samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
If markets were anticipating such an evolution, spreads between the Swiss franc and euro deposits would progressively shrink, in the same way spreads between German marks and French francs deposits fell in the 1990s during the build-up of the monetary union. Market pressures could then force the SNB to shadow the monetary policy of the European Central Bank. Many observers overlook the fact that, contrary to other countries which have gained an interest rate bonus by joining the European monetary union, as they previously had higher interest rates than Germany, Switzerland would loose its interest rate advantage in joining the monetary union. No tendency of a convergence in interest rates has been observed over the past few years. On the contrary, the interest differential has broadened slightly. For the time being, markets are not expecting any move from Switzerland towards monetary union, and rightly so, I might add. This does not mean that my country will never join the EU. As you probably know, important decisions shaping the relations between the EU and Switzerland have been taken in recent years. A first set of bilateral agreements has already come into effect. It gives us access to the single market and ensures labor mobility. New agreements have now been negotiated with the aim of harmonizing taxation on savings and integrating Switzerland in the Schengen and Dublin frameworks, a further step toward closer cooperation. As you see, without being formally an EU member, Switzerland is increasingly part of the European reality.

Mobile banking will lead to increased outreach, increased efficiency and productivity as well as increased returns for businesses. Let me once again assure you, Mr. Chairman that, the Bank of Zambia is committed to providing an enabling environment through appropriate regulation for banks and financial businesses that wish to promote financial inclusion. We appreciate the Mobile Banking initiative by Celpay Zambia Limited and look forward to greater investment in financial inclusion in our beloved country. I thank you. BIS Review 111/2009  3
Tharman Shanmugaratnam: MoneySENSE launches new programmes to reach more Singaporeans Speech by Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, at the launch of the MoneySENSE 2006 Roadshow, Singapore, 31 March 2006. *  *  *  Distinguished Guests Friends from NTUC and various community organizations Ladies and Gentlemen Boys and Girls  Introduction 1. I am pleased to launch the inaugural MoneySENSE 2006 Roadshow, which seeks to bring financial education to Singaporeans from all walks of life. MoneySENSE has done well 2. MoneySENSE is on a roll. Since its launch in October 2003, it has seen over 140 talks, seminars and workshops on financial education, attracting over 15,000 participants. It has also published 16 consumer guides with a total circulation exceeding one million. 3. These achievements are results of collaboration between government, industry, community groups and our media partners. I encourage MoneySENSE to build on and expand these strong partnerships, and bring financial education to even more Singaporeans. 4. Let me now touch on a few new programmes that MoneySENSE has lined up this year. MoneySENSE launches new programmes to reach more Singaporeans MoneySENSE 2006 Roadshow 5. Today's MoneySENSE 2006 Roadshow presents simple financial education messages and tips to adults and children through fun activities. A simple game of shooting basketballs into nets from different distances is used to highlight risk-return tradeoffs.

William C Dudley: Update on economic and fiscal conditions in Puerto Rico Remarks by Mr William C Dudley, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, to the Association of Certified Public Accountants of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 24 June 2014. *  *  *  Good afternoon. I thank you for the opportunity to address your association. It is always a pleasure to speak with the different communities that make up the Second Federal Reserve District and it is especially gratifying to be here in Puerto Rico. As with other parts of our District, the New York Fed is dedicated to the people of Puerto Rico and to their future growth and prosperity. Our commitment is reflected in our ongoing work with our many partners in Puerto Rico. Over the past several years we have held three forums (cosponsored with the local Small Business Administration office, the Puerto Rico Small Business Development and Technology Center and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation), which provided technical assistance to help small businesses access capital, procure government contracts, and export their products and services. We also continue to promote financial literacy through our ongoing partnership with the Puerto Rico Bankers Association, and we have cosponsored the Financial Awareness Video Festival working with students at local colleges to produce short videos highlighting aspects of financial literacy. Let me just pause for a moment to say congratulations to this year’s winner: Pontificia de Ponce.
With this one should factor in the other elements of EMU: the arrangements in place to promote fiscal discipline and economic policy co-ordination; and the pursuit of price and financial stability by the European Central Bank (ECB). These contribute to a stable macro-economic environment which, together with the climate of greater predictability ensuing from reduced exchange rate risk, support investment and growth. It is with this perspective in mind that fellow central bankers and government officials in the other new Member States have expressed their preference for an early adoption of the euro. It also constitutes the motivation for the Maltese Government’s commitment to implement the necessary reforms that will prepare the economy for the heightened levels of competition ensuing from the Single Market, while providing businesses with a favourable environment in which they should be better able to profit from Malta’s entry in the euro area. New opportunities for business The benefits of the single currency for business could be substantial, and will occur along the various stages from EU entry through the ERM II period to entry in the euro area. They will, however, become more tangible when the euro is introduced as an accounting and physical currency. At that point, the value of the Maltese lira in terms of the euro will be fixed and foreign exchange risk in euro will be eliminated. The need for dual accountancy systems and software will likewise be reduced.

