms of private sector finance which may reduce the severity of any crisis. •  Crisis resolution, where the emphasis is on possible ways of creating a more orderly environment for restructuring external debt, on principles to guide the restructuring of banking systems in the wake of a crisis, and on handling corporate insolvency.
Currently, there are several international institutions that are working towards international Shariah-compliant standards which include the IFSB and the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI). 7. Recognising the current state of Islamic finance and its different pace of development in different jurisdictions, it is important for us to step back a bit and carefully plan the efforts going forward. In this regard, let me share with you my thought on four areas of focus whereby greater attention should be given in order for us to achieve further progress in the development of takaful in particular, and Islamic finance in general. I will also take this opportunity to share with you on the experience and approach that Malaysia has adopted in our endeavor to develop a comprehensive and effective Islamic finance system. Firstly, there should be greater inter linkages of components of Islamic finance supported by strong legal and regulatory framework. 8. The effective functioning of the Islamic financial system will largely depend on the development of a comprehensive package of the core components of the overall Islamic financial system. This would involve the development of the Islamic banking sector, the takaful sector, the Islamic inter-bank and capital markets as well as other non-banking financial institutions. The future development of the Islamic finance will rely on the strength of these core components and their interlinkages, due to the interdependence of the respective components within the package.

A dedicated High Court judge has also been assigned to preside over cases relating to Islamic banking and finance, complementing the mediation, arbitration and other dispute resolution mechanism already in existence for the Islamic financial system. 14. Great emphasis has also been given to enhance the Shariah framework in Malaysia. The Shariah Advisory Council in Bank Negara Malaysia is recognised as a sole authority on all Shariah matters pertaining to Islamic banking and finance. At the company level, it is a legal requirement for Islamic banking and takaful operators to establish their own Shariah Committees as part of internal governance in order to ensure compliance with the Shariah. The second focus area is that there must be efforts to have structured human talent development in the area of Islamic finance. 15. The essence of a takaful system lies in the relationship between the participants and the mudharib or wakeel, that is the person responsible for managing the takaful fund. The key success factor lies in takaful operators having high level of expertise in all relevant areas in the management of takaful business including technical, actuarial, distribution, underwriting, investment as well as strong leadership at the helm of a takaful operator. In this regard, there is a need for a structured development of human talent at all levels which include the leaders, technical personnel as well as the regulators.
4  BIS central bankers’ speeches  So far our system has worked well, but the success of the system depends on broad-based support for government spending programmes and the framework for saving oil revenues – the cap. If the system fails and our wealth is spent on welfare schemes to the detriment of future labour income, our petroleum wealth may quickly become a bane. For example, if we were to slack off – intoxicated by the vast new oil fields Avaldsnes and Aldous Major in the North Sea – and reduce our work effort by extending our lunch break by five minutes every day, the sum of our future labour income will be reduced by as much as the value of our latest oil discovery. Investments in Norway How should oil revenues be saved? An apt comparison is a family that wins a million kroner in the lottery. The family has to decide how to manage the newly found wealth. •  One option is of course to give it away or share the wealth. •  The family must then decide how much to spend and how much to save. •  The money can be spent on a long holiday or purchases for the home. •  If the family instead chooses to save the money, it will be faced with new choices. –  Should the money be invested in a family-owned business? –  In a neighbour’s business?

In addition to voting, we engage in dialogue with management teams in a number of companies. We must remember that when we point a finger at a company, we are also pointing a finger at the laws, regulations and practices of the countries where the company legally operates. We make demands, yet we are at the same time a guest in our neighbour’s house. Excessive activism in other countries may defeat its own purpose. Scepticism towards foreign investors, and in particular towards large sovereign funds, is not an unfamiliar phenomenon. We could risk being perceived as a political fund rather than a financial investor. We have therefore chosen ethical guidelines and corporate governance principles that are based on OECD and UN principles. 31 Our experience is that the fund is perceived as a welcome financial investor – not as a political player. Former South African central bank governor Tito Mboweni told me he preferred investments by the oil fund to development assistance. “Assistance means you feel sorry for us,” he said to me, “investment means you believe in us.” 32 Conclusion The larger the visible wealth is, the greater becomes the risk that sound management principles are relegated to the background. Both John Collett and Gunter Sachs had considerable wealth, and spent it generously all their lives. At the same time, both were interested in developing more permanent values through research.