samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
The Financial Stability Board’s (FSB) Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) provides the go-to framework for companies to disclose key climate-related information.9 This initiative has significant backing, with over a thousand companies showing their support.10  But support alone is not enough, we need action. And the quantity and quality of climate disclosures is not yet good enough. Climate change is a risk we see looking forwards not backwards. Companies with the exact same current carbon footprint today could have very different strategies for the future – one might have a clear path to net-zero, another could be gambling on new technology or policy inaction, and a third might just not have thought about it yet. So to be decision-useful, disclosure has to move from the static to the strategic. To be forward looking. Using scenario analysis to help us better understand the impact of different climate pathways. That naturally raises the question as to whether disclosure should be mandatory. Given the scale of the change required, we think that does need to happen, and soon. And so we, together with other regulators, are exploring a possible pathway to mandatory through the Government-led taskforce on climate disclosure.11 But you do not need to wait to be forced to disclose. You can choose to act now.

The first three relate to macroeconomic imbalances that could cause a further widening of the current account deficit, higher external debt and a depreciation of the króna. Vulnerability on these counts is no less than a year ago, and higher global interest rates and premia could have widespread repercussions. On the other hand, much of the uncertainty about the banks’ access to financing has been dispelled and they have built up ample liquid reserves. Under such conditions, the focus shifts to asset quality. The second table highlights factors that contribute to financial system resilience. The most noteworthy development is the banks’ stronger position in the form of ample liquidity and capital adequacy ratios which are very acceptable and historically high. On the whole, the Central Bank’s finding is that the financial system is broadly sound. It is equipped to withstand shocks to the economy and financial markets, to mediate credit and payments, and to redistribute risks appropriately. In other words, it is capable of performing its function in an orderly and efficient way. Iceland’s banking system meets the demands made of it and performs well on stress tests conducted by the Central Bank and FME. BIS Review 41/2007  3  Table 1 Main vulnerabilities Risk  Explanation  Exchange rate developments  Macroeconomic imbalances are pronounced. The current account deficit poses the risk of a depreciation of the króna. Shifts in carry trades and other exposures could catalyse a sudden turnaround. The FX market relies on three market makers and is still relatively thin.
Moreover, green finance remains a relatively small segment of the market. For Europe to unleash its full potential for financing the green transition, it will need to redouble its efforts to mobilise capital market funding. In particular, equity funding has been shown to be important for incentivising green innovation and supporting the reallocation of resources to greener activities. [8] Yet further growth in green finance is likely to be constrained by the same shortcomings that hinder integration in EU financial markets more generally. So progress towards a genuine capital markets union is vital. [9] Climate risks do not stop at national borders. The capital markets architecture in the EU needs to recognise that and adapt accordingly. Products with official EU seals, such as the forthcoming EU green bond standard, will need proper monitoring to ensure compliance and build trust. Further efforts are required to harmonise the tax treatment of capital market assets, to better align the efficiency of national insolvency frameworks and to ensure similar levels of investor protection across countries. Conclusion Let me conclude. Strengthening financial integration within the European Union is vital to protect our economy from shocks and financial instability. The risks posed by climate change make action more urgent. But they also provide an opportunity. Putting in place the necessary architecture for a full capital markets union can help promote green finance – an area where the EU is already a leader. This will not only benefit us, it will also benefit generations to come. 1.

