samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
Products that we should see more of are, for example, basic savings account with no minimum balance to cater for the low-income group, low-fee payment and transfer services, micro insurance for farmers, and increased information-based lending to small businesses complementing to collateral-based lending. 5  Despite the high level of access to finance in Thailand relative to other emerging Asian countries, the Bank of Thailand regards financial inclusion as one of our top priorities. In collaboration with both banks and non-banks, we have continually put our efforts to promote financial access in many areas. They include, for instance, SMEs’ credit guarantee scheme, free-of-charge fund transfer through our new faster payment system for any amount up to 5,000 Thai Baht (approximately equivalent to 145 US dollar), no-fee bank savings account, nano finance to accommodate small borrowers, as well as the new Business Securities Act to widen the scope of eligible collateral for secured lending. In addition, we will soon launch an unsecured debt restructuring scheme for individual borrowers with multi-creditors to address the household debt overhang. To ensure a “good quality” financial inclusion, financial literacy and financial technology literacy are crucial life skills for both households and small businesses. Effective financial literacy would help increased consumers’ financial discipline and understandings of financial products and their risks. Thus, deepening such basic knowledge and turning concepts into changing behaviour would be particularly helpful to shelter vulnerable businesses and households from getting themselves into over indebtedness or stuck with unsuitable financial contracts.

Transitional measures do not distort the solvency reality: they are designed to ensure a smooth transition to the new regime, avoiding disruptions in the market and allowing a certain period for companies to fully recognise the impact on old books of contracts that have been underwritten in a different regulatory framework’’. 2 I agree. For the benefit of investors, let me be crystal clear: when we consider whether or not firms are in a position to pay dividends, one of the main quantitative yardsticks we will use is capital levels after the benefit of transitionals. Now, investors taking a close interest may be concerned about the capital strain firms using the TDTP may face as the transitional benefit unwinds over 16 years. They are right to have an eye to that, but I would like to point out that there will be some off-setting benefit in the form of the release of the risk margin as the back book rolls off – it will be up to firms to set out this picture for analysts and investors, but it is the net adjustment we should be focussed on. For transitional measures to achieve their purpose there needs to be a shared understanding on some of the important practical details about how they will operate.
It is now accepted that the advent of the internet coupled with the emergence of mobile phones have greatly enriched the banking experience whilst simultaneously serving as the core technologies assisting Africans and most of the developed world to start accessing financial services. Mr. Chairman, I am extremely proud that this mobile banking and mobile payments revolution that has changed the face of banking forever was started right here in Lusaka, Zambia by Celpay Zambia, who on April 24, 2002 made the very first mobile payment and in doing so ignited a banking revolution that is bringing affordable, accessible payments and banking services to previously financially excluded societies and families. I would like to congratulate Celpay on this momentous achievement and on their 10th Anniversary. I trust that as you go through your deliberations over the next two days, this pioneering spirit will be enthused into your discussions and debates and you will chart the way forward for the next decade so that more banking services can be delivered through this innovative channel to even more people. Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to take a moment to dwell on the global environment. Since 2008 the world has gone through an unprecedented financial crisis, which led to the collapse of some major global financial institutions and also resulted in some countries requiring significant amounts of debt to bail them out of the crisis. This environment has ameliorated somewhat, but continues to simmer in the Eurozone, where Greece, notably, has gone through some major difficulties.

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.
If governments wish, for political or humanitarian reasons, to ease further the contractual debt burden of an indebted country, this should be carried forward as a conscious and transparent policy decision, which would surely involve usage of taxpayers' money unless it was reliant on coercion of banks. In practice, there are many developing countries which are effectively cut off from commercial bank finance because of a track record of default, political instability, economic mismanagement, corruption and so on. Banks generally need certain minimum assurances, relating to the political climate, the legal system, transparency, corporate governance, etc, over and above the narrower assessment of the servicing capacity of the borrower. Fortunately, most economies in the APEC fold can be classified as open for bank finance. But there are many other countries in the world which are passed over by the international banking community because of the lack of the basic essential attributes, or because they are simply too poor to afford credit on commercial terms, in which case they become dependent on concessional finance from the international institutions as the only reasonably accessible source of external funding. Banks have to abide by prudent standards. Regulators, depositors and shareholders all expect as much. Most banks would leap at the chance to lend more to assist development, if such lending was assessed to be commercially viable.

