samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
This approach was consciously at odds with that adopted for TAURUS, which had tried to be all things to all people 7. But it also focused minds in the industry, forcing them to make difficult tradeoffs, and creating a clear incentive to market providers to produce “add ons” for extra user functions. The project team itself projected a similarly minimalist, open approach in its work – building on their own past experience of having developed the Bank’s system for dematerialised settlement of gilts (the “Central Gilts Office”), involving a full range of disciplines (including policy, IT and legal) in all outreach and design meetings, and embracing a robust attitude to analysis and self-criticism, perhaps best summed up in their T-shirt logo “Purist and Bloody-Minded”. Not everything went to plan. Some early project management structures were found wanting. PWC’s audit of the project in Spring 1994 identified what might be euphemistically termed “a range of unfinished business”, but allowed the project to go forward. And the early months of operation after that launch day in July 1996 faced technological challenges and setbacks. But it is remarkable to think that this basic approach delivered a system that, at its core, remains with us twenty years later. How has the Bank applied the lessons from the building of CREST to the strategic renewal of RTGS?

Unsurprisingly, a fifth of all trades failed to settle on time. If the case for change was clear, so too was the common purpose shown by the public authorities. As Pen Kent, the Bank’s Executive Director in charge of CREST said at the time, “TAURUS gave the Bank the legitimacy to step in and get on with the job: it needed a market failure to get everyone pointed in the right direction.” The Bank of England, called upon privately to act by the Chairman of the Stock Exchange, had two main goals: first, to reduce the material risks to financial stability posed by such an extended and uncertain settlement process; and, second, to ensure the UK had an efficient and internationally competitive market infrastructure. There is no doubt that the second of these goals weighed particularly heavily with the Bank’s Governors of the day. Not everyone agreed that the Bank should become closely involved, worrying that it could be a costly and reputationally risky distraction from the post-ERM project of repositioning the Bank as an organisation capable of taking on independent responsibility for setting monetary policy for the country as a whole. But the majority view won out, bolstered by the active support of the UK Government, notably HM Treasury, which took responsibility for ensuring that the complex and extensive legislative changes required were delivered in a timely and effective way.
The second piece examines the high child poverty rate in Puerto Rico and its impact on the long-term economic sustainability of the island and its ability to recover from Hurricane Maria. The island’s child poverty rate is almost three times higher than that of mainland, and has remained stagnant even during times of economic growth, suggesting the issue is not just rooted in labor demand. This chapter discusses the dual programmatic and policy strategy of the Boys and Girls Club of Puerto Rico and its sister organization the Youth Development Institute. Before I conclude my remarks, I would like to provide a quick overview of today’s sessions. First, my colleague Patrick Harker, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, will discuss key shifts in perspective needed to see workforce development as an investment. Then there will be three panel sessions, each dedicated to the overarching focus of a volume in the publication – investing in workers, investing in work, and investing in systems. The day will then end with a luncheon panel discussion where speakers from various sectors will discuss what needs to happen to realize the goal of seeing workforce development as an investment in inclusive economic growth that benefits workers, employers, and communities. I am thrilled that we can bring together national and regional leaders representing the private, public, and nonprofit sectors to engage in a dialogue that can inform workforce development programming across the country and learn from one another about the opportunities for investing in America’s workforce.

