samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
Learn more about the New York Fed’s work on governance and culture reform. 1 See, for example, Peter Eavis and Keith Collins, “The Banks Changed. Except for All the Ways They’re the  Same,” New York Times, September 12, 2018; Yalman Onaran, “Stung by Big Fines, Big Banks Beef Up MoneyLaundering Controls,” Bloomberg, April 4, 2019; “Citi Hit Hardest as EU Fines Banks $ Billion over Foreign Exchange,” American Banker, May 16, 2019. 2 This scenario is adapted from work by the Education and Industry Forum on Financial Services Culture, a  private-sector voluntary membership group sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. 3 Max H. Bazerman and Ann E. Tenbrunsel, Blind Spots: Why We Fail to Do What’s Right and What to Do about  It(Princeton University Press, 2011). 4 Asch, S. E. “Effects of Group Pressure upon the Modification and Distortion of Judgments,” in Groups,  Leadership and Men; Research in Human Relations, ed. H. Guetzkow (Pittsburgh: Carnegie Press, 1951). 5 Saul McLeod, Solomon Asch-Conformity Experiment, SimplyPsychology.org, December 28, 2018. 6 Building Cultural Capital in the Financial Services Industry: Emerging Practices, Risks and Opportunities,  Conference Summary, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, June 4, 2019. 7 Banking Standards Board, Assessment Results 2018, (United Kingdom). 4/4  BIS central bankers' speeches

Even if it were possible, going back to the ECU would present major disadvantages compared to today’s euro: until the euro was introduced, France did not actually participate in decisions on interest rate levels and had to follow German monetary policy; the franc was at the mercy of speculative attacks from the financial markets that drained our currency reserves as we saw in the 1992-1993 period. The euro was introduced to solve these problems. Today, the euro is alive and well. It is the currency of 340 million Europeans, is recognised worldwide and is trusted by the people of France. Almost 70% of French citizens are in favour of the euro because it protects their purchasing power, with prices that increase three times less rapidly than previously; because it makes borrowing easier, with interest rates that are 1.5% to 3% lower; and because it safeguards the value of their savings. Finally, I would like to add that the Eurosystem has not modified its sovereign debt purchase programme in relation to France’s presidential elections. The distribution of monthly purchases between the various countries is based on the ECB’s capital allocation principle. 1/1  BIS central bankers' speeches
Over the last 10 years, MoneySENSE has reached out to Singaporeans through many  2  Prelec and Simester, “Always Leave Home Without It: A Further Investigation of the Credit Card Effect on Willingness to Pay”, Marketing Letters 12, no. 1, February 2001. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  channels – schools, community events, workplace talks, newspapers, TV, radio, and now increasingly the internet – to reach out in every way we can to as many Singaporeans as possible. 12. We set up a new institute last year called the Institute for Financial Literacy (IFL) which was set up jointly by MoneySENSE and the Singapore Polytechnic. This institute has helped to bring financial education to working adults, who don’t have much time, but they can attend lunchtime talks and workshops free of charge at their workplace. To date, IFL had reached out to 12,000 people. Translating knowledge into action 13. What will be our focus for the next 10 years? First, we have to recognise that financial education is not just about knowledge, but also about inculcating the right values from young, and encouraging everyone to be pro-active rather than passive about their finances. At every income level and for every family, it really pays to prepare for the future. 14. Many think that they don’t have enough time, or just say they are not interested, or that there’s too much to plan for because it’s too uncertain. But it’s precisely because life has uncertainties that we need to make plans for the future.

Accordingly, any policy wishing to be effective in enhancing productivity must be underpinned by incentives to save and the lifting of any related institutional obstacles, something which is also connected to the reforms that boost competitiveness and legal certainty. Spain must persist with reform policy geared to these objectives. Thank you. 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches
For many years already, significant action has been adopted on the EU level with a view to establishing an efficient and safe European market, where those transactions will be executed with similar effectiveness both on domestic and cross-border levels. Those activities, undertaken both by the public authorities and by the market, are aimed at achieving: 1.  legal harmonization,  2.  systemic standardization and harmonization,  3.  subjective consolidation,  4.  systemic integration, and  5.  technical integration. It is extremely difficult to predict future developments in each of those domains. Apparently, the harmonization and integratory action which I have just mentioned and which has been undertaken recently, will lead to a situation that can be predicted to some extent. What changes will the future bring in comparison to what we have now? As regards the securities settlement system, a new large player is about to appear in a couple of years. TARGET2-Securities operated by the European Central Bank will integrate the settlement function which is now executed by domestic systems of securities settlement. It may also be assumed that owing to consolidation processes, the number of central depositories in the EU will diminish. I would venture the claim that in the context of the development of TARGET2-Securities and CCBM2, the number of deposits maintained at central banks is going to decline 15 . As regards the payments systems, in a month, the TARGET2 system will be established to take over RTGS systems in individual EU Member States.

