samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
Andrew G Haldane: The age of asset management? Speech by Mr Andrew G Haldane, Executive Director, Financial Stability, Bank of England, at the London Business School, London, 4 April 2014. *  *  *  I would like to thank Sarah Breeden, Antonia Brown, Edd Denbee, Ronnie Driver, Ronan Hodge, Tamara Li, Pippa Lowe, Varun Paul, Jonathan Rand, Martin Taylor, Lewis Webber and Jack Worlidge for their help and comments. It is a great pleasure to be speaking at this London Business School conference on asset management. Given the topic and my area of responsibility, I thought I would discuss the links between asset management and financial stability. This issue is not new. But it has become topical recently as the asset management industry has grown and changed shape. Partly in response, regulators globally have begun to explore the risks to the financial system that might be posed by non-banks of various stripes, including asset managers. I want to discuss those risks and their potential policy implications. I want also, however, to discuss some of the opportunities asset management offers. The industry is a key bridge between end-savers and end-borrowers, between the financial and real parts of the economy. As the banking system continues to de-risk, strengthening that bridge could well strengthen both the financial system and wider economy. The evolution in asset management Let me start with some facts on the evolution of the industry. Asset management is, of course, an agency activity.

News conference  Embargo 22 June 2023, 10.00 am  Introductory remarks by the Governing Board  Thomas Jordan, Martin Schlegel and Andréa M. Maechler Chairman of the Governing Board / Vice Chairman of the Governing Board / Member of the Governing Board Swiss National Bank Zurich, 22 June 2023 © Swiss National Bank  Page 1/8  Zurich, 22 June 2023 Thomas Jordan, Martin Schlegel and Andréa M. Maechler  News conference  Ladies and gentlemen It is my pleasure to welcome you to the news conference of the Swiss National Bank. I would also like to welcome all those who are joining us today online. After our introductory remarks, we will take questions from journalists as usual. Questions can also be asked by telephone. Monetary policy decision I will begin with our monetary policy decision. We have decided to tighten our monetary policy further and to raise the SNB policy rate by 0.25 percentage points to 1.75%. In doing so, we are countering inflationary pressure, which has increased again over the medium term. It cannot be ruled out that additional rises in the SNB policy rate will be necessary to ensure price stability over the medium term. To provide appropriate monetary conditions, we also remain willing to be active in the foreign exchange market as necessary. In the current environment, the focus is on selling foreign currency. The SNB policy rate change applies from tomorrow, 23 June 2023.
The currency rebasing shall be implemented effective 1 January 2013, and is expected to bring efficiency in the Zambian currency as a medium of exchange and store of value. As you may be aware, the Bank is re-introducing coins which will encourage the use of mechanisms such as pay phones, vending machines, car parking meters and other related technologies. Mr. Chairperson, According to the Finscope Zambia survey conducted in 2009 only 33,7% of Zambian adults have access to financial services, leaving 66,3% financially excluded. This is despite the growth in the number of banks and indeed branches in Zambia. It is obvious that at the current growth rate of the penetration of banking services, if this is left to traditional banks alone, it may mean that the majority of Zambians will be financially excluded for a long time to come. Ladies and Gentlemen, given the above challenge, it is quite appropriate to conclude that the mobile payments industry provides Zambia with a unique opportunity to accelerate the provision of banking services in rural and remote areas at an affordable cost to the Zambian people. To this extent I am happy to inform you that since the enactment of the National Payments Systems Act of 2007, when we only had one designated Payments Business, which was Celpay, the Bank of Zambia has now registered 28 Designated Payments Businesses. The Bank continues to encourage growth of the mobile payments sector and other initiatives that promote financial inclusiveness.

