samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
The write off from bank’s balance sheet is both healthy for the bank and useful for the economy, as it: –  provides a more realistic picture of the banks’ loan portfolio, releases the capital and improves their financial balance;  –  improves bank processes, thanks to a more efficient use of human, financial and technical resources, and redirects the focus of the bank toward new loans;  –  improves the overall functioning of the financial market, as it contributes to the market “exit” of non-competitive businesses. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  –  contributes positively to the market participants’ assessment of the banking sector (ratings) and, subsequently, to the assessment of Albania’s economy;  –  provides conditions to better manage debt collection, but always accompanied with the necessary message that this does not imply forgiving the borrowers debt. In our case, the process of loan loss write off from banks’ balance sheet is not a detached process from real developments. On the contrary, it reflects the gradual improvement in nonperforming loans. In concrete terms, over the last two years, the growth rate of non-performing loans has decelerated at extraordinary rates, banks’ annual spending for provisions has fallen, and new loans, especially those denominated in lek, have been stable. On their side, banks have been increasingly committed to this process. Usually, it happens when the effectiveness of the process improves and/or banks expectations for lending improve.

We believe this improvement reflects the measures taken in the last 2–3 years, of which I would like to single out: a)  Amendments to the law “On income tax” at the end of 2013, to facilitate the loan loss write off from the balance sheet;  b)  Amendments to the Code of Civil Procedures in September 2013, to improve the collateral execution process;  c)  Entry into force of a regulation of the Bank of Albania, which renders obligatory the write off of loans classified by banks as “loss” for a period longer than 3 years;  d)  the work accomplished in cooperation with the commercial banks to restructure loans when the borrowers are exposed to more than one bank;  Albeit the number of non-performing loans subject to the execution process has been significantly up, the improvement of the credit quality reflects mainly the loan loss write offs from banks’ balance sheet. For the first half of 2015, its value amounted to around ALL 11 billion.
At that time it was inconceivable what we witness today: namely, that a couple of sunny days on the stock market are able to produce a gain in wealth potentially several times the size of an entire years' deficit or surplus in the current account. Thirty years later, the assessment of floating exchange rates is more differentiating. The system with all its advantages and despite its drawbacks is now firmly established and has even become increasingly widespread in the past twelve years. The number of countries which allow their currency to float more or less freely without a formal peg has risen from just over 30 to approximately 100. By and large, the experience gained with floating exchange rates may be summarised in two statements: First, the system occasionally generates large real exchange rate shifts that last longer than just a few days or weeks. They may extend over several quarters or even years, long enough to cause considerable harm to the real economy. Such distortions are not only observable in emerging economies but also between the currencies of the Big Three. One of the most spectacular distortions in the past decade was the rise and fall of the USD against the yen: Up 80% from April 95 to August 98, then down 31% until the end of 99. More recently, the longawaited appreciation of the euro in the past 12 weeks amounts to 13% against the USD and 20% 1  "THE CASE FOR FLEXIBLE EXCHANGE RATES", IN: FURTHER ESSAYS IN MONETARY ECONOMICS, CAMBRIDGE (MASS.)

This would give the financial authorities the ability to limit leverage and more directly influence risk premia and this might prove useful in limiting the size of future asset bubbles. 4  BIS Review 83/2009
Keeping consumers at the centre of change In embarking the journey of transformation, we must always keep the interests of consumers at the centre of change. This is absolutely essential. Life insurance services is a long term commitment and any loss of consumer confidence will set the industry back many years that would take many years to recover. With the coming into force of the Financial Services Act 2013 and the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013, a number of important initiatives have been advanced in Malaysia to further strengthen the consumer protection framework. This includes clarifying of the duty of disclosure of policyholders and providing more equitable remedies for innocent non-disclosures. Plans to establish a Financial Ombudsman Scheme (FOS) are also well advanced with the Scheme expected to commence operations in the second half of 2015. The most important changes however, are going to be the ones that occur within individual institutions, to build a strong culture of ethical conduct that forms the value foundation on every aspect of an insurer’s business – from product design, to sales practices, claims management, consumer education and complaints handling. The Bank will play an important and more significant role in these various aspects. LIAM’s role to ensure the industry is focused on the right issues This evening, the industry celebrates 40 years of service by LIAM in support of the development of the life insurance industry.

