samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
Proportionate changes to our prudential regime and a renewed international focus of will both contribute to strengthening the UK insurance sector and facilitating effective competition. I will go on to discuss the role of the UK in future international policymaking, and the importance of international co-ordination both to enable global insurance activity and address global risks including climate change, one of the themes of today’s event. 2  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/speeches and @BoE_PressOffice  2  Our role as a host for international insurance business  Preparing for Brexit was a significant task for the insurance industry and regulators. The extensive work undertaken since 2016 meant that for the insurance industry at least, 31st December 2020 passed largely without incident – few, if any, of us spent the first week of January stuck in a (metaphorical or actual) lay-by outside Dover. However there is further work for both regulators and industry to do, not least moving the c.190 EU insurers that have entered the Temporary Permissions Regime (TPR) onto a more permanent footing in the UK, but an important milestone has been passed successfully.1 While describing Brexit as an “opportunity” is at this point an extremely well-worn phrase, it does give the regulator, and the UK as a whole, a chance to consider how our financial services sector should operate in future.

The PRA remains open to all insurers seeking to operate in the UK, and will assess applications against a clear and consistent set of criteria. This includes hosting business on a cross-border basis both from the EU and more broadly provided, among other things, that we are satisfied that the level of “supervisability” of the EU branch and its parent entity is commensurate to the level of potential risk it poses to the PRA’s statutory objectives of safety and soundness and policyholder protection. Where appropriate, branch hosting provides a relatively low cost, low impact route for overseas insurers to operate in the UK. Key considerations of the assessment of “supervisability” is our view of the approach home state regulators take to supervision (which is likely to be made easier when assessing the EU given our rulebooks are broadly identical) and the level of co-operation we can secure from home states, including on the exchange of supervisory information. This latter requirement is as much an objective for us as it is for insurers – our ability to establish and maintain productive relationships with home state regulators will in turn enable lower friction access between insurance markets. We are working hard to build on our existing relationships with European and global regulators, and engagement to date on this has been positive. There are advantages in the branch model for both insurers and regulators, not least that duplication of supervisory activity is reduced.
The enormous dependence on wholesale financing given the low share of deposits as a proportion of total funding, lack of transparency, cross-ownership ties and connected lending, and other points were also mentioned. Up to that time, the banks had actively sought to raise funds with large international bond issues and were strained to bring in funds for all their activities, which now become more difficult. Both the banks and the authorities reacted to the criticism by cleaning up their act, but also by taking the offensive with a propaganda campaign. 6 That worked. In retrospect, one could even say this was unfortunate, as it would have been much easier to reduce the size and the riskiness of the system in the conditions prevailing in 2006 than in 2008. Furthermore, one of the solutions was to start collecting deposits abroad, which was to prove devastating for the Icelandic nation once the banks failed. The banks also entered new markets, including the US, where issuers with good credit ratings found it easy to sell bonds. As a result, risk appetite returned and Moody’s took the banks to triple-A for a while in 2007. Moreover, the Icelandic banks were perhaps better prepared than otherwise for the dramatic reversal of market sentiment that took place in mid2007. Interestingly, the high credit default swaps compared to their ratings made the banks’ bonds good input for structured products.

