samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
The lower share prices and the contagious spread of the crisis to other markets were liable to have consequences via decreased demand for exports from the industrialised countries, as well as via more cautious behaviour among their consumers and firms. BIS Review 14/1999  –3–  The problems in LTCM also aroused fears of a considerably more serious scenario where banks in the industrialised countries became so cautious about granting credit that this would paralyse global economic activity. As the signs of an international slowdown became increasingly clear and were accentuated by the growing turbulence in financial markets, the Riksbank revised its assessment of the Swedish economy and the path of inflation. This warranted some easing of the monetary stance. In November the repo rate was therefore lowered in two steps, from 4.10 to 3.60%. In the December Inflation Report it was still considered that in one to two years’ time, both the change in the CPI and the underlying rate of inflation would be below the Riksbank’s 2% target for price stability. On 16 December the repo rate was therefore lowered another 0.2 percentage points, to 3.40%. After this adjustment, responsibility for the future formulation of monetary policy passed to the Riksbank’s new Executive Board, which would be taking over from the turn of the year. Strong finish to 1998 Most signs suggest that activity in the Swedish economy was fairly strong in the latter part of 1998. GDP figures have still to be published but the available statistics point to a good fourth quarter.

Whatever the future may bring, I will be guided by our dual mandate, a heavy dependence on data, and a steadfast commitment to transparency. Such an approach, in my view, will help support prosperity both in the United States and abroad. Thank you. 1 See FOMC Statement and Implementation Note, September 26, 2018. 2 See FOMC Statement and Implementation Note, September 26, 2018. 3 See FOMC Statement and Implementation Note, September 26, 2018. 4 See Jerome H. Powell, Monetary Policy in a Changing Economy, August 24, 2018. 5 See FOMC issues addendum to the Policy Normalization Principles and Plans, June 14, 2017. 6 See Simon Potter, Confidence in the Implementation of U.S. Monetary Policy Normalization, August 4, 2018. 7 See Policy Normalization Principles and Plans, as adopted effective September 16, 2014. 8 See Simon Potter, Confidence in the Implementation of U.S. Monetary Policy Normalization, August 4, 2018. 4/4  BIS central bankers' speeches
The Accelerator-run proofs of concepts allowed us to change our mind-set to be less bound by convention in terms of how we run the Bank of England, as an infrastructure provider, a payment systems operator and a regulator. We are now looking to build on the success of the Accelerator by integrating its key approaches into our business as usual activities. So today I can announce that we have set up a new Fintech Hub that will sit at the heart of the Bank, to consider both how the Bank understands and how it applies fintech, relevant to its mission. It is important that we continue to do this with our doors firmly open. So the Hub will be a central point of contact for the fintech sector to engage with the Bank, and will play an active role in the new HMT/FCA/Bank taskforce. And it will engage with you to understand and apply these developments to support the next wave of innovation in finance, and ensure that the UK has the right infrastructure to support that into the future. Being open in our minds and approach are important steps in embracing and supporting new technology. But we also need to be open to change to fulfil our mission and keep pace with an evolving financial sector. Open to change  Change is already afoot.

Finally, while my comments have focused mainly on Singapore, it is heartening that we have such a deep and diverse group of investors and practitioners from around the region. I am sure there will be much that we can learn from each other, and I hope that deep and frequent interactions like this catalyse new ideas and spur us all to do better. I wish you a fruitful conference. Thank you. BIS Review 147/2009  5
The Law “On the Banks in the Republic of Albania” enables the European Union member states banks and all foreign banks to provide banking services to Albania, through their branches or subsidiaries, without making any distinction in the licensing terms for their branches and subsidiaries and for Albanian banks. Furthermore, in line with the SAA provisions, the adopted law requires their treatment as Albanian banks in every aspect, once they are granted the licence to carry out banking business and financial activity. The new law provides for clearer rules on management of risk the banks may be faced with while carrying out their activity, in order to guarantee and strengthen the protection of depositors and investors and to maintain banking system stability. Given the current conditions of rapid credit growth in the banking system, the new law treats fully the other types of risks as well, other than that of credit risk, with which banks may be faced, and the permitted exposures of the latter ones when faced with such risks. The law requires for the first time, inter alia, the establishment and maintaining by the Bank of Albania of the loans register. Under the conditions of a rapid credit growth, the purpose of establishing such a register is to assist banks in making well-informed decisions when extending loans to their clients, as well as to strengthen the Bank of Albania’s supervision on the Albanian banking system.