The typical community college engages with more than 100 employers, spanning a broad range of industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, utilities, and tourism, just to name a few. It is also quite common for community colleges to actively assess local labor market needs, often with the help of local employers. As part of these engagement efforts, employers provide a wide range of education and training support to community colleges, offer various forms of work experience, and help students prepare for the job market. Employer engagement is a promising and important undertaking for community colleges, local employers, students, and workers. Investing in America’s Workforce These are just a few examples of the work being done across the Federal Reserve System and beyond, which is one of the reasons we have come together under the Investing in America’s Workforce umbrella. This initiative started in 2017 as a way to identify new approaches, opportunities, and challenges in the various areas of workforce development. Led by the Federal Reserve System alongside other educational and nonprofit institutions, Investing in America’s 2/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  Workforce has encompassed 52 regional meetings held across the country last year, a capstone conference held in Austin, TX last October, and a three-volume book highlighting workforce development efforts as investments for economic and community growth, which the Fed and our partners are releasing today.
These spreads narrowed continuously from mid1995 onwards and their volatility was also noticeably reduced during this period. Factors contributing to this favourable pattern included increased convergence towards low rates of inflation across the euro area during Stage Two, the gradual reduction and finally the disappearance of exchange rate risks, the commitment of governments towards improving the sustainability of public finances, and the increase in the depth and liquidity of government bond markets. As I have already said on a previous occasion, I believe that the interest rate markets of the euro area will increasingly provide an accurate reflection of the differences in credit quality between various issuers as well as differences in liquidity between bonds, while divergences purely related to the location of market participants within the euro area will become less and less relevant. It seems highly likely that the capital markets of the euro area will become even deeper and more liquid over time, and hence more efficient. The number of market participants is likely to increase as the cost of financial market transactions is lowered, and the sophistication of position-taking activities is likely to increase further as market participants equip themselves with more refined methods of adjusting their portfolio exposures. One particular area of the capital market in which the markets in euro area countries have traditionally been a lot less active than in the United States is the corporate bond and commercial paper market.

Since the financial crisis and subsequent recession, another factor likely to have contributed to depressing yields is the sharp decline in investment, prompted by the deterioration in the outlook and heightened uncertainty. To date the recovery has been painfully slow, with negligible growth in the United Kingdom over the past year and a half. And though there is some variation in the pace of recovery across countries, in general growth has been weaker than after a normal cyclical downturn. In part that reflects the fact that recoveries after financial crises tend to be weaker and more drawn out as balance sheets are repaired, but also it probably reflects the exceptional uncertainty in the aftermath of the financial crisis. It is consequently hard to know when the animal spirits of businesses, and with it the propensity to invest, are likely to revive. Certainly the impact of QE on yields should ultimately reverse when the economic environment improves and we start to sell the gilts back to the market in order to withdraw the present exceptional monetary stimulus. Unfortunately, with the present heightened uncertainty associated with the problems in the euro area, the likely future date for us to commence selling gilts has receded somewhat. And if conditions do deteriorate significantly, we may need to re-start the programme of purchases. Indeed, as the minutes released earlier today reveal, the decision at our May meeting not to extend the programme was already quite finely balanced.
Instead of defending a fixed exchange rate, the task of monetary policy would be to keep inflation low and stable. In January 1993, the Riksbank announced that an inflation target of 2 per cent would enter into force as of 1 January 1995. Gradually, the new order was confirmed through changes in the monetary policy framework. The price stability target was written into the law in 1999 and monetary policy decisions were delegated to an independent Executive Board. The Riksbank is therefore now in a much better position to take forceful action to counteract high inflation. Another facilitating factor is, of course, that  5 [15]  the period of inflation targeting has meant that long-term inflation expectations are initially much better anchored than they were in the 1970s and 1980s. Fiscal policy, for its part, would focus considerably more than before on keeping public finances in good condition so as to maintain market confidence. The budget process was changed so that it would be easier to gain control over expenditure developments, while public net lending would, on average, be positive through the so-called surplus target. These changes have meant that fiscal policy no longer contributes in itself to persistently high inflation, as was the case in the 1970s and 1980s. Swedish wage formation was also changed and now works in a completely different way than in the 1970s and 1980s.

