samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
To start with, the focus of these efforts will be on renewable energy, efficient energy, and primary commodities. This year also witnessed the launch of an Islamic Index-based investment scheme, which has embedded environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles, and the launch of working capital financing for women entrepreneurs. In the same vein, the takaful sector is also moving towards integrating VBI elements, with the establishment of the VBI Takaful Task Force by the Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA) to look into establishing a strategic roadmap on VBI implementation by the takaful industry. Success of these initiatives require conviction and commitment by the industry leaders to actively pursue these as an important agenda for Islamic finance. Therefore it is imperative that the industry leadership to also support this with talent development strategies to equip the Islamic financial institutions with the right talent pool. These include re-evaluating and refining the learning and development requirements, anchored at incorporating new learnings and more understanding of businesses that translate into value-added services to clients and addressing gaps in skills and competencies required to support the industry in this strategic direction. Indeed, to fully realise the strategic intent of Islamic finance, we must ensure that the talent pool is supportive through the development of the next generation of Islamic finance professionals. This requires the industry to come together to elevate the value of Islamic finance talent through the pursuit of professional excellence.

Join me in wishing Mr Ndhlovu well in his new role and I have every confidence that he will perform to distinction. I wish to take this opportunity to thank Ms Lumpa for her able stewardship of the Association and wish her well in her new appointment. I have every confidence that she will excel. Ladies and gentlemen, the banking industry plays an important role in any economy, particularly the role of intermediating funds between savers and borrowers. It also plays an equally important role in providing payment system platform where economic agents can settle their transactions. You will also note that the performance of these functions also attracts numerous risks which have potential to compromise the stability and the efficient operations of the banking industry. The regulatory environment therefore requires adjusting appropriately in response to developments in the financial system. Chairperson, you will note that the Bank of Zambia has, in the most recent past, introduced a number of measures aimed at enhancing stability of the banking industry in Zambia as well as to enhance the transparency and efficiency in the allocation of resource in the economy. Allow me to briefly highlight some of the key policy initiatives that the Bank of Zambia has recently introduced: 1)  Reduction of statutory reserve ratios: in the fourth quarter of 2011, the Bank of Zambia reduced both the statutory and core liquid asset ratios by 3 percentage points to 5.0% and 6.0% respectively.
Once translated into default probabilities, Acosta-Smith et al (2017) find that the second effect swamps the first: a one percentage point rise in the leverage ratio raises the odds ratio (on banks being in distress versus safe) through risk-shifting by 1-3.5%. But the reduction in the odds ratio from lower leverage is close to 40-50%. Second, the leverage regime is not a replacement for the risk-weighted capital regime but an addition to it. The capital regime places an automatic upper-bound on the extent to which banks can increase their risk-weighted assets. In other words, the capital ratio regime places constraints on incentives to risk-shift. Conversely, the leverage ratio can serve as an effective constraint on incentives to game or shade risk weights. Risk-taking incentives are, in effect, book-ended by the leverage and capital constraints. From an incentives perspective, if regulatory arbitrage incentives are two-sided, so too should be the constraints needed to straightjacket that behaviour. That is another way of rationalising the “multi-polar” regulatory regime operating internationally. When it comes to calibration, this means leverage and capital ratios need to be jointly determined to prevent incentives skewing in one or other direction. This is the approach in the UK when setting capital and leverage constraints (Bank of England (2015a)). 29  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/speeches  29  There are other means of constraining adverse incentives.