Andres Lipstok: Estonia’s economic environment and central bank activities Speech by Mr Andres Lipstok, Governor of the Bank of Estonia (Eesti Pank), at the the presentation of Bank of Estonia’s 2008 Annual Report to the Riigikogu, Tallinn, 11 June 2009. *  *  *  Dear Riigikogu, Thank you for the possibility to present you Eesti Pank's 2008 Annual Report. I am going to start with a brief retrospect of the Estonian economic environment and then address issues concerning the activities of Eesti Pank. The Estonian economic environment in 2008 and 2009 2008 was an exceptional year in the world economy. Developed economies have not faced the risk that banking and financial markets could collapse and the global financial system stop functioning since the beginning 1930s. But the financial crisis, which was caused by previous years' incorrect decisions, made this a very likely scenario. In the final months of the past year major banks were too afraid to lend money to each other and trading with privatesector bonds nearly ceased. Loss of confidence in financial markets, loan losses amounting to 3-4 billion dollars and a sharp decline in crediting the private sector had an immediate impact on global trade, investment and economic growth. Global trade contracted 17% in the fourth quarter of 2008 and at the beginning of this year. Major central banks and governments have taken unprecedented steps to alleviate the economic situation.
We are now getting close to the end of that reservoir of spare labour supply. It is very difficult to say how close; measuring spare capacity in the economy with great precision – to single decimal points – is not really possible. But for the economy to grow robustly and sustainably over the next few years’ productivity growth will need to begin to pick up. This does not need to happen overnight. But it does need to happen. The MPC’s economic forecast I am pleased to be able to say that this is the central scenario in the MPC’s latest forecast. Our forecast is for the economy to grow robustly at around 2.5% a year over the next three years. That is a bit slower than the average annual growth rate of nearly 3% in the seven years before the crisis. But it’s a great deal better than the roughly 0.5% annual average over the seven years that followed. In our forecast, growth continues to be driven by private domestic demand – essentially, household consumption and business investment, both of these have been growing strongly since the middle of 2013. Of course, given our history any forecast of sustained robust consumption growth in the UK automatically raises eyebrows; the suspicion of a debt fuelled spending boom is never far away. But our forecast of strong consumption growth over the next three years does not depend on an increase in household debt.

Jon Cunliffe: Pay and productivity – the next phase Speech by Sir Jon Cunliffe, Deputy Governor for Financial Stability of the Bank of England, at the Automative Fellowship International dinner, Luton, 22 June 2015. *  *  *  Between 2000 and 2007, the average worker in the UK automotive manufacturing industry produced 7.7 vehicles a year. Over the past seven years he/she averaged 9.8 vehicles a year. Productivity – output per worker – in car manufacturing has increased by 30% since the onset of the great financial crisis. Britain has become the fourth-biggest vehicle maker in the EU and is more efficient than bigger producers such as Germany and France. It has not all been plain sailing. In the recession, productivity in the car industry fell as firms cut back production and held on to workers. But productivity in the industry recovered quickly. If productivity in the UK economy as a whole had grown in the same way as in the car industry, and employment generally had grown as it did, the economy would now be 30% or £ trillion larger than it is today. Annual GDP per person would be about £ higher than it is. Unfortunately productivity in the UK has not followed the lead of the car industry. Indeed, the opposite is true. In 2014 labour productivity in the UK was actually slightly lower than its 2007 level. In the seven years between 2000 and 2007 labour productivity grew at an average annual rate of about 2% a year.
Access to financial services has been given separate priority status because it is vital for Russia. Special attention will be paid to the uniform development of access to services in different territories, cities and towns and reducing disparity. I would also like note it is unacceptable that some people lack access to financial services owing to disability. Unfortunately, such examples still occur. To conclude, I would like to summarise the overall focus of the measures that we plan to take in various areas in the coming years. How will our work differ from that in previous years? I started my speech by saying the Russian economy is entering a new cycle and the Central Bank’s approaches to work should rise to meet these new conditions. Our work will be consistent, we will continue to resolve the problems we have already identified, where progress has been made. However, we also need to think about a new stage in the Bank of Russia’s operation. In recent years, we worked on solving a number of entrenched problems and were partially successful in eliminating the consequences of external shocks. For example, we removed weak and unscrupulous players from the financial market, completed building the necessary elements of the national infrastructure of the financial market, and transitioned to inflation targeting. Now that the economy and the financial system have become stable, we have more opportunities to focus on development issues. We will prioritise competition issues, new technologies, financial accessibility, developing long-term money instruments and the capital market.