The second factor is the process of integration of the economies of Hong Kong and southern China. This is something which is generally welcomed in the broader context, but it may put downward pressure on Hong Kong prices in certain sectors. The third is the peg which, against the global background mentioned above, has been forcing some downward adjustment of our costs and prices. The fourth factor is peculiar to the property market, namely the excesses of the property market cycle which drove prices to such peaks some five years ago, from which it was almost inevitable that there would be some correction. Attitudes to falling prices are, understandably, ambivalent. Other things being equal, consumers, especially those on fixed incomes, generally prefer falling to rising prices. Even some people who have had to suffer small cuts in pay may still be better off than previously; after all, the prices which they face, as measured by Hong Kong's consumer price index, are currently some 14% below their peak. Meanwhile, those involved in marketing Hong Kong as a business location are eager to publicise the lower costs. And prospective first-time entrants to the property market are happy. But for producers who see continuing declines in the likely prices at which they can sell their output, for wholesalers and retailers whose margins are being squeezed, for home-owners sitting on negative equity, or for financial institutions worried about the solvency of customers as a result of any of these developments, the process of deflation is not particularly welcome.
Keeping interest rates at restrictive levels will over time reduce inflation and will guard against the risk of inflation expectations becoming de-anchored, which, if it happens, it would be a very costly outcome for the euro area economies and for both businesses and households. At the same time, fiscal support measures to shield the economy from the impact of high energy prices should be temporary, targeted and tailored to the vulnerable in order to avoid boosting inflationary pressures. In particular, as the energy crisis becomes less acute, it is important to start converting these broad measures to targeted ones and in a concerted manner. Any fiscal expansion falling short of these principles is likely to increase medium-term inflationary pressures, which would necessitate a stronger monetary policy response through higher interest rates. Euro area projections The euro aoof the rea latest available projections of December 2022, show that the annual average real GDP growth is anticipated to slow down significantly from 3.5% in 2022 to 0.5% this year, before rebounding to 1.9% in 2024 and 1.8% in 2025. Average annual inflation is expected to fall, from an average of 8.4% last year to 6.3% this year, with inflation projected to fall from 10% in the last quarter of 2022 to 3.6% in the last quarter of 2023. Headline Inflation is then expected to fall to an average of 3.4% in 2024 and 2.3% in 2025.

This thinking process has culminated in a strategy that we call Fintech 2025, which I am pleased to share with you here. . All Banks go fintech 14. The first part of our fintech strategy is called “all banks go fintech”. In short, we want banks to go “all in” with fintech, and fully digitalise their operations, from front-end to back-end. 15. The future is full of uncertainties. This is something we have all witnessed first-hand over the past two years with the pandemic. Challenges and interruptions to day-to-day activities, including banking activities, can happen unannounced. The only thing certain and that has been a constant throughout these ups and downs is digitalisation. 16. Indeed, the banking industry also recognises the value of digitalisation. At least we like to think this is why banks have so positively embraced the HKMA’s fintech drive so far - rather than due to any regulatory pressure! Jokes aside, I trust the figures I quoted earlier are proof that the earlier Smart Banking initiatives have laid a strong foundation for our banks to take this next step in their fintech journey. 17. The HKMA is keen to support banks during this process. Under the Fintech 2025 strategy, we will be rolling out a Tech Baseline Assessment to help the HKMA identify those areas that we may be able to offer support. As part of this exercise, we will be inviting banks to submit a Three Year Plan for technology adoption within Q4 2021.
Coming to an innovative, cooperative and reciprocal agreement on central clearing would promote competitive financing in the euro area and maintain the resilience of the UK and global financial systems. More fundamentally, it would be an early milestone in the broader rebalancing of the UK, European and global economies. And it would produce far superior outcomes to other elements of the Commission’s proposals, which would fragment global clearing activity and raise costs and risks. V. Conclusion My Lord Mayor, this building, with all its majesty and history and this topic, central clearing of derivatives; could not appear farther from the concerns of people in this country. But they are much more closely related than they appear. A decade of radical financial reform was not an end in itself, but rather a means to serve households and businesses better. We must ensure that the real economy reaps its full benefits, including through freer trade in services and more resilient financing of the investment needed to boost wages of workers in all industries across the UK. One million people across this country work in financial services. The industry contributes 7% of output and pays taxes that cover almost two thirds of the cost of the NHS. At a time when the UK is running a 5% current account deficit, financial services runs a 1.5% trade surplus with Europe alone. The entire service sector runs a 5% surplus with the world and employs 85% of UK workers. We could take these realities for granted.