The policy rates of many of Norway's main trading partners are now at their highest levels since the 2008 financial crisis. Chart 6: Policy rates have been raised more abroad than in Norway Since last spring, foreign interest rates have risen more than Norwegian interest rates. Combined with the turmoil in financial markets, this has likely contributed to the krone depreciation. Norges Bank is mandated by the Ministry of Finance to carry out the foreign exchange transactions necessary under the petroleum fund mechanism. In the current period, Norges Bank's krone sales reflect the sizeable foreign currency revenues earned by oil and gas companies owing to high gas prices. The companies have converted large amounts of foreign currency into NOK for tax payment purposes. Norges Bank, on behalf of the government, will convert the portion of government petroleum revenues in NOK that is not spent via the central government budget back into foreign currency, which is then deposited in the Government Pension Fund Global. The transactions are planned and smoothed over the year and are announced ahead of each month. These currency conversions are not an element of monetary policy. Chart 7: The krone has depreciated Norway has a floating exchange rate. This means that the policy rate can be set at the level appropriate for the outlook for the Norwegian economy, and we have room to practice flexible inflation targeting, which also enables monetary policy to give weight to the aim of maintaining high employment.
In 2012, these imbalances intensified further reaching levels that pose a risk to the stability of the banking sector, and hence to the Swiss economy. Here, two facts stand out. First, real estate prices in Switzerland have been persistently increasing since 2000, at accelerated speed since 2008, reaching levels estimated to be 40 to 60% higher than 12 years ago (see Figure 1).1 Second, the growth of credit volumes has been significant with the consequence that credit volumes relative to gross domestic product (GDP) have reached new historical peaks (see Figure 2a and 2b). The fact that these two developments have progressed hand in hand spells out conditions that may lead to subsequent financial instability. Indeed, historical evidence – widely documented by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS)2 – shows that such a twin development – elevated residential prices and dynamic credit growth – constitutes the prime advance indicator of financial instability. We only have to look outside our borders, to the US and various regions of Europe, or back through Switzerland’s own past to get a feel for the devastating consequences on the real economy of financial crises originating in real estate excesses. 2.  Credit: is the sky the limit? Today I would like to focus on one of the two critical elements mentioned above, the growth of credit volumes. Figure 2b easily explains the question asked in the title: is the sky the limit? The answer is just as easy.

However, the very fact that interest rates must – eventually – rise again implies that credit expansion based on low interest rates cannot be viewed as a shift to a permanent higher credit level. At higher interest rates, credit demand will decline once again. To the extent that the credit expansion was driven by miscalculations on credit affordability, this may even lead to a crisis. 3.4. Behavioral biases  The latter remark leads to a fourth potential explanation, that is, credit expansion driven by behavioral biases. As highlighted by Hyman Minsky7, the credit cycle appears to be driven by “waves of optimistic and pessimistic sentiment”8. In an upswing, expectations about future developments may turn erratically exuberant. Observing a long period of price increases, investors tend to believe that new circumstances justify the perpetuation of the upward trend and act on this belief. Overconfident lenders and borrowers are increasingly ready to take higher risks. Ever increasing prices become a necessary condition to enable borrowers to service their debts. Then the tide turns. A few investors fail to meet their obligations, confidence crumbles, asset prices stop increasing or begin to fall and optimism turns into a wave of pessimism. Clearly, credit expansion driven by such erratic beliefs is a cyclical phenomenon and no viable explanation for a sustainable increase in the credit-to-GDP ratio. As we have seen, there are various potential explanations for an increase in the credit-toGDP ratio, some suggesting a permanent, structural increase in this ratio, others hinting at a temporary, cyclical upswing.
In the same vein, we also need to monitor very closely the possible adverse impact from fiscal developments on the inflation outlook. All in all, risks to the inflation outlook seem to be tilted to the upside. This notwithstanding, inflation expectations remain firmly anchored in line with our aim of keeping inflation rates below, but close to, 2% over the medium term. Let me turn to the banking sector. Adjustments are continuing in light of a re-focusing on core business and markets, the necessary re-organisation arising from state aid and forthcoming changes to regulatory environment. Although there have been improvements, profitability remains subdued. Further credit-related write-downs are expected throughout this year, and  BIS Review 51/2010  1  the risk of a negative feedback loop emerging between the household and corporate sectors and the banks persists. Banks’ may remain under pressure to continue the process of deleveraging, with possible credit constraints impacting on economic growth in the event of credit demand picking up. Thus, although the response of policy-makers to the crisis has certainly helped to avert an even more dramatic collapse in economic activity in the euro area and elsewhere, challenges abound. Indeed, most advanced economies will continue to face severe macroeconomic imbalances in the years to come. I am particularly concerned about the dramatic deterioration in public finances, which will require very ambitious fiscal consolidation efforts in the years to come.