I am confident that LIAM is uniquely positioned to ensure that the industry remains focused on the right issues that will move the industry forward and expand the opportunities for growth. It should take an assertive and expanded role in aligning the interests of different stakeholders towards a common purpose, and it should deal firmly with any party that attempts to distract the industry from this purpose. This of course would call for a strong leadership, a strong conviction and desire to act in the long term interests of the common good. It was said that insurance business is about promises and trust. But its more than that. It is about delivering to the customer in their times of need. It also about delivering value to the promises we made. Its about fulfilling and exceeding the trust the policyholders placed on us. These principles are enduring and with infinite timespan. I hope that these principles would guide LIAM as the industry chart its a new path into the future. On behalf of the Bank, it gives me great pleasure to congratulate LIAM on this occasion of its 40th anniversary. Much has been achieved, much more still remains to be done. I have every confidence that the industry will rise to the occasion and throw its full support behind LIAM in navigating the road ahead. On its part, the Bank will continue to work with the industry in achieving the smooth implementation of reforms proposed for the industry.
3 while the contracts for white rice are rarely traded. I cannot help but feel that the existence of the price support scheme may have contributed to this apparent lack of interests in rice futures trading. As of last Friday, only 3 contracts for white rice were traded and the open interests were only for 60 contracts equivalent to 300 metric tonnes. For a country that exported 7.6 million tonnes of rice last year-the highest volume in its history, I believe our rice futures market has high potential to grow, if conditions are right. The government guaranteed prices are set once a year and thus, do not incorporate new information into the price. On the contrary, futures contracts are traded on a daily basis and these prices are said to be the best predictor of prices in the future – pricing in all currently available information. Players should be encouraged to hedge their produce through the futures market rather than through a static price-support scheme. In the medium term, the price-support scheme should be eventually phased out so that our producers would be freed to stand on their own feet. It is crucial that we implement the change gradually to enable those involved to adjust. I feel that we should strive in this direction - it is only then would our producers be able to respond to competition in the global market place. These days, many agricultural-related products in Thailand are subject to price ceilings.

These price control schemes coupled with the price support projects outlined above mean that the market mechanism is not well-functioning. Distorted prices in the spot market may have also discouraged foreign players from participating actively in our futures markets. A freely traded spot market is a necessary condition for a successful futures market. Ladies and Gentlemen, I would urge the board of directors of AFET and AFTC, the Ministry of Commerce, the government, all members of AFET and key players in our main agricultural products to be totally committed to making AFET a highly successful futures market - an exemplar to our neighbours and one where global trading is benchmarked. We need to be strategic, prioritising our products and evaluating needs of different participating groups. I pledge my full support to this cause. I have spent a great deal of time talking about the AFET, I would now like to briefly touch on its siblingTFEX. TFEX is launching its very first product SET50 futures in the next few months and from the road shows to date, I hear that it has been very well-received. As the next step, the Stock Exchange Commissioner and the Bank of Thailand are currently working on launching the much-anticipated bond futures or interest rate futures. I hope that once Thai financial market has been complemented by these interest rate futures, our players will be able to make much progress in the area of risk management, financial product innovation and trading.
Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell: Going the extra mile to be ready for SEPA Speech by Ms Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, at the 10th Euro Finance Week-SEPA Summit: “Ready for SEPA?”, Frankfurt am Main, 19 November 2007. *  *  *  Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a great honour for me to open this conference, the SEPA Summit, which is organised for the second time in Frankfurt as part of the Euro Finance Week. Special attention in this year’s Euro Finance Week is given to the integration of European financial markets in a common regulatory framework. Indeed, the title of this Week “European Finance and Insurance between Regulation and Innovation” is directly related to the SEPA project as SEPA is all about harmonisation, modernisation and innovation. It is also a great pleasure to welcome you to Frankfurt, the city of the euro. Frankfurt is often characterised as the smallest metropolis in the world, in which there is a lot to discover at close hand. Indeed, Frankfurt is a European meeting place and an intersection for trade and finance. A perhaps lesser-known fact is that Frankfurt is also an important intersection for telecommunication and internet providers, as major data networks cross here. Indeed, 90% of German and 35% of European internet traffic is channelled through Frankfurt. We are, therefore, at the right location to discuss SEPA and the development of the European payment markets in the years to come.

