samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
In the aggregate figure for Swiss goods exports, the price per kilo of Rolex can be found alongside the price per kilo of Tamiflu or per kilo of a regional train. This makes an international comparison problematic. Thus, in addition to using unit values for aggregate exports, I will also include unit values for individual sectors. Unsurprisingly, there are major differences between the sectoral unit values for Switzerland. Last year, watch exports had the highest unit value, at around EUR 7,000 per kilo. This was followed – by quite a considerable margin – by pharmaceuticals, at roughly EUR 320 per kilo. Exports of precision instruments were also somewhat above-average, at around EUR 150 per kilo. 15 Where does Switzerland stand by international standards? Compared with many other European countries, the unit value of Swiss goods exports is very high. The only other country with a similarly high unit value for its exports is Ireland. 16 When looking across sectors, it is evident that a considerable part of Switzerland’s quality advantage can be attributed to watch exports. Averaged over the last ten years, their unit value was almost 40 times higher than in the EU (cf. chart 3). But there are also several other sectors where Switzerland has a higher unit value than the EU, for example precision instruments. This is a sector where Switzerland also has a comparative advantage; partly due to historical factors, but also to continuous innovation.

Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell: Going the extra mile to be ready for SEPA Speech by Ms Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, at the 10th Euro Finance Week-SEPA Summit: “Ready for SEPA?”, Frankfurt am Main, 19 November 2007. *  *  *  Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a great honour for me to open this conference, the SEPA Summit, which is organised for the second time in Frankfurt as part of the Euro Finance Week. Special attention in this year’s Euro Finance Week is given to the integration of European financial markets in a common regulatory framework. Indeed, the title of this Week “European Finance and Insurance between Regulation and Innovation” is directly related to the SEPA project as SEPA is all about harmonisation, modernisation and innovation. It is also a great pleasure to welcome you to Frankfurt, the city of the euro. Frankfurt is often characterised as the smallest metropolis in the world, in which there is a lot to discover at close hand. Indeed, Frankfurt is a European meeting place and an intersection for trade and finance. A perhaps lesser-known fact is that Frankfurt is also an important intersection for telecommunication and internet providers, as major data networks cross here. Indeed, 90% of German and 35% of European internet traffic is channelled through Frankfurt. We are, therefore, at the right location to discuss SEPA and the development of the European payment markets in the years to come.
From the perspective of the public authorities, concerns have been expressed in particular about the lack of transparency on the identity of the ultimate risk holders and about adequate risk management by the institutions dealing with these instruments. In particular, financial innovations may be subject to problems when their behaviour has not yet been tested in difficult market conditions. As for any new instruments, probability analysis on the basis of historical data cannot be used for the credit risk transfer instruments that have been around for a few years only, and, thus, an accurate pricing of risk is not always possible. Inadequate data was already a problem in the use of Value-at-Risk models for risk management purposes by hedge funds prior to the Russian and LTCM crises. This kind of experience could reflect a lack of full understanding by market participants of the nature of the risks they face. Turning back to the credit risk transfer instruments, these instruments allow banks to sell their credit risks, and in so doing the risk profiles of other financial institutions, particularly insurance companies, are also transformed. Hence, a major outcome of the financial innovation process is the transformation of the traditional risks faced by financial institutions. These developments also affect the effective supervision of financial institutions, as it is increasingly more difficult to obtain adequate information to monitor the complex and possibly fast-changing risk positions. The financial innovation process has, indeed, necessitated the revision of the traditional supervisory approach concerning banks and other financial institutions.