We are working together with law enforcement agencies and are now focusing on public awareness. About a month ago, we launched a joint project with Yandex – the microfinance organisations on our register are marked with a special symbol in the search results so that it is easier to understand whether a given microfinance institution is legal or not. Moreover, this year saw Mir cards issued on a large scale. In Russia, they are accepted by all payment terminals and ATMs. The issue is proceeding at a good pace: over 10.6 million cards have already been issued. In the last month and a half alone, over 2 million cards were issued. Mir is a competitive system and offers all the services on the domestic market that the public are used to after using international payment systems. Our strategic objective in the coming years is ensuring Mir cards are accepted internationally, firstly within the Eurasian Economic Union. We are making progress in this area with our partners in the Eurasian Economic Union. Last week, the first cross-border transactions using Mir cards were carried out with Armenia’s ArCa payment system. This is the first project we have undertaken to organise equal intersystem interaction. (I believe the citizens of the two countries will benefit from new financial opportunities. I would like to express my gratitude to the Central Bank of Armenia and the management team of the ArCa payment system for their incredibly effective collaboration and promotion of this project).
Although current demand conditions contain the second round effects of the supply shocks, the exact pace of disinflation would still depend on the extent new inflation targets serve as a strong reference for economic agents. Having this in mind, the CBT will continue to focus on enhancing the credibility of the new inflation targets. In this context, developments in the general pricing behavior and the underlying inflation trends will be monitored closely. International financial markets remain fragile and the credit conditions continue to tighten up. The eventual impact of the financial turmoil on the global economic activity is yet to be seen. Moreover, rising commodity prices continue to exert pressure on global inflation. These uncertainties have been dampening the risk appetite and thus slowing down the capital flows to emerging markets, leaving these economies susceptible to shifts in the market sentiment. Domestic uncertainties have exacerbated these effects, as manifested by the significant rise in the sovereign credit risk of Turkey in the first half of the year, compared to the average risk premium of emerging economies. The CBT will not display a sharp reaction to temporary fluctuations in the financial markets, unless there is a threat to the medium-term disinflation trend and/or a significant worsening in the general pricing behavior. Finally, I would like to state that our medium-term projections do not foresee any significant effect to be brought about by the increases in indirect taxes or administered price adjustments, except those required by the automatic pricing mechanisms.

8  BIS Review 100/2008  Figure 10: Output Gap 8 6 4 2 0 -2 -4 -6 -8 08Q1  07Q3  07Q1  06Q3  06Q1  05Q3  05Q1  04Q3  04Q1  03Q3  03Q1  02Q3  02Q1  01Q3  01Q1  00Q3  00Q1  -10  Source: CBT. Dear Guests, After the significant weakening of the Turkish lira in the first four months of 2008 (Figure 11), exchange rates have reversed direction in the past two months, easing to some extent potential pressures on tradable inflation resulting from the exchange rate pass-through. In the April Inflation Report and the Open Letter, the first round impact of the recent depreciation was estimated to be close to 2-percentage points for the end-2008 headline inflation. The recent rebound in currency has led to a downward revision in the estimated pass-through. We now anticipate a cumulative exchange pass-through of around 1.2 percent points for 2008, most of which has already been materialized between March-May period. Figure 11: Risk Premium and Nominal Exchange Rates 450  2 YTL/Currency Basket (0.5 Euro+0.5 US Dollar)  1,9  400  EMBI+Turkey (right axis)  350  1,8  300  1,7  250  1,6  200  1,5  150  07.08  05.08  03.08  01.08  11.07  09.07  07.07  0 05.07  1,2 03.07  50 01.07  100  1,3 11.06  1,4  Source: CBT.
When countries experience hyperinflation, domestic prices of goods and services will rise every minute. In such a situation, no one will 1 I would like to note that the views expressed in this oration are my own as an economist and do not  necessarily reflect the views of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. I also would like to acknowledge the technical support received in preparing the oration from Dr Chandranath Amarasekara and his team at the Economic Research Department of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. 1  want to hold the local currency, and people will rush straight from the bank to the shops to buy goods, fearing that their currency holding will lose value along the way. In fact, the banking system itself will collapse. As people lose faith in local currency, the barter system, or the exchange of goods for goods or services will become the norm, making transactions significantly more difficult. Hyperinflation will also cause adverse redistributive effects, destroying real value of middle class savings in local currency and real incomes of fixed income earners such as workers and pensioners. One can read horror stories of hyperinflation in Germany and Australia in the 1920s, and more recently in several Latin American countries and also in countries like Zimbabwe. The episode of hyperinflation in the inter-war Germany is said to have facilitated the rise of Hitler and the global destruction that followed.