However, the official forecast is that, overall, these territorial governments will still post a deficit in 2007 despite the benign economic circumstances over the last few years. Second, budgetary stability should be accompanied by an improvement in the quality of public finances to secure advances in the allocation of factors of production, particularly human and technological factors, and in the efficiency of the economy. The spending policies included in the draft Budget give priority to areas of key importance for improving productivity, such as increased resources for research and development, education and infrastructure, although other priority items entail increases in current primary spending. It is important that the envisaged increase in resource allocation be managed efficiently through the use of better suited mechanisms to assess and select public policies so as to enable real increases in productivity. The budget is not, however, the only instrument, nor often the most appropriate one, to achieve the aim of raising the efficiency of the economy. Structural policies designed to make  BIS Review 130/2007  5  factor and product markets more flexible will be called on to make an essential contribution to this aim and, for this purpose, it is necessary to persevere with and extend the processes of liberalisation undertaken in recent years. Policies of this type, which enable growth potential to be raised and make for the efficient allocation of resources in the economy, are pivotal in the present conjuncture, which, as stated earlier, requires a rebalancing of the sources of growth of the Spanish economy.
In banking, one of the most important challenges for accounting standard setters is to achieve consistency with sound risk-management practices. Incentives built in to the accounting rules should be compatible with and encourage good risk management. In this connection, the areas of financial instrument accounting and transparency rules require special attention. This idea of market friendly incentive-oriented rules leads me to my last remark on the role of prudential regulation. Third: Efficient risk management One key question that we prudential regulators should ask ourselves is whether regulations provide the right incentives to assess and to manage risks properly. This question is directed at the very essence of financial regulation, whose basic aim is to ensure the stability of the financial system without being too intrusive or undermining its efficiency. Providing market friendly incentives for efficient risk management is probably the best contribution we can make to foster financial resilience. As you know this is one of the key objectives of the new Basel Capital Accord, the so-called Basel II. Let me just mention that in designing the new standards we have been and will continue to be sensitive to the possible implications for financial markets in terms of liquidity and potential development. This is especially so in areas such us securitisation and collateralised transactions. The implementation of Basel II will contribute to enhanced risk management by banking institutions.

  Finally, cyber criminals’ activity continued throughout the lockdown, whereas firms’ IT and cyber risk management staff had to adapt to the new way of working. Two principal methods used by criminals, phishing emails and malware, continue to rise. Many authorities have highlighted an increase in cyber risk7. We encourage firms to consider these risks carefully when starting to think about the transition out of the lockdown phase. The last priority I’ll touch on today is climate change. Addressing the financial risks from climate change is one of the Bank’s strategic priorities and last year we published expectations for firms to manage the financial risks from climate change8, which included expectations around governance, risk management, scenario analysis and disclosure. As well as having a named Senior Manager responsible for climate risks, Boards collectively need to understand the impact of climate change on their firm’s business strategy. Scenario analysis is a key tool that firms can use as part of their assessments of the impact of climate risks on their balance sheet and broader business strategy. It helps report relevant management information that will enable firm’s boards to discuss, challenge and take decisions relating to the firm’s management of the financial risks from climate change. Last year – for the first time – we included an exploratory climate stress test as part of the overall insurance stress test exercise.
•  Last July 3rd, the CBC Board approved the release for public consultation of stage two of the FX regulation modernization. This regulatory reform consists of four stages, the first of which was enacted early this year, simplifying the compliance with, and reporting of FX transactions to the CBC. •  This second stage will allow transactions in derivative products whose settlements or payments contemplate the physical delivery of Chilean Pesos. Additionally, upon the enactment of this regulation, non-residents will be able to open and hold an account in Pesos as well as ask for loans denominated in our currency, whether in the form of mutual, lines of credit, or other. •  Although these regulatory changes are part of our 2018-22 Strategic Plan, and have an independent agenda of implementation, they are of extreme relevance to the operation of CLS. Without these amendments, foreign settlement members would not be able to manage their accounts in Pesos or have access to the credit lines in Pesos, that are fundamental to perform the payment to CLS. •  Conversely, the FX changes should impact on the FX activity involving the Peso, increasing the systemic risk of settlement. CLS arises as the best-known alternative to mitigate those risks. Then, CLS is essential in this future FX context. VII. CLS and the current situation  •  Lastly, I cannot end my intervention without referring to the Covid-19 pandemic that is sweeping across our country and the world.