When thinking about the major challenges for maintaining financial stability I find it useful to first look at the notion of how the “real world” deviates from the “frictionless” ideal world of academic textbooks. In order to organise my reasoning, this can serve as a useful starting point, since in the ideal world there is no such thing as financial instability. Indeed, most of the concerns over financial stability actually stem from the fact that our “real world” financial markets have frictions or - in other words market imperfections. A fundamental friction is that financial market participants very often have imperfect information. When information is not perfect - or when markets are not fully transparent - investors’ decisions may be constantly subject to reassessment, which can lead to inevitable volatility in market prices. This does not necessarily mean that there is an inherent threat to financial stability. On the contrary, the very existence of some level of volatility indicates that markets are serving the function they are supposed to deliver - that they are an efficient exchange mechanism among economic agents. Nevertheless, some recent episodes of extreme volatility have drawn our attention to more accurately delineating the boundary between “normal” and what could be called “harmful” volatility. The second source of friction is that we also fall short of the ideal of having complete markets.
In 2017, the Thai economy recovered markedly and achieved an annual GDP growth of 3.9 percent. Merchandise exports grew 9.7 percent in USD terms, highest in the past 6 years, and was one of the main drivers of growth. The tourism sector continued to perform well, with the number of tourists reaching new highs of over 35 million. The economy is expected to continue a strong momentum this year, with GDP growth in 1/10  the first quarter registering an impressive rate of 4.8 % year on year, the highest in 5 years, with private investment growth recording a 3-year high. Nevertheless, this recent economic upturn is different from the other episodes. Indeed, the GDP outturn and macroeconomic numbers showed strong improvements over the previous years, but a closer look revealed that growth was uneven across different segments of the economy. At the same time indicators such as the unemployment rate and NPL ratios were rising slightly between 2015 and 2017. This is contrary to what you would expect to see when the macroeconomy performs better. Although both unemployment rate and NPL ratios have recently stabilized, their developments reveal that some segments of the economy did not benefit much from the economic recovery. In my view, there are at least three reasons behind these developments. First, the recovery has primarily been driven by external demand. Hence growth benefits are felt mostly by those associated with the external sectors.

In view of the prevailing dynamic and often volatile financial environment, this development is important to meet the differentiated demands of investors for a broader range of financial products at more competitive prices and through more efficient and convenient channels. The listing of the Exchange Traded Fund on Bursa Malaysia will also raise awareness and generate interest of domestic and international investors in our bond market, thus contributing towards the development of a deeper and broader bond market in Malaysia. The launch of the Malaysian Bond Exchange Traded Fund would not have been possible without the close cooperation and support of many parties. In particular, I would like to thank the Securities Commission, Bursa Malaysia, the Association of Stock Broking Companies in Malaysia, AmInvest, the fund manager and the market makers for their contributions and commitment in working with the Central Bank to make the listing of the ABF Malaysian Bond Index Fund a reality. The remarkable and strong partnership between the regulators and the industry has been important in resolving significant regulatory as well as operational challenges in order to make the listing of the ABF Malaysian Bond Index Fund possible. Indeed, it represents a strategic cooperation that contributes to improve the overall growth of the financial market. 1/2  I would also like to thank AmMerchant Bank, CIMB and Maybank for their participation as the participating dealers. I also wish AmInvest, the fund manager, every success in managing and promoting the Fund. 2/2
Institutional structure that is determined by the legal and administrative framework is the first pillar of competitiveness. The ability to execute financial transactions efficiently, with  2  BIS Review 117/2009  sufficient certainty and enforceability, and a clear process for resolving ambiguities and possible breaches of the contract will enhance competitiveness, both at the institutional level as well as for the financial system as a whole. In Malaysia, Islamic finance disputes are adjudicated in civil courts and not the Shariah courts where the jurisdiction is limited to matters relating to Muslim individuals. If the dispute concerns a point on the ascertainment of Shariah, the courts and arbitrators are required to refer to the Shariah Council at Bank Negara Malaysia to facilitate the ruling. The Shariah Council’s authority is the ultimate body responsible for Shariah in banking and financial matters that is within the purview of Bank Negara Malaysia. This referral system provides an enabling platform for preserving consistency and predictability in interpretation and application of Shariah principles for financial transaction in Malaysia. Concluding remarks Allow me to now conclude my remarks. The inherent strengths of Islamic finance amid the global financial crisis has heightened interest in Islamic finance across the world. The level of innovation, scale and complexity of Islamic financial transactions is also increasing at a tremendous pace. Going forward, it is envisaged that the legal services in Islamic finance will become even more significant in the continued advancement and efficiency of Islamic finance.