In Chile, the structure of pension fund portfolio as of the end of 2006 was as follows: domestic Treasury bonds -13%, domestic equities -17%, other domestic debt securities -22%, foreign equities and certificates of participation in investment funds -32%. In Argentina and Peru, the foreign assets accounted for ca. 10% and 14%, respectively, of pension funds assets. The findings of Fisher Black’s studies indicate that the foreign positions should be hedged against exchange rates risk. His famous work shows that the optimal hedge ratio amounts to 77% for investment in equities 10 . Open pension funds could manage their investment portfolios more effectively if they were allowed to invest in derivatives (equities, interest rate instruments and currencies), because – not infrequently – transactions costs on derivatives are much lower than the costs involved in cash market. By way of illustration, the costs in the US cash market are over five times higher than the costs in the market of stock index futures 11 . Additionally, this step could also contribute to the development of the derivatives market in the WSE. It is worth remembering too that as early as in 1974, a well-known study by Bruno Solnik 12 provided an example of American investors to show that the risk of investment portfolio composed of ca. 20 international equities (international dispersion) is twice lower as compared to the portfolio of domestic equities only.
As a result, the overall GDP growth for the quarter came in at 1.3 percent on a quarter-on-quarter basis. Ladies and Gentlemen, In 2010, the Thai economy is expected to stay on the course of a gradual recovery due to two important factors. First, the continued world recovery, and second the fiscal stimulus. Let me go into each of these briefly. First, the IMF and market consensus expect the world economy to return to positive growth next year, owing primarily to monetary and fiscal policies of the industrialized economies that are expected to remain accommodative. Emerging market economies including Asia are expected to rebound faster and stronger than developed economies. This is because Asia’s financial sectors were not directly affected by the current crisis. Brighter prospect for the global economy next year means our export sector can continue to be our main growth engine going forward. Secondly, the government spending under SP2 or the Strong Thai scheme will also continue to support the nascent recovery. As we are all aware, we cannot indefinitely rely on fiscal stimulus to keep the economy going so it is our hope that public spending will eventually crowd in private demand so that the recovery will continue after the stimulus tapers off. Now let me turn to the risks associated with this outlook. Despite several good signals, the recovery of the world economy is still subject to a number of downside risks.

As for the issue of asset price bubbles, while the signs of accelerating asset prices observed in many countries in Asia are not so apparent in Thailand at this time, the risk is not BIS Review 164/2009  3  neglected. As a matter of prudence, the Bank of Thailand will continue to closely monitor asset prices to ensure financial stability prevails in the long term. Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to conclude my speech tonight by reiterating that the economic recovery in Thailand is expected to continue going forward. Nevertheless, the risk of an aftershock is not negligible due to fragile global and domestic environment. Hence, businesses and policymakers alike need to remain vigilant, but at the same time, should not be overcome by unreasonable fear. One important factor that will help speed up the process of recovery is the return of investment and trade within the country. With our economic resilience and strong economic fundamentals, I would like to assure you that Thailand remains a lucrative place to invest. Despite this difficult time, the BCCT has always been a great supporter of our investment programs, an example of which is your Thailand Means Business 2008 report which is very relevant in terms of attracting new or re-investment from British businesses. I hope that this long relationship will continue to be as good as ever or even better in the coming years. Thank you. 4  BIS Review 164/2009
Among others: (i) a gradual path to reduce structural deficit by 0.2% of GDP per year, to 2022, (ii) first step above target: structural deficit reduced 0.5% of GDP, (iii) a Debt/GDP ratio currently at 24% should level off in the next two years, (iv) Fiscal Council given independent status, (v) preferential regime for defense spending in course of reform, and (vi) fiscal sustainability a central concern in discussion of tax and pension reforms. Not all emerging economies are equally prepared to react, and Chile is relatively well positioned when compared to other emerging economies. In order to deal with the undesired effects of volatile capital inflows, several EMEs have implemented different policies to deal with the appreciation/depreciation cycle and credit booms (e.g reserve requirements, FX intervention, capital controls). There is substantial evidence that capital flows to EMEs are volatile and that in part depend on “push” factors that are unrelated to the marginal productivity of the host economy. Volatile (boom-bust-cycle) capital inflows are a significant concern for policymakers. The surge of capital flows is usually associated with booms in asset prices, appreciation, credit booms, and increasing current account deficits. While the sudden stop is associated with asset prices adjustment and financial distress. In Chile, free floating and FX volatility has helped reduce incentives for arbitrage and carry trade. Besides, the exchange rate flexibility facilitates asset price adjustment. Providing the right incentives for resident investors (pension funds and the government) to counteract the non-residents behavior, smoothing net capital flows!