Bandid Nijathaworn: Rethinking the role of financial soundness – financial infrastructure and long-term sustainable growth Remarks by Mr Bandid Nijathaworn, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Thailand, at the 8th Bank Indonesia Annual International Seminar 2010 on “Rethinking Macroeconomic and Financial Policies”, Jakarta, 22 October 2010. *  *  *  Thank you Chair, Let me begin by thanking Bank Indonesia for the invitation. It is a pleasure to be here. On the issue of financial soundness, it is certainly hard to overstate the importance of a sound financial infrastructure. In normal times, the financial sector plays a critical role in driving the real economy. But during times of stress, having a sound financial infrastructure is all the more important, because it is the viability of financial institutions that typically draws the line between a mild economic setback versus a full-blown crisis. But what are the essential features of a sound financial infrastructure? Let me highlight three key elements that I believe constitute financial system soundness. First is the efficiency aspect. The financial sector must perform its core functions efficiently. To this end, substantial progress has been made in Asian emerging markets, partly by default as globalization and the rapidly growing economies in Asia have raised competition among financial institutions, and also by design given the continuing efforts by the authorities to deregulate and develop the financial sector. Making further headway on these fronts, therefore, should be a continuing process. And I think this is what Bank Indonesia is doing.
The war generated substantial profits for the shipping industry and fuelled speculative behaviour resulting in a credit and asset price boom. Monetary policy did not contribute to dampening these developments. There was a sharp increase in the money supply and inflation soared. Between 1914 and 1918, the price level more than doubled. After the war, exports fell and the krone depreciated to about half of the statutory exchange rate. At the same time, the economy was faced with a banking crisis and recession. This created a dilemma for monetary policy. The prevailing view was nonetheless that the krone had to be brought back to parity. The task fell to Nicolai Rygg. The active deflationary policy pursued proved to be costly. However, Rygg stood firm in his belief that breaking the promise made in 1816 to preserve a stable value of money would entail more serious consequences:  BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  “The hardships we are facing in the transition to normal, ordered conditions are transient. No one can close their eyes to the fact that they are very serious, but the life of the people is eternal and the consequences of this decision will remain with us for generations.” Those were Rygg’s words in his annual address in 1927. A year later, in 1928, the policy of gold parity had achieved its objective. Consumer prices had fallen by more than 40 percent since 1920. But the gold standard would only survive three years.

While national supervisory authorities are free to decide on the technical transmission specifications to implement the new reporting frameworks, CEBS considers that XBRL can be a helpful tool in constructing a harmonised European reporting mechanism, and is therefore developing an XBRL platform which will be available free of charge to national authorities and supervised institutions. XBRL taxonomies are being developed for both frameworks. Of course, we all recognise that it is not cheap to develop these technologies. But I do believe that the benefits will greatly outweigh the costs in the medium to longer term, and I would encourage every effort to be made to harness those benefits. Conclusions Let me finalise my intervention by briefly recapitulating the five elements that I believe are important for progress: First, convergence of the underlying regulation that affects financial institutions and markets. Second, convergence of reporting requirements on the basis of this more harmonised regulation. Third, increased use of internal information, generated for business purposes, for external reporting purposes. Fourth, increased feedback and information to the reporting institutions. And finally, the use of new technologies. I think the examples I have given from the banking perspective show that we are already making some good progress, although there is of course more that could, and should, be done. In closing, I would like to thank you for your attention and wish you a productive and enjoyable time here in Madrid. BIS Review 47/2006  5
We expect from all the banks to pursue the necessary measures on their part for the full implementation of BNB Ordinance No. 18. The Cash Services Company is already operating full-scale providing high-quality cheap and very competitive services. Those of you who have not yet fully availed of them are definitely losing. As I believe any one of you will agree, the BNB’s supervisory policy can hardly be described as “regulatory comfort”, as our unjustified critics have recently tried to define it. The Bulgarian banking system is one of the most strictly and conservatively regulated ones within the whole European Union. The consistent anti-cyclical policy pursued by the BNB has initially stimulated the accumulation of capital resources and a liquidity potential for successfully facing the crisis, and later on (since 2008) has implemented a number of measures aimed at supporting liquidity and easing lending. In 2010, our supervision proceeded with the “fine tuning” of regulations and with the BNB’s very careful approach to processes underway in credit institutions. In the coming year, we will continue with the phased-in implementation of all new requirements and recommendations of the EU acquis and of the Committee of European Banking Supervisors, taking into consideration the best practices. The adoption of a new ordinance on the principles of formation of remuneration in banks, which would recognize the risks taken by them, is forthcoming within days. Last but not least, on a day like this we should also speak up our concerns.