The affected countries in many cases have been the traditional donor and investor countries. The knock on effect of these changes is that many corporations have scaled back on their corporate expansion  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  plans, donor countries and donor organizations have also put in place austerity measures resulting in less donor funding globally. Chairperson, I am sure you would agree that against this background, it becomes imperative to ensure that the financial sector is sound and can withstand shocks, whether from within or external, as well as to have the capacity and capital to support local ventures including large corporate expansion programs. We have seen moves aimed at ensuring stability of the financial sector in places such as Nigeria and Ghana, where the capital requirements for banks were raised in recent times. In Zambia we have also introduced new capital requirements for Commercial banks that have to be in place by the end of this year. I am happy to inform you that the Bank of Zambia is working with each Commercial Bank to ensure that this requirement is met in order to strengthen the banking industry in Zambia. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bank of Zambia has also embarked on some key projects that shall have a lasting and beneficial bearing on the Zambian economy, such as the rebasing of the Zambian currency as well as the branchless banking initiative.
has largely historical reasons, but it also has importance for the continued structural development of the financial system, since it has proved to be much more difficult to integrate financial institutions than financial markets. The most obvious trend in the banking system in Europe is the consolidation within individual countries into larger units. On the other hand, very few banks have established themselves in other countries, and the - relatively modest - consolidation that has occurred through cross-border mergers and acquisitions has not in general led to any radical change in the market within the EU for the services traditionally offered by the banks to households and small companies. Within this area of the banking sector there is still a substantial over-capacity in the EU, which seems to be taking some time to phase out. However, a number of banks in western Europe have expanded into eastern Europe and contributed to a modernisation of the banking systems in the former planned economies. Internationalisation is a driving force My point thus far is that most of the driving forces behind the developments in the financial sector are connected with increased international competition and an increased awareness of international opportunities, and that regulatory systems are also becoming more international. Within the legal community constituted by the EU, the financial legislation applies to all 15 member states, and the financial services action plan that is now on the agenda for implementation by 2005 will also affect the conditions for the operations of the financial sector in Sweden.

This should not necessarily be seen as a failure with regard to the initial ambitions, but is also a result of new trends in the financial system making new demands of the regulatory systems, which it is to be welcomed that the political system embraces. And there has also emerged a partially new view on the purposes of government rules and regulations, which has been a process that has taken some time as it is based on a long tradition of fairly detailed provisions regarding which transactions were allowed or forbidden and who should do what. This has applied at least to financial services primarily aimed at the household sector, which has made it difficult to continuously adapt the financial sector to changing market conditions and has entailed considerable costs for the consumers. Now the emphasis is on ensuring that those who produce the services are clear in showing what they have to offer and what risks may be involved in different financial commitments, which gives the customers greater scope to decide for themselves how they want to make their arrangements. Continued pressure for political initiatives The EU has high ambitions to make the European economies more efficient. At the summit meeting in Lisbon two years ago the heads of state and government adopted a strategy aimed at making the EU the most competitive, knowledge-based economic area in the world by the year 2010! Financial integration plays an important role in realising this strategy.
The Eurosystem has been successful in anchoring inflation expectations remarkably close to its objective, showing a high level of credibility: in spite of very high and increasing oil prices, break-even rates have been stable around 2% since the beginning of 2006. By anchoring inflation expectations, credibility helps to reduce uncertainty about future developments and to stabilise the economy. This makes the economic agents understand more easily the interest rate decisions in the short term and the central bank reaction function in the long-term. 4  BIS Review 63/2006

There is a growing tendency towards mortgage payment problems for households with low debt-servicing capacity and creditworthiness. But so far the decline in the housing market has not had major spillover effects on either the wider US economy or the global economy. Developments in international financial markets were marked by unrest during the winter months. Equity prices fell markedly, but are now close to the levels prevailing in February. Short-term interest rates in the US are now expected to remain unchanged in the period to summer, but to fall somewhat during the latter part of autumn. In the euro area, there are prospects that interest rates will stabilise at around 4 per cent. Interest rates are expected to rise gradually in Sweden and to peak in the UK in the course of summer. Buoyant growth in the global economy has contributed to very high prices for oil, gas and other commodities. Oil prices have averaged USD 59 per barrel so far this year, or close to USD 6 lower than the average in 2006. In the past week in particular, oil prices have increased markedly owing to the uncertainty surrounding the situation in the Middle East. Global demand for oil continues to grow, while production growth forecasts in non-OPEC countries have been revised downwards recently. Oil futures prices one to two years ahead are just below USD 70 per barrel. Commodity prices rose sharply in the first six months of 2006 and have since remained at a high level.
Ardian Fullani: Concerns of the prospective ERM II members Speech by Mr Ardian Fullani, Governor of the Bank of Albania, at the conference “The Mission of Contemporary Central Bank” organized by the National Bank of Poland, Warsaw, 15 December 2006. *  *  *  Your Honor Mr. Balcerowicz, Honorable Governors, Dear Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Balcerowicz and the National Bank of Poland for the invitation. It is an honor for me to take part in this discussion and to share my thoughts concerning the challenges facing prospective ERM II members. The central theme of this conference – the mission of the contemporary central bank with the focus on euro adoption – is of crucial importance for countries aspiring to become members of the big EU family in the not-too-distant future. Drawing from the experience of current and prospective members, accession to this family is a complex and challenging process. As a test of the nominal convergence of a country, the ERM II mechanism has attracted a lot of academic interest and criticism. Conceptually speaking, the ERM II directly precedes the full integration in the EMU. (I)  ERM II as a step towards EMU  To put the ERM II in a proper context, we need to be clear on the fact that it is an early necessary step before Euro adoption. Therefore, entry into ERMII is conditional on the economic and political readiness for entering the EMU.