International Capital Flows in the Post-crisis World, September 2019  Banking sector  CENTRAL BANK OF CHILE  The Banking sector in Chile looks solid Bank Financial Strength Index  Chilean financial development (*)  (percent, Moody’s weighted average long-term banks rating)  (relative percent) Banking sector  Saudi Arabia Chile China Malaysia Poland Mexico Peru Thailand Indonesia Philippines Colombia Uruguay Panama South Africa India Romania Hungary Paraguay Bulgaria Russia Brazil Turkey Vietnam Nigeria Argentina Ghana Egypt Ukraine  100 75 50 25 0  CAR  ROA  ROE  Cap./Assets  1-NPL/L Market Cap 100 75 50 25 0  Financial sector  1/CDS  Domestic credit OECD Chile  Derivatives  0  2  4  6  8  10  12  14  16  18  LAC  Branches  EME  (*) Data are relative to the maximum on each dimension at the end of 2016 or to the latest availability. Sources: Moody’s and Central Bank of Chile based on information from BIS, WB, IMF and Bloomberg. Over time, markets have developed adequate FX hedging mechanisms having lower currency mismatches, inflation expectations have become firmly anchored at the monetary policy target level, the CBC has overcome fear of floating and the economy exhibit one of the lowest FX pass-through to domestic prices, financial markets have deepened and the labor market has gained some flexibility.
The Corporation should not have any difficulty in raising long term fixed rate funds from the market, particularly with the forthcoming institutionalization of savings through the establishment of a Mandatory Provident Fund scheme. Second, the HKMA will continue to reinforce successful efforts in the past to ensure that the banks in Hong Kong are in a position to manage prudently their risks, having regard to the special circumstances of Hong Kong’s currency board system, and pay special attention to the quality of their assets so as not to be overly exposed to those which are vulnerable to interest rate volatility. A consultant study on the future development of the banking system of Hong Kong covering this aspect, amongst others, is to be conducted in the near future. Support for the Link 30. There is wide support amongst the community of Hong Kong on the exchange rate link. In early December last year an opinion poll carried out by one of our leading newspapers reported that only seven percent of the people of Hong Kong think that our link with the US dollar should be broken. SeventyBIS Review 19/1998  -9one percent think that it should be kept and twenty-two percent express no opinion20. This degree of public support - support from those having Hong Kong dollar assets - is crucial to our success in maintaining the exchange rate link, whereas the sceptical views of those without Hong Kong dollar assets are rather irrelevant. 31.

But the effect of this is that all Hong Kong dollar against US dollar transactions will then be conducted with the HKMA, thus on the one hand killing off the foreign exchange market in Hong Kong and on the other hand generating much greater volatility in interest rates as the liquidity in the banking system changes along with each and every one of such transactions done with the HKMA. 43. Second is a variation of the first alternative by introducing a spread around the fixed rate of 7.80 amounting to, say, half a percent or one percent or whatever, by which the HKMA would passively buy or sell US dollars against the clearing balance of the banking system. This alternative is also transparent and allows an exchange rate range within which the foreign exchange market would function freely. But it creates identifiable targets for currency attacks which is undesirable. Every time the exchange rate trades near the upper or lower limits, perhaps even only for seasonal reasons, there may be speculative position taking against those limits. 44. The third alternative, which is the current practice, is to leave the foreign exchange market alone under normal circumstances but for the HKMA to establish its passive presence only when exchange rate instability is detected, for example, when there is a currency attack as in the case of October last year.
In previous conferences (2018 and 2019), the former Executive Director for Insurance Supervision, David Rule, talked to you in his speeches ‘An Annuity is a very serious business’ Parts 1 and 2 1 about:   The key risks facing annuity writers and the treatment of unrated, direct investments under the Matching Adjustment in 2018, with a focus on equity release mortgages; and    How Solvency II works to address risks to annuity providers, serves protection of policyholders and allows insurers to invest for the long term in ways that support the UK economy in 2019  There is continuity in that I will be looking at aspects of the Matching Adjustment (MA), but today I will be focussing on three areas of our supervisory risk analysis. 1. I will take stock of market developments since 2019. 2. I will talk about the implications of those developments for our supervision, in particular the Matching Adjustment – putting it in context, setting out the rationale behind it, and discussing asset eligibility matters; and 3. Finally, I will share some thoughts from our supervisory analysis on the size of the MA, how the current fundamental spread (FS) approach has been implemented, and looking at the risk sensitivity of the FS. You will hear more on developments in regulation following HM Treasury’s Call for Evidence 2 in due course; but today I would like to explore what we have learnt through our supervision of annuity writers since the inception of Solvency II.