Once again I would like to point out that these outcomes are not accidental and do not come out of the blue. All that we have achieved so far is a result of both the long-standing and consistent efforts made by the Bulgarian National Bank for creating cushions and maintaining the stability of the system, and of the common sense and efforts of each and every one of you. Thank you very much for this! The crisis could not make us turn away from the strategic tasks facing us, i.e. to be competitive, to provide the services needed by individuals and businesses, to be innovative and stand in the lead among the EU member-states so as to meet the demands of the future. In one of the most rapidly developing areas – payment systems, Bulgaria marked a significant progress in 2010. The merger of the two most important operators BORICA and BANKSERVICE is accomplished. On 1 February, we launched into operation the national  BIS Review 169/2010  1  component of TARGET2 (TARGET2-BNB). The connection of the national banking community to TARGET2 is an important step in our integration into the euro area payment system, providing to the participating banks an opportunity to execute real-time eurodenominated transfers at an exceptionally low price. In parallel with launching TARGET2 and the developments in the large payments area, we had the system for processing customers’ payment in euro – BISERA7-EUR – started from 1 February. The system processes eurodenominated payments in line with SEPA standards.
If that were to occur, that would be a troublesome development that would complicate the pursuit of our dual mandate of high employment and low and stable inflation Because we have an Federal Open Market Committee meeting next Tuesday, I will not comment today on the implications of the economic outlook for monetary policy. Outlook for the region and Queens Now, let me turn briefly to the situation here in the city and in Queens, in particular. While the national economic outlook improved considerably during the latter part of 2010 and into early this year, growth in New York City’s economy appears to have slowed a bit. The regional economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York have developed a composite economic index for New York City. It incorporates measures such as employment, unemployment and income, and can serve as a barometer of the state of the local economy. Based on this measure, the city’s economic activity, which had declined fairly sharply throughout much of 2008 and all of 2009, rebounded at an encouraging pace in the first half of 2010. Growth slowed in the second half of the year, but recently released employment data point to some pickup in the city’s economy in early 2011 and suggest that the local economic recovery remains on track. Over the past year, employment in the city has expanded fairly strongly in a number of key industries, including finance, professional and business services, education and health, and tourism, including air transportation.

It is true that some economists have argued that the negative relationship does not apply when institutional factors in the countries included in the study are taken into account. Venezuela is one of the poorest performing countries in the Sachs and Warner study. The country has the largest known oil reserves in the world, and also has an abundance of other natural resources. Venezuela has been among the largest oil producers since the 1920s. But as a result of an unsound economic policy, the country has not been able to achieve solid and stable economic growth. After the rise in oil prices in the 1970s, government spending increased sharply. In the 1980s, fiscal policy was also highly expansionary. The result was high inflation and rising unemployment. Close to 85 per cent of the country’s population is living in poverty. Economic growth has been weak. Between 1970 and 2002, GDP per capita has fallen by about 20 per cent. Why have many countries failed to make good use of windfalls? There may be a number of reasons. In terms of economic policy, an explanation is that the wealth deriving from the resources leads to an extreme focus on acquiring as much of this extra wealth by various groups. The contest for this profit is often referred to as “rent-seeking behaviour”. Countries with an abundance of natural resources may be more vulnerable to extreme “rent-seeking behaviour” than economies with a limited supply of natural resources.