These advantages are an inevitable outcome of the presence of a large number of market participants and the further unfolding of the Financial Services Action Plan, which will enhance the tradability of euro assets in the euro area and beyond. Participation in the single currency area provides scope for further cost savings in the form of lower risk premia resulting from adherence to the EU’s strict macroeconomic policy framework. This aspect is particularly relevant in the Maltese context, as the small size of the country and the prevalence of micro-enterprises make the economy highly susceptible to developments abroad. Foreign banks and suppliers seek to cover this perceived risk by building a higher risk premium into the prices quoted to Maltese businesses. The insurance provided by the discipline of EMU, and the high level of intra-EU integration should reduce this perceived vulnerability and, with that, the risk premium. This is conducive to lower interest rates and to access to financing on more favourable terms. A related advantage is the improved marketability and acceptance of collateral. Maltese lira assets are not considered sufficiently liquid by foreign lenders in view of the thinness of domestic financial markets. Many SMEs are consequently either denied foreign financing altogether, or offered prohibitive rates. This constraint should ease considerably with the adoption of the euro, as the redenomination of domestic assets into euro will improve the marketability of the collateral offered by local businesses.
However, I observe that the IMF and the World Bank have completed a limited number of reports of observance of standards and codes (ROSCs) so far on areas such as corporate governance, accounting and auditing which are key in order to assess the financial vulnerabilities of the private sector. Recent corporate failures suggest that a renewed emphasis could be given to these areas. Private initiatives aiming at disseminating information on standards and codes are also particularly welcomed. The private sector could develop further initiatives to monitor compliance by countries of international standards and codes. This should be carried out in parallel with efforts by the official sector. How can we promote further the awareness and understanding of the key standards among emerging economies authorities? Encouraging a greater participation by developing and emerging countries in the development of international standards is fundamental. Without genuine ‘ownership’, implementation will not occur, as there is a risk that standards be seen as a new “colonial” system. The concept of ownership should not be restricted to the policies and corrective actions recommended by the IMF / WB in the context of programs, but rather should be understood as implying that all countries should be involved in the decision-making process in international groupings. Assessing financial sectors strength has also been a top priority of the IMF and the World Bank.