3/3  BIS - Central bankers' speeches
For anyone interested, the details of these reports are available on the website of the BIS. Before turning to capital adequacy issues, I would like to highlight some key elements from two recent papers on sound practice. In July, the Basel Committee issued for comment a report on the management of credit risk. This is a particularly important topic since the major cause of serious banking problems continues to be directly related to poor practices regarding credit risk management. A key focus of the report is on the need for banking organizations to develop an overall business strategy for credit risk that incorporates the tolerance for risk and the level of profitability the bank expects to achieve from incurring various credit risks. A strategic approach to credit risk provides a coherent framework for practices in such areas as credit-granting criteria, credit limits, and credit risk monitoring. The Basel Committee issued a second paper in September that addresses the subject of corporate governance in banking organizations. As you know, corporate governance, especially the role of boards of directors, is of particular interest in this country. More intense competition, rapid change, and increased complexity in many business activities mean that responsible and independent oversight by boards of directors plays a more crucial role in ensuring that the firm’s business strategy is sound and its leadership effective. I am convinced that the need for strong corporate governance is equally great in emerging market countries, where banks and other financial institutions face comparable pressures.

Norman T L Chan: A fascinating train journey Speech by Mr Norman T L Chan, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, at the CUHK (The Chinese University of Hong Kong) Business School Master Degree Graduation Ceremony 2015, Hong Kong, 21 November 2015. *  *  *  Professor Michael Hui, Professor Kalok Chan, parents, graduates, ladies and gentlemen: 1. It is a great honour to be invited to attend today’s graduation ceremony. It is also a great pleasure to be back to CUHK, where I spent the most beautiful part of my life as a student. There were so many fond memories and I cannot tell you how much I have missed my campus life even though I have graduated for nearly 40 years. 2. My fellow graduates, today is a memorable and joyful occasion not only for you, but also for your parents, your family, your loved ones and your friends. You have all worked very hard and gone through many rounds of examinations and challenges before you can be here today on this occasion. You must feel very proud and wish to tell everybody that “I have made it”. My heartfelt congratulations to you all: you have made it. You have received a master degree that provides you with the knowledge and skills that are badly needed and sought after in the modern era of business and finance.
A counterfactual exercise undertaken by ECB staff shows that growth and inflation would have been notably lower in the absence of our non-standard measures (see Chart 8 and Chart 9).12  12 / 19  BIS central bankers' speeches  13 / 19  BIS central bankers' speeches  That said, as the Governing Council has emphasised many times, in order to reap the full benefits from our monetary policy measures, it is important that other policy areas make a more decisive contribution. In particular, growth-enhancing and vulnerability-reducing measures would combine to improve confidence in the long-term potential of the euro area economy, which is a central factor in determining assessments of steady-state real interest rates. Moreover, the aggregate cyclical stance of fiscal policy plays an important role in determining the amplitude and duration of economic fluctuations. As noted by President Draghi in his Sintra speech, a cyclicallyappropriate aggregate fiscal stance may be more easily achieved through a well-designed central fiscal capacity. Let me now turn to the importance of effective communication in maintaining focus on the inflation objective, especially during phases of extended deviations. Central bank communication The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union establishes price stability as the primary objective of the ECB. The ECB strategy makes the primary objective of price stability operational through the medium-term orientation of monetary policy. This medium-term orientation provides the necessary flexibility to combat excessive volatility in output and inflation in responding to shocks.

Overall, the transmission of our suite of measures to the financial system has been very effective. This is in no small part due to the strong complementarities between instruments, which ensure that all segments of the yield curve are influenced, thereby easing financial conditions more broadly (see Chart 7). Let me give two examples to illustrate the role played by complementarities in our policy design. First, the negative interest rate policy has supported the portfolio rebalancing channel of the APP 10 11 / 19  BIS central bankers' speeches  by encouraging banks to lend to the broad economy instead of holding onto liquidity. 10At the same time, the extra liquidity from the APP has dampened volatility at the short end of the curve. Second, the APP and its reinvestments have supported our enhanced forward guidance via the signalling channel.11 Asset purchases provide a strong signal that policy rates will remain low for an extended period of time. This effect is reinforced by the sequencing of our instruments, which is embedded in the structure of our forward guidance. At the same time, our forward guidance on rates reinforces the APP and reinvestments, since it anchors the short end of the risk-free curve and thereby ensures that the stimulus from the APP and the reinvestments is not offset. The improved financing conditions have made a considerable contribution to the macroeconomic performance of the euro area.