At the heart of the answer to this question is the Eurosystem’s monetary policy strategy. Indeed, this strategy is designed to make both our objective and the monetary policy aimed at achieving this objective credible, transparent and comprehensible, and thus make our decisions predictable. However, let me be very clear. Being predictable in no way implies that the central bank intends to follow the market. On the contrary, the causality should run in the other direction. Markets should be in a position to anticipate monetary policy decisions based on a credible strategy of the central bank. This does not exclude that certain monetary policy decisions may sometimes surprise the markets, but this is not our aim. As was argued in an article in the most recent issue of the ECB Monthly Bulletin, a stability-oriented monetary policy contributes to reducing certain risk premia in interest rates and thereby to increasing the efficiency of the allocation of capital, thus enhancing overall welfare. This shows that it is very important to give clear guidance to the markets by conducting a credible monetary policy focused on price stability. As you know, the strategy selected by the Governing Council of the ECB comprises a quantitative definition of price stability, which should contribute to anchoring long-term inflation expectations, as well as the two so-called pillars. The quantification of the primary objective, combined with the transparency and the credibility of the Eurosystem, provides the most important guidance to financial markets. Our monetary policy should contribute to keeping inflation expectations safely below 2%.
François Villeroy de Galhau: The digital payment revolution Speech by Mr François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Bank of France, at the Fintech Forum, Paris, 7 October 2020. * * * Mr Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very happy to welcome you here to the Banque de France’s premises this morning. I would also like to welcome those joining us remotely. We are all aware of just how important new technologies are in ensuring continuity and stability in this crisis. My dear Cédric, you’d clearly be the first to say so. I would also like to welcome Alain Clot, President of France Fintech, and of course Robert Ophèle, Chairman of the AMF, with which we have organised this Forum. Your presence among us, Mr Minister, is proof of public authorities’ commitment to Fintechs. And that is my first message this morning: the Banque de France and the ACPR are also fully committed to supporting Fintechs. I shall then go on to tell you how we intend to act in the digital payment revolution. **  I. The Banque de France and ACPR’s support for Fintechs Let’s start with a question I consider particularly important, and on which there should be no shred of ambiguity between us: why do the Banque de France and ACPR regard Fintechs as important? Because they are an essential element for the financial sector: they deliver creativity and they understand new needs rapidly.

There is also scope for greater leverage on the advances of technology and new institutional arrangements that can enhance operational excellence, particularly distribution channels for extending outreach to the range of users from households to microenterprises and small and medium scale enterprises. In addition, innovations in Islamic financial solutions will need to take into account the higher regulatory expectations for more transparency, and the need for the effective management of risks and capital. This involves strengthening the resilience of the Islamic financial system in alignment with the evolving international regulatory developments thus raising the bar of industry performance. The IFSB has made significant advancements in leading the efforts to review specific measures put forward by the Basel Committee for possible adoption in Islamic finance. Further to this is the imperative to cultivate a strong risk culture within institutions. Reinforced by a robust shariah governance framework, it will ensure that innovation for furthering the development of Islamic finance is harnessed within the boundaries of the Shariah, which would avert overzealous innovative activities that could undermine financial stability. Let me conclude my remarks. Much has been achieved, both in terms of the role and contribution of the IFSB, and the advancement made by Islamic finance in this recent decade. This has been an outcome of cumulative efforts to strengthen the foundations of the Islamic financial system.
Consequently, it appears that the risks for both economic growth and inflation over the medium to longer term may be shifting gradually to the upside. Even after the latest increase, the federal funds rate target range at three quarters of a percent to 1 percent is still unusually low in both nominal and inflation-adjusted terms. While most FOMC participants judge the equilibrium short-term real interest rate that is consistent with a neutral monetary policy to be low—perhaps in a range of 0 to 1 percent—this is still above the current inflation-adjusted federal funds rate. In such circumstances, it seems appropriate to scale back monetary policy accommodation gradually in order to reduce the risk of the economy overheating, and to avoid a significant inflation overshoot in the medium term. Finally, prior to the March FOMC meeting, financial conditions were generally easing rather than becoming tighter, even as the FOMC raised its policy rate in December and market participants increasingly expected further policy tightening in the coming year. Between the December and March FOMC meetings, U.S. equity prices rose by about 4 percent, and credit spreads, such as those for high-yield bonds, narrowed. Long-term yields and the trade-weighted dollar were little changed over this period. William McChesney Martin, the ninth chair of the FOMC, once famously opined that the Federal Reserve is “in the position of the chaperone who has ordered the punch bowl removed just when the party was really warming up.” I don’t think we are removing the punch bowl, yet.