Such ratings downgrades may not occur immediately, leaving a window where policyholders may be less well protected. Further, where ratings downgrade by a notch but remain within the same CQS, again the FS is unchanged. Another way of looking at the question is to consider how much of the credit spread the FS strips out in percentage terms [Chart 11]. So, at year-end 2020 perhaps 70% of the credit spread on such assets is removed for retained risks, with a much lower figure if spreads reached the levels seen in the Global Financial Crisis. The insensitivity to market signals is a feature of the current FS construct, and is why for internal model firms we set an expectation in Supervisory Statement 8/18: “Solvency II: Internal models – modelling of the matching adjustment”10, that when determining the FS in stress firms should not simply mechanistically recalculate the FS, but should determine a stressed FS that better reflects the risks retained. To be more forward looking, one alternative could be for an approach where the risk allowance reflects compensation for: expected losses; uncertainty around expected losses; and any further risks retained by investors. Such an approach might place less weight on credit ratings, which particularly in the case of internal ratings present challenges around availability of data, and expertise in the business and risk 9  Illustrative bonds of 10-15 year term, duration c. 10 year at YE20 https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/prudential-regulation/supervisory-statement/2018/ss818.pdf  10  7  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/speeches and @BoE_PressOffice  7  teams.
Clearly, this trend reflects, at the same time, the lack of managerial knowledge and capacities in the Albanian economy, and the banks’ behaviour in terms of crediting. This has produced two negative consequences: it has failed to promote the growth of productivity and the improvement of the long-term growth pace of the domestic economy; and, it has restrained the diversification of the production base in the economy, limiting its resilience to various shocks. Second, a part of the credit portfolio, not quite insignificant, has been granted to borrowers who have been exposed to and unhedged against exchange rate volatility. These borrowers have often had limited and deficient knowledge on the exchange rate risk and have suffered the consequences. 3/5  BIS central bankers' speeches  Beyond macroeconomic aspects, the structural deficiencies of crediting are, in part, responsible for the rapid growth of non-performing loans in the post-financial crisis period. In this context, the Bank of Albania deems that the banking sector should: Expand the range of credit products, especially with regard to funding projects, so as to ensure a better coverage of the sectors of the Albanian economy and of the needs of borrowing households; Increase its attention to sectors that offer a high potential for returns, given the low usage of financial leverage, such as agriculture and innovative business start-ups in information technology; Supplement the range of financial products with derivative instruments for hedging against the exchange rate, especially for borrowers exposed to it. 3.

While this divergence does not seem to have, as of yet, a substantial impact on 2/5  BIS central bankers' speeches  lending, if it deepens further it will jeopardise the performance of credit and the pace of economic growth. In this light, I would like to underline that a series of studies, both at home and abroad, emphasise the fact that the Albanian economy would benefit from credit growth, for as long as and provided that such growth is based on firm structural and institutional premises. It is our common duty not to let this opportunity pass. This conclusion leads me naturally to the precondition I mentioned earlier. The Albanian economy offers positive business prospects, coupled with a high crediting potential and reduced credit risk. This reality dictates the need and the possibility for a bolder approach toward crediting. I have had the opportunity to elaborate – on a continuous basis – our standpoint on the economic development perspective. I would like, however, to bring today to your attention again that, in cooperation with the Albanian Association of Banks and the Government of Albania, we are implementing an ambitious plan of measures for reducing non-performing loans. From a strategic point of view, the objective of this plan was not only to simply clean banks’ balance sheets, but also to provide for a qualitative improvement of the crediting environment in Albania.