4  BIS Review 11/2004  Implications for the Norwegian economy Intensified competition from Japanese and Korean shipyards had serious implications for Norwegian shipbuilding in the 1970s and 1980s. However, Japan has also become an important market for Norwegian products. From the considerable deficits of earlier years, trade in traditional goods with Japan has moved into near balance. Strong growth in Asia is probably one of the prominent factors contributing to high oil prices in spite of low growth in the OECD area in recent years. China accounted for close to 50 per cent of the growth in world oil consumption in 2002 and 2003. Trade in Asia has stimulated Norwegian shipping. The Chinese economy could continue to expand at a brisk pace for a longer period, which would open a large market that can also be entered by Norwegian enterprises. Norwegian exports to China have increased, but are still limited. Over several years, enterprises in Central European countries have been a source of competition for Norwegian jobs. Integration is also opening new markets and providing new sources of income for Norwegian enterprises. At the same time, tender requirements and the freedom of establishment have increased the competition facing Norwegian industries that were previously sheltered. Chart 6. Imports to Norway Share.
“Balanced” growth also implies to facilitate the catching up of developing countries (and the taking off of the poorest). Drawing the lessons from the crisis, growth cannot be strong without being sustainable and cannot be sustainable if it is not balanced. The so-called “Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth” is the key mechanism by which G20 countries work together to achieve these objectives. With support from the IMF, G20 countries are going through a mutual assessment process by sharing their policy frameworks, programs and projections and assessing their consistency with the common objectives. This process will lead the G20 to recommend policy options to its members. Policy options obviously depend on national circumstances. Countries facing serious fiscal challenges need in particular to accelerate the pace of fiscal consolidation, while countries that have the capacity should expand domestic sources of growth and help cushion a decline in demand from other countries. Reforms of social safety nets will be essential in both cases and structural reforms of the product and labor markets will be key to foster stronger growth in the medium and long run. Policy options may also entail exchange rate adjustments consistent with smooth rebalancing. In search of global financial safety nets There is another side to rebalancing where finance matters. Starting with the Asian crisis of 1997–1998 and up until the global shortage of liquidity that took place in 2008, many emerging countries have experienced sudden stops of capital inflows on a recurrent basis.

With short-term expectations just under 1% and longer-term expectations slightly above, inflation expectations are firmly anchored within the range consistent with price stability. Economic actors are confident that the SNB will also be able to keep inflation well under control over the long term. In view of the stable inflation expectations, it is not surprising that long-term rates have changed little since the beginning of the year. The yield on ten-year Confederation bonds has fluctuated between –0.1% and +0.2% since the start of 2018. Andréa Maechler will examine exchange rate and interest rate developments in more detail later. Monetary policy outlook  Let me summarise the key points with regard to monetary policy. We anticipate that our economy has expanded by around 2.5% this year. In line with a gradual slowdown in the global economy and high capacity utilisation in Switzerland, domestic growth is likely to stabilise at around 1.5% next year. The inflation forecast for this year is unchanged; for 2019 and 2020 it is somewhat below our forecast last quarter. The Swiss franc is still highly valued. Given the slightly muted inflation outlook and the continued fragility in the exchange rate situation, our expansionary monetary policy remains appropriate. With the negative interest rate and our willingness to intervene in the foreign exchange market as necessary, we support economic activity and ensure price stability. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your attention. It is now my pleasure to give the floor to Fritz Zurbrügg. Page 4/4
We have had low inflation and a low level of resource utilisation in the Swedish economy for a long period of time. During my first year as a member of the Executive Board from spring 2009 until some point in the middle of 2010, CPIF inflation was close to 2 per  5  See, for instance, Summers (2005) and Giannone, Reichlin and Lenza (2008). 6  This classification comes from Reichlin and Baldwin (2013). 7  See also Ekholm (2009). 8  See for example Bean (2009) and Bernanke (2010). 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches  cent.9 But then it began to gradually fall to its current level of around 1 per cent (see Figure 1). The Riksbank’s forecasts have shown, and still show, that it will take a couple of years until underlying inflation begins to approach 2 per cent and resource utilisation normalises. This means that for several years inflation has undershot the target, at the same time as resource utilisation has been low. In this type of situation, a more expansionary monetary policy could have been used to reduce unemployment without creating a risk of inflation being too high (see Figure 2). Today there is quite simply no conflict of interests between inflation and unemployment of the type that was so common in the 1970s and 1980s, when the ambition to hold back unemployment was what ultimately pushed up inflation to levels that were unsustainable for the fixed exchange rate.