International financial market liquidity and the króna exchange rate Liquidity index  The króna exchange rate and bank stock prices  Index, January 2005 = 100  Index, January 2005 = 100  2  120  1  110  Index, January 2005 = 100  250  120 110  200 100  0  90 ‐1  100 90  150  80 ‐2 70 ‐3  80 100  70  60  60 50  ‐4  50 40  ‐5 2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  50 40  0 2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  Financial market liquidity (left axis)  Real stock prices for financial institutes (left axis)  Effective exchange rate (right axis)  Effective exchange rate (right axis)  The liquidity index shows the number of standard deviations from the mean (exponential moving average) from a simple average of nine liquidity measures,  Source: Bank of England, Central Bank of Iceland. Source: EcoWin Reuters, Central Bank of Iceland. As so often occurs in great tragedies, the two stories converged in a grand finale in early October 2008, when nearly nine-tenths of Iceland’s banking system collapsed when its three large cross-border banks – Glitnir, Landsbanki, and Kaupthing – were taken into special resolution regimes on the basis of the emergency legislation that had just been passed by Parliament.
Adnan Zaylani Mohamad Zahid: Leading in a disruptive world revolutionising Takaful Keynote address by Mr Adnan Zaylani Mohamad Zahid, Assistant Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia (Bank Negara Malaysia), at the Takaful Rendezvous 2019 “Leading in a Disruptive World – Revolutionising Takaful”, Kuala Lumpur, 8 October 2019. * * * I am delighted to join all of you today at the 2019 Takaful Rendezvous. This is an important gathering for the finance and business community to exchange ideas on the opportunities and issues facing the global takaful industry. Our backdrop today is of an economy and environment that has seen remarkable changes and challenges that emerge in just a short period of time. While we have thought the financial crises of recent times were safely behind us, the global and domestic economy has been beset with an escalating trade war that has rippled far. This has affected the trade and investment climate worldwide and could bring about large downside risks. Malaysia’s economy will not be spared from this fallout. At the same time, we have a growing sense of urgency to deal with environmental challenges. Globally, the focus is shifting towards climate change and sustainability. Closer to home, we have just experienced an episode of the country’s now, alarmingly, annual haze seasonality. Undoubtedly, each one of us can feel the impact and risks from environmental degradation on the quality of our daily lives.

Parametric insurance using geospatial support and big data to validate legitimate claims by farmers have been rolled-out in many parts of the world. These are all examples of technology reinvigorating the “business-asusual” means of providing protection. From our own engagements with SMEs in particular, businesses often cited that complicated and lengthy procedures remain among the top reason for not purchasing takaful. This is not a new challenge and the solutions are available for takaful operators to deploy. More targeted investment into enhancing operational capabilities is paramount for takaful operators to stay competitive. Efforts should continue to be undertaken by the industry to provide seamless customer experience by digitising operational processes, expanding distribution outreach and also upskilling the intermediaries. We also continue to be open to new proposals and would encourage players to test innovative business models and solutions in Malaysia. To date, 80 applications have been submitted under the Financial Technology Regulatory Sandbox – of which, 12 relate to insurance and takaful services. As we facilitate viability testing of these propositions, we have been gathering data and experience that will allow us to make evidence-backed regulatory adjustments, for new and incumbent market players to operate under a regulatory framework that is more riskproportionate. This will cater for new designs of offerings and business modality, while remaining effective in promoting financial soundness and stability. Nonetheless, what we have seen thus far can only be characterised as digitisation of existing delivery channels and services. Going beyond this, we have yet to see true disruptions.
This percentage is expected to decline over the next few years, as banks tend to move towards vendor provided common solutions. Many Sri Lankan banks take pride in operating their own propriety systems, which may not be sustainable in the future. There appears to be reluctance on the part of the banks to move to common switches, common platforms or shared systems. This is partly because of the inordinate fear of one bank peeping into another’s operations, huge sums already spent on propriety systems or due to pressure from the staff or management to retain existing and workable systems. As long as these reservations exist and there is reluctance to use common or pooled infrastructure or shared technology, customers will continue to have limited or no benefits with no reduction in transaction costs. This is not to suggest that  6  BIS Review 13/2008  propriety systems and bespoke solutions should be discarded altogether. But, it is important to realize that many more benefits can be achieved and the same can be passed on to customers with integrated core banking solutions. 9.3  Design a customer-centric business vision  9.3.1 To begin with, banks should have a clear vision for future business directions and operating models and they should align IT processes accordingly. With respect to core banking solutions, they should use flexible, robust and future-oriented IT architecture based on a customer-centric approach.