In the longer run, that increase in productivity would be expected to flow through fully into real wages. By contrast, the peak to trough fall in real wages following the crisis was in the region of 10%. 14  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/speeches  14
No risk assessment is ever really complete and it is essential for all of us to keep up with what is going on to ensure that we are employing our resources as effectively and efficiently as possible, while achieving the dual objectives of risk-based AML/CFT efforts as well as ensuring legitimate customers have access to services. 23. So those are the three issues that I would like to highlight and which would be explored in the various sessions of this Conference. All in all, I would emphasise that the global AML landscape is an evolving one - geopolitical developments will continue to affect sanctions risks, criminals will come up with new ways of stealing money and of hiding and moving those money. Technology can hinder or help us in our AML efforts, and I have to say that although we are already doing a lot, we are far from having the perfect solution. The challenge that we face collectively, in the region, is to develop responses to existing and new risks that: Are agile and adaptable, while providing a framework of principles and rules that that we can all agree to and follow; Recognise innovation and make the best use of technology; and perhaps more importantly Challenge our established ways of meeting some expectations, and ensure the response always relates to effectiveness. 24. I note that you have a very full agenda the coming days covering these and other topics.

The second issue I would like to highlight is a emerging focus internationally on the sharing of information between the public and private sectors, which I believe offers great potential in enhancing the effectiveness of our AML efforts. Increasingly, law enforcement agencies, regulators and the financial sector are cooperating in ways that go beyond the filing of STRs and assistance with investigations although these, of course, remain essential. The focus is now more on two-way sharing of information on trends and typologies. 20. In Hong Kong, the Fraud and Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce, led by the Police and with participation by the HKMA and the banking sector, was established as a pilot scheme in 2017. This is a public-private platform along similar lines to initiatives overseas, notably in Australia and Singapore, and while it is at an early stage, it has already shown concrete results, not least in the freezing or restraint of some $ million as well as 71 arrests over a 10-month period. I believe that this kind of cooperation shows real promise for sustainable 3/4  BIS central bankers' speeches  enhancement to the effectiveness of our framework, and the HKMA strongly supports its continuation and development. 21. The third issue is that we all need to keep under constant review whether we are getting the risk-based approach right. To implement AML efforts using an approach based on risk is the cornerstone of the FATF Recommendations. No one – neither institutions nor regulators – can be watching all risk areas all the time.
Therefore, you cannot set a limit and say that if we exceed that level, then the situation is very bad. Generally, when economic growth is slower there is a room for fiscal stimulus and higher deficit, and when economic growth is faster, there is no need for fiscal stimulus and the deficit should be minimized. Isn’t the Maastricht criterion that level? The Maastricht criterion of three percent for the budget deficit is set as a criterion in the euro area. It does not mean that Macedonia should meet that level. Perhaps in periods when fiscal stimulus is needed. In the next period for Macedonia, perhaps the level of budget deficit, which would stabilize the public debt, is even lower. BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  What is the limit that the government debt must not exceed? There is more room for the government, but that room will slowly be used up. Therefore fiscal consolidation should start to be considered, in order to avoid a situation of starting with the fiscal consolidation after this room is used up. As for the external borrowing, we will have it for a long period. And that is good, because even when we repay old liabilities, it is good to have a new loan that would compensate for that. It is not good to make repayment of the external liabilities overnight, and not to have a new inflow. Then the funds will have to be provided from home, which will adversely affect both the credit and the economic growth.

After we have determined this, then it is better for a small and open economy, such as the Macedonian, it to be fixed. Why? Because if we have a floating exchange rate, we will have higher inflation and higher interest rates for the real sector. So, I cannot understand those who stand for a floating exchange rate, though they are a minority, because the vast majority already agrees that the current exchange rate regime best suited our economy. And those who are most vocal about the floating exchange rate, are the same ones who claim that current interest rates are high. Well, then they would be even higher. Therefore, I do not see what would be the benefit, how it will contribute to higher growth. There are opinions that it is easier to be Governor of a fixed rate, that it requires less managing of the monetary policy. Is that so? It is true. It is easier to manage a fixed exchange rate than a floating one. However, regarding the advantage of a fixed exchange rate for the economy I would point out the experience of Serbia. Serbia has a floating exchange rate and since 2008 the exchange rate has depreciated some 50 percent. During the entire period, however, Serbia has had an inflation of over 10 percent, and the interest rates for the real sector have constantly been around 14 to 15 percent. Therefore, lately, the Serbian Central Bank stabilized the exchange rate, too.