In particular, the fact that unemployment rates remain high despite the pick-up in economic activities has led many people to worry that this might be a “jobless recovery”. This high unemployment, if prolonged, could have a deep and lasting impact on both consumption and the potential growth of the US economy. Moreover, consumption in the US will be adversely affected by the decline in household wealth as well as the increase in personal saving rate. Other issues which may exert downward force on the world recovery include the high level of public debt which may put upward pressure on long-term interest rates and the US and other advanced countries’ financial sectors which are still weak and may not be able to support the recovery of the economy. On the domestic front, the downside risk comes from the ability of the government to swiftly execute the SP2 investment projects. In other words, the disbursement may not proceed as expected due to the lack of capacity to effectively implement many projects simultaneously. More importantly, political unrests which affect the stability of the coalition government may distract, disrupt, or in the worst case, discontinue the disbursement process. Taking both upside and downside risks into consideration, the Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee assessed that the Thai economy is expected to recover gradually, supported by better global economic outlook and accommodative monetary and fiscal policies. Meanwhile, the inflationary pressure continues to be subdued for the time being.
Although there is a considerable stock of equity in owner-occupied housing, with banks tightening the supply of both secured and unsecured credit, consumers will find it more difficult to borrow to finance spending. So in 2008 it is likely that a less buoyant housing market will go hand in hand with slower growth of consumer spending. Tighter credit conditions mean that, as a nation, we are likely to save more of our income this year than in the recent past. In the short run, that will slow economic activity, possibly quite sharply. And there is a risk that weaker activity and lower asset prices could result in another round of losses for banks and a further tightening of credit conditions. The adjustment which not only the British but the world economy is experiencing is necessary as the imbalances, between spending and saving and between domestic demand and trade, unwind. As part of a longer-run rebalancing of the UK economy, an increase in our national saving rate, both private and public, is necessary. The low level of national saving is apparent from the current account deficit – our new net borrowing from overseas – which in  2  BIS Review 8/2008  the third quarter of last year was, relative to GDP, the biggest in the past fifty years and the largest in the G7. It is possible to run a current account deficit for a considerable period. Australia, for example, has done so in every year since 1974.

The prices of those assets fell, and markets closed for a range of complex credit instruments. As I said two years ago, “risk premia have become unusually compressed and the expansion of money and credit may have encouraged investors to take on more risk than hitherto without demanding a higher return. It is questionable whether such behaviour can persist”. And, as we have seen, it hasn’t. The re-pricing of risk that is still continuing is not a process that we should try to reverse. Adjustment to this has been painful for banks in the major financial centres in two ways. First, with some asset markets closed, banks found funding more difficult. Some needed to finance loans they had made but had then expected to package up and sell. Others needed to finance off-balance sheet investment vehicles that were no longer able to fund themselves. At the outset of the crisis, banks were concerned to protect their liquidity position. But increasingly, attention has turned to a second, more fundamental concern. As a range of asset prices fell, banks began to report large losses. Uncertainty about the scale and location of losses led to concerns about the adequacy of bank capital and hence the ability of the banking system to finance continued economic expansion. At the end of last year, sentiment in financial markets worsened markedly. So in mid-December, central banks around the world announced a co-ordinated set of actions in money markets.
In securities markets, investment decisions are driven by prices that arise from a trading process that reconciles differential information from a diverse group of investors. In bank loans, investment decisions are based on the bank’s private information about specific borrowers. While a bank makes its own investment decisions, securities markets rely on the consensus of a multitude of investors. When securities markets work well, they provide efficient ways of aggregating information and allocating risks among a wide range of investors. In order to function well, however, these markets require a trading infrastructure. This infrastructure may consist of an exchange, a network of brokers and dealers, and a clearing system. These markets also rely on a cadre of relatively well-informed investors, who confidently judge asset prices and take positions on the BIS Review 108/1998  –2–  strength of their judgments. If the trading infrastructure fails or investors lose confidence, trading will grind to a halt. The global fixed-income markets are unlike equity markets. In equity markets, everyone knows something about the trading infrastructure, which is centralized in exchanges. Thus, there is no question as to the focal point of trading information. But the importance of fixed-income markets, which are multiple-dealer, over-the-counter markets, is sometimes hard to appreciate because they are so decentralized. In the United States, the bond market is where companies have been raising most of their funds in recent years.

6 The projected reduction in the workingage population will translate into slower economic growth and will, therefore, negatively impact tax revenues, at the same time as the fiscal burden of a larger population of elderly people increases. The Commission calculates that by 2015 the share of age-related spending in GDP is expected to reach 20.1 per cent, two percentage points up from 2007, mainly due to the increased cost of pensions and healthcare, and will continue to rise thereafter. The fiscal correction required to bridge the implied sustainability gap clearly cannot be achieved without a culture change regarding the welfare state. Put simply, it needs to be understood that you cannot give away what you do not have. We must, therefore, adopt a more cost-efficient approach to the provision of public goods and services, whereby only those demonstrably in need would benefit. Access to social benefits, healthcare and subsidies should be streamlined through a combination of means testing and market-based mechanisms. In addition, the benefits structure could be further refined beyond the recent Budget measures with a view to making work pay and reducing the disincentives to enter the labour market. Conclusion The Maltese economy is experiencing its first major test since it adopted the euro. While membership of the euro area has provided a degree of protection during the crisis, in particular exchange rate stability, the road ahead is still fraught with challenges.