However, even these countries will experience the Balassa-Samuelson effects, facing a difficulty to reconcile the fulfilment of the exchange rate and price stability criteria. At the same time, given the wide fluctuation bands that are foreseen by the ERM II template, the credibility gain is likely to be marginal. (III)  Policy implications  As a conclusion, let me re-emphasize the need for a careful approach to the EMU in that a certain degree of real economic and structural convergence is needed. The EMU membership can not be delayed by much however. First, a really high degree of economic convergence might require a lengthy period of time to be achieved and people could perceive an enlargement without EMU as incomplete. Second, in adopting the single currency the exchange rate risk will be eliminated, resulting in positive impulses to the financial market development. Thirdly, the endogeneity forces of trade and financial integration discussed in the literature might be an additional driver of real convergence that is worth exploring. Neither economic theory nor central banking practices offer an optimal approach to ERM II from the point of view of the monetary regime. The alternative theories agree however, on the need to stay there for the shortest time possible *** To conclude my speech, let me briefly say a few words on the Albanian case. 1  See Begg et al., (2002). 2  It is worth remembering that the Maastricht criteria were designed to ensure the nominal convergence of industrial economies with roughly similar economic structures.
The foregoing shows how important it is to preserve macroeconomic balances and to act on a timely basis. The latest events in Europe demonstrate how a weak fiscal situation combined with a couple of years of relaxation, however warranted, may damage the economy’s financial position and compromise its recovery. The fiscal adjustments required in Europe, some very drastic and with risky implications on output, are living proof of what happens when adjustments and the withdrawal of stimulus measures are delayed. Hence the importance of conducting this process gradually in order to ensure a strong and uninterrupted recovery. This also applies to monetary policy in Chile. To the extent that the withdrawal of the monetary stimulus is done at a gradual pace, in anticipation to the manifestation of inflation deviations, it will be possible to ensure stable and sustained growth of the Chilean economy. Any unnecessary postponement of the adjustment will only risk aggravating the costs in terms of output and employment in the future. Monetary policy played a key role in mitigating the severe effects of the international crisis over the last year. It is still playing an important role in this phase of recovery. However, we must prevent inflationary pressures from incubating that would jeopardize the achievement of the inflation target. Today, monetary policy must allow that the foundations for the reconstruction after the earthquake and the recovery from last year’s recession to be strong and sustainable, within a context of low, stable inflation.

Internationally, the baseline scenario assumes that the world economic recovery will be more gradual than suggested by average consensus estimates. There are risks, such as a significant deceleration in the economic activity of the U.S. or China or, as is usual, persistent global imbalances. However, the greatest source of risks at this moment comes from financial stress, given the remaining by markets regarding whether the fiscal adjustment and financial support measures announced in Europe will be feasible and large enough. The magnitude and reach of the effects of a scenario in which the weak fiscal and/or financial  4  BIS Review 99/2010  situation in Europe intensifies or spreads to other regions materializes, are highly uncertain, but potentially substantial. Stress tests reported in the IEF show that current levels of capitalization of the banking industry allow it to absorb the probable consequences of this scenario of increased global financial instability. Meanwhile, banks have high levels of liquidity. Despite these strengths, banks must pay special attention to the management of their liquidity positions in foreign currencies and take any necessary actions to ensure smooth access to foreign markets. This consideration is especially important due to the fact that the European commercial banks account for a major fraction of Chilean banks’ external financing. In addition, in the risk scenario, other forms of contagion cannot be ruled out, considering the presence of foreign banks in Chile.
John C Williams: Now is the time for banking culture reform Remarks by Mr John C Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, at the Governance and Culture Reform Conference, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, New York City, 18 June 2018. * * *  Introduction It’s a pleasure to speak at today’s conference on this critically important issue, one that Bill Dudley and his colleagues have done tremendous work bringing to the forefront over the past few years. It’s also an honor to be sharing a stage with Bill today, and I’d like to thank him for his outstanding leadership of the New York Fed. I’ve learned a great deal from this conference, especially hearing the diverse perspectives and experiences of regulators from across the globe, industry leaders, and academic experts. The speakers and discussions have already covered a lot of ground, so I’ll keep my remarks brief. This afternoon I’m going to talk about the urgent need to focus our attention on banking culture in supervision and what that means in practice. Before I go any further, I have to give the usual Fed disclaimer that the views I express are my own, and not necessarily those of anyone else in the Federal Reserve System. The Good Times Are When to Get Your House in Order In the wake of the financial crisis and ensuing economic downturn, the world’s attention was trained on financial services.