Islamic securities has also maintained its dominance in the Malaysian bond market, accounting for 58% of total bond market. And almost two thirds of the equity market comprises Shariah compliant securities. Growth has also been experienced in the takaful sector in which the funds asset has registered an increase by 8.2%. This recent decade has also seen the increase in number of Islamic financial institutions including full-fledged Islamic banks, development financial institutions that engage in Islamic banking, takaful, re-takaful and capital market intermediaries. Several of these players have strategic partnerships with foreign players. In April this year, as part of the liberalization initiatives announced, new mega Islamic banking licenses and up to two family takaful licenses will be issued this year. On the global front, Islamic financial assets are projected to grow to USD1.6 trillion by 2012 while the global sukuk outstanding valued to date at approximately USD152.8 billion. In the third series of this seminar in 2007, the vital role of a strong legal and Shariah framework in the sustainable development of Islamic finance was extensively discussed. It is key to providing certainty and predictability to financial transactions. The current international financial crisis has demonstrated the importance of recognizing that the rapid transformation of the functioning of the international financial system had to be accompanied by the need to ensure that regulatory and legal framework was aligned with these developments.
Of course, the Board has to be duly informed, and some of their members should have the necessary expertise to assess these risks. Needless to say, it is not only banks that need to “catch up”; we are also working at the Banco de España to adapt to this reality. I believe it is fair to acknowledge that this is all very new for everyone in the banking sector, including certainly Central Banks and Supervisors. What are we doing? Firstly, we have created an internal function entrusted with assessing the impact we as an institution have on the environment. The aim is to identify and coordinate the necessary measures to reduce that impact. Secondly, as a macroprudential supervisor, we clearly need to be able to assess and quantify the risks that the transition towards a more sustainable economy poses, both for individual banks and the financial sector as a whole. We must be able to perform stress tests for the financial system overall and define scenarios to be applied by banks individually. 4/5  Accordingly, we are designing internal governance structures and methodologies, actively participating in the cultural shift in the SSM supervisory model. Naturally, we are also evaluating the information and data requirements needed to address this challenge. Thirdly, as investors in the debt markets, we are working to include environmental risk assessment in our credit analysis. A fourth key element is our responsibility as supervisors. We must foster the implementation of these changes in the financial sector. We cannot wait for change to occur.

The same may be said about the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, (TCFD). This Task Force, formed by 31 members entirely from the industry, was created in December 2015 at the request of the FSB to develop voluntary, consistent climate-related financial risk disclosures for use by companies in providing information to investors, lenders, insurers and other stakeholders. These disclosure standards are increasingly used by companies around the world. The emergence of the so-called “green bonds” is another case in point. These bonds were not created in response to any official initiative; indeedthe market is based entirely on private standards, such as the Green Bond Principles (GBP) issued by the ICMA in 2014. Obviously, the green bond market has grown following the demand from private investors willing to “put their money where their mouth is”. In this regard investors, corporates and clients demand information on the impact of business activities on the environment. This is why it is so important that we have in the EU finally agreed on this common taxonomy which, hopefully, after being endorsed by the European Parliament, should allow for a more comprehensive assessment of risks and enhanced transparency. In sum, the fight against climate change is clearly not solely a publicly driven initiative. It is no longer the official sector preaching to the rest of the society but rather a joint effort by all stakeholders: Governments, Central Banks, Supervisors and Official Institutions, along with Corporates, Financial Institutions and, ultimately, all individuals.
How these decisions materialise, which in the literature is known as “risk culture”, is particular to each bank and the responsibility of each one. Supervisors observe and assess but, ultimately, this is one of the idiosyncratic aspects of banks’ DNA. In short, governance structures should be capable of measuring, heading off and analysing current risks and those that are arising. While there are no strong signs of any easing, for activity as a whole, in lending conditions and of aggressive pricing that might suggest that risk is not sufficiently reflected, banks must be careful to retain a suitable profitability/risk trade-off that is sustainable over the cycle in all business segments. An individualised reflection, adapted to the characteristics of each institution. I shall conclude with a brief but nevertheless important reference. In addition to being comprehensive and strategic, reflection on the business model should also be individualised, i.e. adapted to the idiosyncratic characteristics of each institution. Indeed, the findings of the SSM thematic review of profitability and business models show that there is no one single approach and that, even among those banks with better profitability results, there are differences in strategies. Some pursue strategies geared to obtaining high income, which counter relatively high costs. Others place an emphasis on low costs that are compatible with relatively low income. And others strike a balance between a medium income-generating capacity and medium or low-level costs.