It is about growing the Singaporean talent base as well as being a magnet for the world’s talents. It is about a vibrant entrepreneurial and innovation base, characterised by a lot of start-ups, a lot of experimentation, and a lot of R&D. A key aspect of dynamism is also high rates of churn in the labour and capital resources in our firms: There needs to be continuous flux and reallocation of resources in response to changing economic and market conditions. Both capital and labour need to be nimble and highly adaptive. The structure of the Singapore economy is well suited for sustaining our dynamism. Singapore’s strong advanced manufacturing and related trade and logistics activities are internationally competitive. In modern services, comprising financial, professional services, and info- communications technology, we enjoy an international hub status. Together, these sectors make up some 40% of our economy. If our domestic services can be further professionalised – job by job, each worker possessing deep skills and delivering a high quality of service, we will be a dynamic economy. Finally, dynamism must be about our people. We must remain an open society. 16 / 17  BIS central bankers' speeches  Not just in being open to foreign trade, investment, and talent, but being deeply connected to the rest of the world. Not just attracting foreign talent to Singapore but Singaporeans venturing abroad as our companies and industries internationalise.
Retail customers now expect to be able to integrate e-commerce, social media and retail payments. They also expect to be able to switch seamlessly across digital platforms. These are not areas of strength for many banks: given their heavier compliance obligations, banks have traditionally invested more in the security and resilience of their systems rather than optimising the user experience. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  Third, payments technology is evolving at an unprecedented speed. Contactless cards, online payments, mobile payments, are all becoming more prevalent. Keeping pace with those technologies will require major investment from banks, and they have to contend with the fact that their new competitors – for example PayPal and Apple – already have an edge in digital technology. The initial effect of this disruption in the payments may well be to reduce the role of cash payments, which will not fundamentally affect banks. But in my view banks should not take this challenge lightly. According to estimates by Deloitte, retail payments will generate around € billion in revenues for banks in 2015, or around a quarter of total European retail banking revenues. 1 With profits already depressed on lending activities, banks can scarcely afford to start seeing margins being squeezed and market share lost in other areas. So banks would be well-advised, to my mind, to face this challenge head on. Whether via joint ventures or higher investment, they need to keep up with technological change if they are to have a long-term business model.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I dedicated most of my last year’s speech arguing that the stable Denar exchange rate is still the best solution for the Macedonian economy. In the public debate concerning this issue last year, on many occasions, I presented additional arguments that underpin my view. On this occasion I will discuss the two theses recently presented by the advocates of floating Denar exchange rate. The first thesis is that the floating exchange rate will ensure more relaxed monetary policy, and accordingly, higher economic growth. The second thesis is that the Denar exchange rate is not realistic, i.e. it is overrated. Yet, so far, I still have not heard any explanation of how would the floating exchange rate relax the monetary policy, nor arguments supporting the view that the Denar is overrated. Considering the first thesis, note that the exchange rate regime does not determine whether the monetary policy will be restrictive or relaxed. You could have floating rate and restrictive monetary policy, or fixed exchange rate and relaxed monetary policy. What is important for the monetary policy is whether there are imbalances in the economy or not. Just because of the absence of imbalances in the Macedonian economy, as I elaborated at the beginning, we can afford relaxed monetary policy. Conversely, due to the nature of our economy, the floating exchange rate would fuel uncertainty and create imbalances and high inflation, the alleviation of which would require extremely restrictive monetary policy.
As the materiality of physical and transition risks increases by the day, investors are on the lookout for those companies that proactively take these risks into account in their daily operations and across all their activities. One of the essential functions of financial markets is to price risk and thus support informed and efficient capital allocation decisions. The accurate and timely disclosure of current and past operating and financial results is central to this function. To make it concrete: the more transparent banks are about their C&E risk profiles and their concrete efforts to align their portfolios with the Paris Agreement, the easier it is for market participants to compare banks, reward those which are taking the necessary steps to adopt risk management practices aligned with a carbon-neutral economy, and re-evaluate those with misaligned trajectories. Transparent disclosures also create a certain level of peer and stakeholder pressure, which is essential to making companies properly manage their risks. Investors and asset managers are seeking to develop and market portfolios that are aligned with the sustainability objectives of their own clients. As such, they are becoming increasingly demanding about corporate C&E disclosures. Banks’ own shareholders are becoming increasingly demanding, too, especially concerning banks that have publicly committed to achieving net zero targets. In fact, failure to disclose meaningful follow-up information on their climate commitments has already led to significant litigation and given rise to heightened reputational and legal risks for some banks.

However, this improvement has been only marginal: as of 2021, seven in ten banks disclosed information about C&E risk management and governance – compared to five in ten in 2020 -, while only four in ten shared relevant information about the incorporation of C&E risks into their strategic considerations – up from three in ten in 2020. And, all in all, none of the 115 banks directly supervised by the ECB fully meets our supervisory expectations for disclosures. There is very little justification for this lack of substantial progress, particularly considering the vast amount and quality of climate-related data, tools and information shared by different international and European organisations and institutions in recent years. The sheer speed at which regulation and metrics are developing in this field should leave no room for any doubt: addressing climate-related and environmental risks, and publishing good-quality disclosures, is not optional. Banks can and must do much better to improve the quality of their disclosures, and they need to do it quickly. However, we see a considerable disconnect between banks’ perception of the importance of C&E risks as communicated to us, the supervisor, and what banks choose to publicly disclose. Banks are trying to compensate for the poor quality of their disclosures by issuing a great volume of information around green topics.
Mr. Patrikis discusses the monetary policy and regulatory implications of banking on the Internet Address by the Vice-President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Mr. Ernest T. Patrikis, at the Queen Mary & Westfield College University of London & UNISYS International Management Centre held in Saint Paul de Vence, France from 22-24/1/97. A. Introduction I want to share with you today some observations and speculations gathered this and last year about banking and the Internet. I will be speaking in my capacity as a central banker -- which includes monetary policy, banking services, bank supervision, and payments system oversight -- and as a surfer of the ’Net. Let me state, at the outset, that, while the Federal Reserve Bank of New York does not conduct “Internet banking” as such, we do have a home page (http://www.ny.frb.org) with much useful information about our institution, with over three million recorded hits to date. Finally, let me add that some of what I say here today could, very easily, be obsolete in two months’ or even two weeks’ time. But I will try to point out those areas in advance. The title of this portion of the program gives rise to two issues of definition. The first is “What is the Internet?” The second is “What is banking?” As I am sure you are well aware, in the United States we are a litigious sort. We even have a legal definition of the Internet.