There are many aspects of the reform package that the PRA is taking forward this year through its own consultations. This package includes some new supervisory measures to help the PRA maintain safety and soundness and policyholder protection. These new measures provide additional tools and clearly complement our existing set of supervisory powers. As a reminder, the measures set out by HMT are:  Page 7  to require insurers to participate in regular stress testing exercises prescribed by the PRA and to allow us to publish individual firm results; to require nominated senior managers with formal regulatory responsibilities and sanctions under the Senior Managers Regime to attest formally to the PRA whether or not the level of the fundamental spreads (FS) on their firm’s assets is sufficient to reflect all retained risks, and that the resulting MA reflects only liquidity premium, on the basis of a rigorous assessment of the characteristics and valuations of assets held in their matching adjustment portfolios, including the results of the stress testing exercises described above; to allow insurers to apply a higher FS where they conclude that the standard allowance is insufficient taking into account the work undertaken to support the attestations set out above; and to update the MA rules as appropriate to reflect the Government’s decision to widen the eligibility requirements to include assets with highly predictable cashflows. We are approaching the development of these supervisory measures with input from subject expert groups with a membership drawn from industry and the PRA.
The sluggishness of the recovery in many advanced economies from the global financial crisis – the so-called Great Recession - was striking even by historical standards. For example, the level of activity in the UK lies very significantly below its level at the equivalent stage following the 1930s depression (Chart 7). The UK’s Great Recession was far-worse than the Great Depression. A number of factors are believed responsible for the persistence of weak global demand. One often given prominence was heightened risk-aversion among lenders, consumers and businesses, which in turn constrained credit and spending growth in the economy. This so-called “psychological scarring” of risk appetite was also a dampener of credit and aggregate demand following the Great Depression. 7  7  Malmendier and Nagel (2011). 7  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/speeches and @BoE_PressOffice  7  On the supply-side of the economy, several factors have contributed to subdued global inflation over recent decades.

And even though substantial fiscal consolidation would not by itself bring the external imbalance down to a more sustainable level, it would improve the prospect for a smoother adjustment to that outcome. The general risk inherent in these imbalances—the risk of more adverse growth outcomes and asset price volatility—reinforces the importance of sustaining the strength and resilience of the U.S. financial system. Our financial system today is in substantially stronger shape than it was even in the recent past, and the major institutions now appear to be managed so that they are less vulnerable to the type and magnitude of shocks they’ve experienced in the past couple decades. What is important of course is that they are as well positioned to deal with the full range of potential future risks. This requires continued investments in risk management and controls to match the increasing complexity of these challenges, and it requires a cushion of capital and liquidity large enough to capture the potential risk of losses in a less favorable macroeconomic environment. The increase in the flexibility and resilience of the U.S. economy over the past two decades has a lot to do with the increased openness of the U.S. economy. And sustaining this flexibility, which is so important to our capacity to adjust to shocks, requires that we continue to support the process of openness and economic integration. We jeopardize future income gains if we are unable to sustain support in the United States for what has been a relatively open trade policy.
The maintenance of the accommodative monetary policy stance is allowing the average interest rates on bank lending to hold at levels close to their historical lows. Also, the financial position of households and firms has continued to strengthen in the course of 2018. In tandem, private consumption has held at a growth rate which, though it has slowed during this year, remains high and is outpacing the increase in real disposable income, which has led the saving rate to ease to historically low levels (see Chart 7). Looking ahead, however, the room for household saving to further contract appears limited. Investment by non-financial corporations has continued to expand (see Chart 8). As in the case of households, financing conditions, in terms both of cost and availability of funds, have remained conducive to companies taking spending decisions, as has the strengthening of their financial position. Maintaining the momentum of investment is pivotal, given that productive investment is a fundamental determinant both of the cyclical dynamics of the economy and of long-term economic growth. A characteristic feature of the current expansionary cycle has been the compatibility of economic growth with a significant external surplus (see Chart 9). Various factors have contributed to sustaining this surplus, including most notably the significant increase in the base of firms that export their products regularly, the increase in revenue from the tourist industry, despite its recent slowdown, and the environment of low interest rates, which has contributed to diminishing the income balance deficit.