The CMU action plan should cater for initiatives promoting private sector solutions, such as a broader use of existing rating tools. Investors need also to access clear, comparable and comprehensive accounting reporting which are currently lacking for most SMEs in Europe. Because accounting rules are the basis of financial information, a Capital Markets Union cannot be effective with 28 different accounting systems. This is all the more relevant in the Banking Union, where banks supervised by the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) are still subject to different accounting systems. In this area, progress is highly desirable and as a first step, I would support an initiative aiming to assess the quality and degree of comparability of national accounting standards and to promote further convergence. (iii) Third, it remains necessary to ensure financial stability in the long run. The shift towards more market-based financing would entail several implications from a financial stability perspective. The development of alternative sources of funding, outside the banking system, brings a necessary diversification. Yet the risks associated with disintermediation are clear, notably a limited assessment 3 of risks by investors or less ability to address difficult situations and gaps in supervision. In parallel, re-intermediation by non-banks raises level-playing field questions linked with uneven regulation and supervision across sectors and countries. The objectives of the Capital Markets Union should serve as a backbone to the regulatory efforts made at the European level. Before adopting new pieces of legislation, it is of utmost importance to thoroughly examine their impact.
As Rabbie Burns wrote, “O wad some Pow’r the giftie gie us To see oursels as others see us!”  1  BIS Review 111/1999  The real test of the MPC is whether it aims continuously to meet the inflation target. For that reason, the Monetary Policy Committee must be setting a policy for all seasons. Some of you may say that it is all very well to set a policy for all seasons, but what about a policy for all regions, or parts of the UK? Many critics disapproved of the recent increase in interest rates. Indeed, the Scottish Council Development and Industry (SCDI) itself described the decision as “disappointing”. It also described the rise as “premature”; we would describe it as pre-emptive: prompt action to head off inflationary pressures in the future and so lower the level at which interest rates might otherwise need to be set. The SCDI said that “Scottish business is regaining confidence after a tough period, but this announcement [of a rate rise] will dent that confidence”. Yes, it has been tough – indeed remains tough – for some industries, especially agriculture, tourism and parts of manufacturing. But there has not been an overall recession. GDP growth in the UK, over the previous twelve months, reached a trough of 1.3% in the first quarter of this year, and has been rising since then.

Within six decades, our economy moved from being a commodity-dependent nation to one that is successfully transformed. We subsequently elevated ourselves to where we are today, an economy that is open, diversified and competitive. This is only possible because of continuous investments in infrastructure over many decades. Rationalising tax incentives to be in line with international practices On the global regulatory front, as we had witnessed, the unfolding of the global financial crisis revealed the significant vulnerability of international financial markets to market dislocations. Calls for greater regulatory harmonisation and the adoption of international best practices have gathered speed, blurring the distinction between onshore and offshore regulatory requirements. Offshore financial centres which remain mired in the old model and thinking are set to become part of a sunset industry. There have also been significant advancements with respect to international taxation practices. Authorities are now more proactive in seeking to mitigate the distortionary effects of harmful tax competition on the allocation of resources and its negative implications on national tax bases. Malaysia, until early this year, has been an observer of the OECD’s Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion Profit Shifting (BEPS). Since January 2017, we have agreed to become a participating member in the Inclusive Framework. This will allow Malaysia to participate in the BEPS related work on equal footing with other OECD and G20 countries. We will also be able to provide direct inputs to shape the content of the BEPS related standards.