First and foremost, this PvP link will help eliminate settlement risk in US dollar-Thai Baht foreign exchange (FX) transactions. Prior to this link, the settlement of the two currency legs was done in different time zones and in an uncoordinated manner – Thai Baht (THB) in the Asian time zone, followed by US dollar (USD) during New York hours. With the new PvP link, all payments can be made within the Asian time zone and in a coordinated manner by adopting the PvP mode. Under this arrangement, when a Thai Bank delivers (or receives) THB to (or from) its counterparty in Bangkok, the correspondent bank of the Thai Bank in Hong Kong receives (or delivers) USD at the same time. Hence, the risk due to time lag in settling the two legs of the FX transaction can be removed. 5. Second, the reduction in FX settlement risk will open up new business opportunities for banks in both Thailand and Hong Kong. USD against THB transactions accounted for about 75% of Thailand’s FX transactions in 2013. Through this link, banks in Thailand can benefit from the highly flexible and cost-effective solution offered by the USD RTGS system in Hong Kong for managing the settlement risk of their USD FX transactions. The seven-and-a-half-hour PvP window offers a high degree of convenience to the system users.
In the current international financial environment, this trend has become more pronounced prompting investors to consider other asset classes and markets that provide stability. Thus far, the global financial crisis has had limited direct effects on Islamic finance. While Islamic finance by its very nature only engages in transactions that have underlying tangible productive activities, the slower overall growth and the increased uncertainties have affected pricing and activity in certain market segments. However, this in part reflects the shift in activity from the financial markets to the Islamic financial institutions. The scope of Islamic financial business has now expanded to more sophisticated financial products in response to the changing global customer base. Such Shariah-compliant products include private equity, project finance, the origination and issuance of sukuk, as well  2  BIS Review 121/2008  as fund, asset and wealth management products. The sukuk market in particular, has become an important avenue for international fund raising and investment activities. This market has expanded by an annual growth rate of 40%. The year 2007 saw an exceptional growth of the global sukuk market which expanded by more than 70%. New issues during the year reached a record high to about $ billion and the outstanding global sukuk market has now surpassed the $ billion mark. Up until August this year, it has held its ground with a total global issuance now exceeding $ billion, and is expected to exceed USD200 billion in 2010.

The Rt Hon Sir Edward George: The economic prospect Speech by The Rt Hon Sir Edward George, Governor of the Bank of England, at the JiJi Press London Top Seminar, London, 30 May 2001. *  *  *  Mr Chairman, I am delighted to join you today for this Jiji Top Seminar and to have this opportunity to meet with so many senior representatives of the Japanese business – and financial–community here in the UK. I have chosen to speak in my opening remarks on "The Economic Prospect", which today more than ever means the international economic prospect. But before I come to the immediate situation, let me say just a few words about what it is that we are all trying to achieve through our overall approach to economic management, which can perhaps best be summed up as "macro-economic stability and supply-side flexibility" – though that characterisation needs elaboration. On the macro-economic side we have learned – and it has taken some countries longer than others – that you cannot achieve what we are all trying to achieve – sustained growth, high levels of employment and rising living standards – simply by pumping up demand in our economies through expansionary monetary and fiscal policies without proper regard to the underlying supply-side capacity of our economies to meet that demand.