These impulses, as always, are administered under the conditions of an expected inflation performance close to the threepercent target of the Bank of Albania, and stabilized expectations of economic agents for it. The key interest rate cut by 0.5 percentage point by the Bank of Albania at end-October aimed at strengthening the domestic demand and reviving the lending activity. Its effect on the economy is not fully reflected yet, due to the short period of time and the time lags in transmitting the monetary policy. However, its pass-through to the money market, which constitutes the first link in the transmission chain, is a premise for its reflection to credit cost in a second round. In the meantime, our liquidity injecting operations have been successful in guaranteeing the backup of economy with funds, mainly short-term ones. Allow me to make a more detailed description of the economic and monetary developments during this period. *** At global level, the economic activity has been supported by improved overall economic climate, impacting on the improvement of the global economic activity, reduction of risk premiums and stability of global financial markets. However, the global economy and the European one continue to reflect economic vulnerabilities, which are transmitted to low inflationary pressures. This situation conditions also the pursuit of a stimulating monetary and fiscal policy by keeping interest rates at the historical low and by high liquidity injections. Back to the domestic economy, we should state that the new economic data were insufficient during October.
As the pace of globalization intensifies and massive flows of capital take place, on-going reforms in regulation and supervision, the development of domestic capital markets, improvement in corporate governance and an adequate and credible legal framework have to take place effectively. Two, the maintenance of sound macroeconomic policies. Sound fiscal and monetary policies leading to low and stable inflation and an environment of exchange rate stability and sustained private sector investment is vital for sustainable development. Three, the implementation of policies that promote domestic savings and investment. It is important to note that while a steady flow of foreign savings is important for emerging markets, efforts to mobilize domestic resources are equally critical for long-term growth. Four, the maintenance of reasonable debt levels so that the repayment capacity of the economy is not compromised, even if some of the major risks were to materialize. Five, the improvement of the quality of information and statistics relating to all sectors of the economy. This policy action ensures the widespread and timely dissemination of information, thereby encouraging robust economic activity. Six, the continuous expansion of trade by lobbying for major changes within the industrialized nations, while promoting greater trade among the emerging economies and within regions. BIS Review 29/2008  5  Seven, the rapid implementation of consistent and significant poverty reduction programmes and infrastructure development projects so that it provides opportunity and hope to the poor and addresses regional imbalances.

The target is set at 2.5 per cent. In the euro area, monetary policy is oriented towards price stability, defined as inflation below but close to 2 per cent. Inflation targeting has proved to be a sound system and particularly well suited for small, open economies. Normally, interest rate setting under an inflation targeting regime will also contribute to stabilising output and employment. In periods of recession, with prospects of low and falling inflation, the interest rate will be reduced to boost demand and prevent an inflation level that is too low. During an upturn when there are prospects of high inflation, the interest rate will be increased. Inflation targeting is softer around the edges than the exchange rate regimes Norway and many other countries operated earlier. The system has proved fairly robust to disturbances. Nevertheless, the soft landing of the Norwegian economy after several years of high domestic cost inflation and a low level of activity abroad must not lead us to believe that output and employment cannot show pronounced fluctuations in the future. We cannot expect the interest rate to have the same impact from one period to the next. The economy is also exposed to unexpected disturbances. As a result, we cannot fine-tune economic developments using the interest rate, but avoid the largest effects when the economy is exposed to disturbances. Experience seems to indicate that inflation expectations remain stable even if inflation varies somewhat as long as the interest rate is used actively to curb effects.