6/14  In respect of monetary policy, the various ECB measures have allowed financial conditions to be eased considerably, and have acted as a mainstay for the economic recovery in the area, contributing to countering the deflationary trends looming over the region some years back. For the Spanish economy, it is estimated that from 2014 to 2018 the ECB’s measures boosted real GDP by 2.3% and the CPI by 1.4% (see Chart 11). These effects are of a fairly similar magnitude to those estimated for the euro area as a whole (2.3% and 1.7%, respectively). The fiscal policy stance shifted from expansionary in 2015 and 2016 to neutral in 2017, but it will once again be expansionary in 2018 once the various measures included in the State Budget for this year materialise. Over recent years, the reduction in the deficit has been due to the economy’s cyclical improvement and to the fall-off in interest expenditure, while the structural deficit has held at still-high levels, according to the European Commission’s latest estimates. That said, the role of the foregoing factors should, in future, tend progressively to taper off. This has been the case already for oil prices, the course of which has reversed since mid2017, and, to a lesser extent, of external markets, following the recent slowdown. But it is particularly relevant for demand-side (monetary and fiscal) policies. Specifically, it is to be expected that monetary policy will progressively play a less pivotal role.
The pilot successfully reduced the settlement duration of primary issuance from 5 days to 2 days. These are just some examples of the tremendous scope for innovation in Asian financial markets. 15. Job functions will need to adapt, and our workforce will need to be equipped with the right capabilities and skills to capture the opportunities. In 2019, MAS and the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) commissioned a detailed study [12] on the impact of automation and data analytics over the next 3-5 years on job tasks and skills needs in the financial sector. The study estimates that half of the job roles in the financial sector in Singapore would be augmented as individuals leverage on data analytics and automation to amplify their performance. Another one third would be https://www.mas.gov.sg/news/speeches/2021/riding-the-growth-momentum-in-asia  5/11  12/02/2021  "Riding the Growth Momentum in Asia" – Keynote Speech by Ms Jacqueline Loh, Deputy Managing Director (Markets & Development), …  transformed, as these technologies have the potential to substitute a significant proportion of job tasks.

And, we must continue to devote sufficient attention and resources to complete the efforts. At the same time, though, it is important to take stock of the changes made over the past few years – for two important reasons: first, to assess the impact of those changes, both intended and unintended; and, second, to understand the contours of the “new” financial system operating under the range of new rules and regulations, both national and global in nature. Such a stocktaking is important to  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  ensure that we collectively understand how the “new” financial system is operating. Firms and supervisors will continue to face challenges and competing demands as we press, in the months and years ahead, on implementing necessary changes and assessing the “new” financial system. What the future holds One of the topics that I feel will compete for, and will deserve, a lot of attention in the foreseeable future is cybersecurity. I am often asked about my list of “things that keep me awake at night,” and I think it’s fair to say that cybersecurity is at the top of that list – as I’m sure it is for many of you in this room. In fact, I think cybersecurity is one of the topics that should be on everyone’s list – from the most senior managers and boards of directors, all the way down to line managers.
Unsound fiscal policies are thus punished, but some countries face potential refinancing problems on the capital market. Is this a curse or a blessing? Answer: The capital market is sending signals that need to be looked at attentively. Following a phase in which the pricing of risks was, in general, too low, the markets may now be showing a tendency to overvalue risks. In any event, developments need to be watched closely. Question: But who will stand by the side of the countries with worse ratings if the capital market is practically blocked for these countries because of a continued flight to quality? Answer: I am sure that these countries will take the appropriate steps to face up to these challenges themselves. Question: That means that they shouldn’t hope for external help? Answer: The very fact of belonging to the single currency area is, in itself, a significant contribution to facing up to this situation. Question: The financial crisis worsened considerably in the autumn. Would the world look different now if the US investment bank had been rescued? Answer: I don’t want to go into the major difficulties of individual institutions in September. It is clear to me that the financial crisis has worsened significantly since mid-September and has moved into a new phase.