To facilitate the collection of information, the Central Bank has established an on-line Web-based reporting system through a central database for all licensed banks. The banks forward their periodic reports to the Central Bank through this system, which facilitates collation and analysis of the information for off-site surveillance and to pursue corrective action by banks. In this respect, technology has not only changed the way banking business is conducted, but also to modernize the supervisory and regulatory framework in Sri Lanka and elsewhere. 6.3 In addition to spearheading with the introduction of new technology platforms for payments, clearing and settlements, the Central Bank also established a conducive legal and regulatory framework for IT related operations in Banks. During 2002 – 2006, the Central Bank introduced several amendments to the Registered Stocks and Securities Ordinance, Local Treasury Bills Act to facilitate RTGS and SSS transactions. In addition, the Central Bank also passed a dedicated law, i.e. the Payments and Settlements Act to regulate the national payment system with enabling powers to the Central Bank to monitor and regulate new payments instruments, systems and service providers. This Act also includes appropriate provisions for customer rights. In the retail payments area, prior to the introduction of the cheque imaging system through LankaClear, the Central Bank initiated amendments to the Bills of Exchange Ordinance, and Evidence Law to enable cheque images be recognized in courts.
High and chronic inflation culminated in the adoption of short-term approaches, by adversely affecting expectations, investment and production decisions and deteriorating resource allocation in the economy, which brought along low and volatile rates of growth and employment and aggravated injustice in income and wealth distribution. We have experienced all the damage of inflation in Turkey, so we expect all sections of the public to support our fight against inflation and defend the achievements we have made so far. It should be borne in mind that striving for price stability means striving for creating an environment where people can make a living, make investments and can look to the future with confidence. With this respect, price stability is a goal that cannot be sacrificed for any other priority or target. Thanks to the policies implemented by our Bank, great progress was made in the disinflation process: inflation, which was 73.2 percent at the beginning of 2002, was recorded as 10.26 percent in August 2006. Within the framework of the fight against inflation, the Central Bank of Turkey adopted the formal inflation-targeting regime as the monetary policy strategy at the beginning of 2006. Now, I would like to mention a few points that I believe are important with respect to the adoption of the inflation targeting regime. Studies on the inflation targeting regime as a monetary policy strategy were initiated at our Bank in 2000.

It is in this context that the Central Bank has pledged, in its policy statement, “Road Map: Monetary and Financial Sector Policies for 2007 and Beyond” that it would expand the work of Financial Intelligence and actively investigate and take actions to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. In the years 2005 and 2006 Sri Lanka made considerable headway in this regard. The main actions in this context were the enactment of three laws, namely, The Convention on the Suppression of Terrorist Financing Act, The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, and the Financial Transactions Reporting Act. The FTR Act created the institutional body of the FIU with regulatory powers and a mandate to formulate policies and guidelines to meet the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) 40 + 9 recommendations. This legislative package was the outcome of an in-depth consultation initiated by an inter-ministerial committee which engaged the stakeholders such as the banks and professional bodies. In the preparation of the legislation, the inter-ministerial committee closely liaised with the IMF in order to ensure that legislation complied with the Financial Action Task Force 40+ 9 recommendations. Even prior to the enactment of this legislation in Sri Lanka, there have been certain punitive measures in place, to discourage individuals from using the country’s financial institutions for Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism activities. These measures were taken under the Exchange Control Act; the Customs Ordinance and the Banking Act.
10 As far as monetary policy is concerned, it is only the participant’s net position with regard to the Riksbank that  is important. If a participant in RIX borrows, say, SEK 10 billion in RIXRTGS and invests the same amount in its account in RIXINST the net position with regard to the Riksbank and thus the participant’s interest expenditure, will be zero. 7 [8]  Using the same technical platforms as most of the rest of Europe will, I believe, make it easier for Swedish payment service providers to establish themselves in Europe. And in the same way it will become simpler for foreign companies to compete in Sweden. It is also probable that it will become easier to make instant cross-currency payments in the future if the central banks use the same technical platform to settle payments. What happens next? During the spring, my colleagues on the Executive Board and I have discussed the Riksbank's future role in the payment infrastructure. My baseline in these discussions was that Sweden – like most other countries – has long had a model where the banks have settled payments in risk-free accounts in the central bank. This has been important in preserving the stability and credibility of the payment system. Now that the payment market is moving towards larger, more numerous and more important payments outside of RIX normal opening hours, the Riksbank needs to modernise the services it offers so that central bank money remains the norm when financial institutions settle payments.