Starting with the history of money to the production of euro banknotes and on to the security features and the educational games in the Kids’ Corner, all visitors will definitely find useful information displayed in an attractive manner. For the NBR, the Euro Exhibition is yet another opportunity to strengthen our external communication activities, to get closer to the public at large and to open the doors of our institution in a special context: consolidating the steps towards full integration in Europe. Let me end by thanking all of you here today. I now give the floor to Mr. José Manuel González-Páramo to share with us his thoughts about the exhibition. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches
Moreover, if banks and fintechs did not both know how to innovate, and often innovate together, bigtechs would ultimately reap the rewards. Furthermore, we take very seriously the commitments we made to you last year: we have therefore worked with you this year on the deadlines and visibility of the stages in the authorisation process of fintechs. In this context, I am pleased to announce that a Fintech Charter will be adopted and published before the end of the year. This charter will clearly explain, in great detail, the stages in this authorisation process, from their first contact with the ACPR to their obtaining the required authorisation or registration. It will contain specific commitments on the part of the ACPR, firstly in terms of the visibility of the process: the appointment of a dedicated analyst, an indication of the additional information to be provided, and an authorisation certificate to facilitate procedures with investors. Secondly, in terms of deadlines: at each stage of the process, acknowledgement of receipt will be provided within two days and a response will be given on the content of the request within two weeks. The charter will also clarify our requirements regarding authorisation applications so that they can be prepared as well as possible. In order to help entrepreneurs navigate the regulations, a set of guides and Q&As will be posted on our website: these Q&As have been devised with representatives of the ecosystem to answer the regulatory questions that fintechs most frequently ask. III.

Facilitating the integration of fintechs into the regulatory framework As regards the fostering of innovation, I would first like to recall a founding principle. As supervisors, we need to promote a regulatory framework that is innovation-friendly, but technology-neutral, in order to encourage the appropriate and uniform treatment of risks: the same activity, same risk, same rule principle. Last year, I drew a parallel with the invention of the railway, which was a major innovation in the 19th century but not devoid of risks. Our role is to prevent the train from going off the tracks and to ensure that passengers are happy to get on board without being afraid. In other words, we need to promote innovation but also confidence in 1/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  innovation. At the European level, the balance between innovation and security is embodied in the first draft texts of the digital finance package, presented by the European Commission in September 2020. The draft Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) constitutes a first step forward. I would like to stress two key points: it must be adopted quickly, and it must be consolidated. Indeed, technology is advancing rapidly, and decentralised finance, which is an even more crucial area than in September 2020, must be taken into account to avoid leaving any blind spots or allowing alternative circuits to develop without regulation. The draft DORA Act focuses on the key issue of operational resilience, which is vital, notably to address cyber risk.
In its deseasonalized series, non-mining GDP fell by 0.8% from the previous quarter, its second consecutive quarterly decline. The performance of trade, which fell 2.8% in the quarter, stands out in this result. Entrepreneurial services were the exception, rising 1.1% in the period. With this, it continues with the growing trend that it has been showing for several quarters, explained by the outsourcing of activities. The October Imacec confirmed the downward trend of non-mining activity, with a seasonally adjusted 0.4% decline month-on-month (figure 5). On the demand side, in the third quarter, gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) performed significantly better than expected. This result was driven by investment in renewable energies and other particular sectors. The latter included the impact of engineering works associated with the terminal phases of mining projects and one-off factors such as bus imports. In any case, the outlook for investment remains weak. The latest survey by the Capital Goods Corporation points to declining investment amounts during the 2022-2025 period. At the same time, business expectations remain pessimistic. The slow dynamism of the housing sector also stands out. However, long-term interest rates and local uncertainty levels have fallen in recent months, which could be of some help for the future path of investment (figure 6). Private consumption continued to adjust in the third quarter. It is worth noting the new drop in durable goods, whose deseasonalized series fell 3.8% with respect to the previous quarter.

In a context of more contractionary monetary policies in the developed world, the prospects for world growth have fallen again. The central scenario foresees that the U.S. and the Eurozone will enter a recession in 2023. Our trading partners will thus grow 2.1% next year (2.6% in September). Commodity prices are still expected to take a downward path from their current levels. Copper will trade at average prices of $ and 3.45 in the next two years, while oil will trade around $ in the same period (figure 14). 6  Monetary policy At our monetary policy meeting yesterday, we decided to keep the benchmark rate flat at 11.25%. We also communicated that the policy rate will remain unchanged until the state of the macroeconomy gives signs that the process of inflation convergence to the 3% has been consolidated. Monetary policy has made a significant adjustment and is favoring the resolution of the imbalances still present in our economy. Nonetheless, inflation is still very high and its convergence to the target is still subject to risks. Regarding future movements of the MPR, the boundaries of the MPR corridor that we present in this Report reflect some scenarios where the pace of the process of inflationary convergence gives way to either earlier or later adjustments of the rate compared with the assumptions in the central scenario. One important factor is the assessment of inflationary persistence, which owes to either the magnitude and sign of new inflationary surprises, or to the degree of adjustment of expectations.