The Institute for Financial Literacy, a collaboration between MoneySENSE and Singapore Polytechnic, will reach out to employers and the unions to conduct free debt management talks at workplaces. Free public talks will also be organised from next year at convenient locations across the island for the general public. (c)  The Institute for Financial Literacy will continue to conduct financial education programmes for social workers and counsellors so that they are better equipped to provide support to those who seek help from them. This is a useful way to help lower-income households who face difficulties. Conclusion 21 In conclusion, the consumer credit situation in Singapore is on the whole in good shape, because we have taken pre-emptive regulatory actions. We are, however, concerned about a small group of borrowers who have over-extended themselves, and are addressing it in three ways: (a)  encouraging prudent lending practices;  (b)  providing targeted help to those who are already indebted; and  (c)  empowering people with the knowledge and skills to manage their own finances. 22 This is ultimately a social mission. It is about helping people avoid getting caught in a spiral of borrowing, and avoid the major difficulties that they and their families face when they are saddled with a pile of debts. CCS is on a noble mission. You have had a remarkable story over the last ten years, and I wish you every success in the years to come. 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches
Foreign trade has increased from around 43% of global GDP in 1995 to about 70% today. And around 30% of foreign value added is now created through global value chains. [4] At the global level, this process has been driven not just by policy choices, but in large part also by technological progress. Businesses have capitalised on the advances in transportation, telecoms and computing that make it easier to trade globally and fragment production. [5] Previous policy decisions and geographic proximity make the EU by far the most important trading area for European economies. The majority of world trade takes place within three main trading blocs – the EU, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Asia – and though linkages have grown between those blocs, they remain relatively closed to one another. The ratio of extra-regional trade to GDP in these regions is below 15%. [6] The EU is the most integrated of these blocs. Two-thirds of EU countries’ trade is with other Member States, compared with about half for the NAFTA region. Around 50% of euro area crossborder financial holdings are from other euro area countries. Practically speaking, this means that Italy exports more to Spain than to China, and more to Austria than to Russia or Japan. In 2017, German direct investment in Italy was five times higher than that of the United States.

2 / 10  BIS central bankers' speeches  If trade barriers were to be reintroduced within Europe, it is estimated that GDP would be about 8% lower in Germany and 7% lower in Italy. [8] The case for working together to enhance sovereignty also applies to the relationship between the EU and the rest of the world. Few European economies are sizeable enough to withstand spillovers from large economies or to leverage power in external trade negotiations. But cooperating at the EU level increases their potential to do so. The EU accounts for 16.5% of global economic output,[9] second only to China, which gives European countries a large domestic market to fall back on in the event of trade disruptions. EU trade makes up 15% of world trade,[10] compared with around 11% for the United States, providing the EU with significant weight in trade negotiations. And the euro is the world’s secondmost traded international currency, which helps insulate the euro area economy from exchange rate volatility. Indeed, around 50% of extra-euro area imports are now invoiced in euro,[11] which reduces the pass-through of exchange-rate volatility to import prices. That in turn allows monetary policy to focus more on euro area economic developments rather than having to react repeatedly to external shocks. [12] For all these reasons, being outside the EU might lead to more policy independence, but not necessarily to greater sovereignty. The same is true of the single currency.
14 Customer-oriented attitude has induced the public sector to open itself to the public and private partnership solutions. One of its manifestations in Singapore is the ability to apply for a passport at the photo-shop, immediately after the passport picture is taken. Another significant factor, which stimulates the growth of both e-administration and e-economy, is the penetration of innovation and search for new applications for technologies in use between the private and public sectors. For instance, the abovementioned RFID technology was initially used to mark goods in transport and storage, as a technique more advanced than the bar code. China, which has implemented the RFID standard as a result of the efforts of Wal-Mart, the world-largest retailer, is currently considering its use in blood banks to track the location of blood batches. Another use of the RFID technology — also in the health care sector — is currently tested at the orthopaedic ward of the Singapore General Hospital. For the duration of hospitalization, the patient receives a band that facilitates tracing the patient’s location, whereas a built-in thermosensor measures the temperature without bothering the patient. Portable devices provide the nurses and physicians with an ongoing access to information on the patients. Moreover, there is a possibility to integrate the system with 15 monitoring of the heart action and blood pressure . A completely different, although slightly controversial, use of RFID has been found at the prosecutor’s office in Mexico, whereby a chip is implanted under skin of employees that have access to secret documents.

I have to say that this is not an undisputed statement, because I told this story at a general business event and someone took me to task that every member of an insurance board should be fluent in the theory of a Copula. To be clear, we do not expect Copula fluency for all. But the moral of the story is that there is not a strong consensus on how to set the expectations of Boards so that they can perform their role. We may at times have gone too far in the direction of individual technical knowledge, and by the way it was the Copula story and others that convinced me to stop interviewing people taking up standard NED positions. The PRA has close contact with many Boards, so as supervisors what do we expect of Boards? Three things stand out for me:1.  we expect Boards to exercise good judgment in overseeing the running of the firm and to do so on a forward-looking basis;  2.  that judgement is improved by good constructive challenge from Non-Executives. A firm’s culture should promote discussion, debate and honest challenge.