Gent Sejko: Welcome remarks -14th SEE Economic Research Workshop Welcome remarks by Mr Gent Sejko, Governor of the Bank of Albania, at the 14th SEE Economic Research Workshop, virtual, 10 December 2020. * * * Dear professors and researchers from academia, Dear fellow central bank colleagues/researchers, Dear participants, It is a great pleasure to open the proceedings of the 14th SEE research Workshop. Due to the difficulties and restrictions imposed on all of us by the COVID 19 pandemic this year’s workshop is organized virtually. I am glad to see that you are all well, and wish that you and your families stay safe and healthy during these difficult times. In a way it is sad that we cannot welcome you all in Tirana during these December days. However, at the same time I am very glad that despite the forced change in the format and in the presence of the many inconveniences caused upon all of us by the pandemic and related restrictions, we are having a full house with participants from the academia in Europe and central banks. We thank you for your interest and take this as a certification of the quality and reputation of this activity. Our research staff is eager to get to know your work and discuss with you the research that has been produced by bank of Albania during 2020.
Starting with my first consideration, whether recent strength proves persistent or temporary. Even absent a further impact from Covid, it is unlikely that the current pace of GDP growth can be sustained for much longer. Indeed if current strength represents a bringing-forward of the recovery that we had expected later in the year, then subsequent growth might if anything be expected to be weaker rather than stronger. The very latest indicators suggest the pace of underlying demand growth may indeed be slightly moderating, though as I mentioned previously the read from the latest GDP data itself is clouded by supply constraints. But there are certainly upside risks to household spending, if consumer confidence continues to rise or if households run down their accumulated aggregate savings faster than we have assumed. The current strength in the housing market is suggestive in this regard, both as a potential indicator of household confidence and due to the consumption of things like durable goods that goes alongside housing transactions. One of the early legacies of the pandemic appears to be an increase in the number of people taking advantage of the ability to work more remotely and moving house for lifestyle reasons, a trend which I think could be sustained for some time; like many of the long-term effects of Covid, that is likely to have differential impacts within regions and in different parts of the country.

As always the great strength of the MPC is that while we bring different perspectives on the best way to get there, we share a common goal, consistent with our remit, of returning inflation sustainably to the 2% target. And as always I am looking forward to our debates and discussions as we prepare to publish our latest map of where we are heading in the form of our August forecast. 6  I covered this in detail in my speech last October, ‘The Monetary Policy Toolbox in the UK’. 14  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/speeches and @BoE_PressOffice  14
Banks should take the lead in making the necessary improvements so that customers can benefit from better real-time payments as quickly as possible. Vipps will replace international credit cards with debiting through BankAxept and instant account-to-account payments as underlying payment instruments, making payments more efficient. When real time-payments based on BRO replace the current instant payments solution, in principle, all payments can be made this way, depending on what customers choose. 2/5  BIS central bankers' speeches  Mobile payment technology Mobile payment technology is evolving. User-friendly smartphone payment apps have spread rapidly over the past few years. After a preliminary phase with several payment providers, Vipps now dominates the Norwegian market. Vipps is established as a separate company and has many partner banks. Today, mobile apps are primarily used when card terminals are not available. In this respect, up to now, they have been an alternative to cash. Looking ahead, we must expect that their use will extend into new areas. Paying for online purchases is one example and paying in shops is another. In addition to apps such as Vipps, it is likely that banks will develop mobile wallets with a scroll-down menu of payment solutions. The experience of other countries and the introduction of PSD2 may indicate that international operators may also enter the Norwegian market. Interoperability implies that payments can be made even if the payer and payee use different banks or user interfaces. It has been challenging to achieve interoperability between mobile apps.

In addition, financial institutions are required to provide convenient ways for customers to suspend their bank accounts if they suspect that their accounts have been compromised as a result of a scam. Customers will also be able to subsequently reactivate their accounts after a reasonable period to ensure that their accounts are secure. In short, BNM and the financial industry will continue to ensure that banking and payment channels remain secure and equipped with up-to-date security controls. The tighter security controls are being put in place to deter efforts by criminals to scam consumers. However, these controls may also inevitably lead to some friction or inconvenience in the online banking experience of customers. For example, online banking transactions might take a little longer to process. Financial institutions will also conduct more checks when customers request to change or register a new phone number. Make no mistake, while these measures entail some inconvenience, they are important to protect the interests of customers. In implementing these measures, BNM and the financial industry will continue to carefully balance between security considerations and customer convenience. BNM will also continue to monitor and take appropriate action on financial institutions to ensure that the highest levels of controls and security standards are observed. We will also continue to take effective preventive measures against ever-evolving financial scams.