samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
Personally, I would expect the fiscal discipline of Maastricht to be retained and observed. And I am yet more confident that the European Central Bank will remain steadfast in its counterinflationary role. That combination will, as is widely acknowledged, transfer a considerable burden of adjustment onto structural and microeconomic policies. It is good that the focus should rest there and it will be even better when more progress is visible on that front - better not simply for Europe but for the world, which needs a strong European economy. And within Europe itself I feel that there is something of a political imperative for the impact of the euro to have been demonstrated as unequivocally beneficial by the time that the potentially rather emotional withdrawal of national banknotes takes place in 2002. The concerns over the apparent tensions in economic policy in consequence of the euro’s arrival have plainly had some adverse effect on sentiment towards the euro in foreign exchange markets, although we know that other factors, notably the conflict in the Balkans, 3  BIS Review 53/1999  have been important too. When you look at the ups and downs of the relationships between the world’s leading currencies over the years you will recognise that the depreciation in the euro since its inception is not all that exceptional, however much we may regret that movements of this sort may nowadays be regarded as within the definition of normal.

Currently, we have 21 remittance service providers offering digital remittance services, more than double the number 3 years ago. With the implementation electronic know-your-customer or e-KYC, consumers will be able to experience end-to-end digital remittance transactions. These are positive and exciting developments happening in our remittance market. Better public-private sector alliance to strengthen compliance Bank Negara Malaysia will continue to work closely with the industry to promote financial inclusion and this will be done primarily through the digitalization of remittance. Regulators also need to keep up with the times. We are taking a different approach this time – from ‘regulator instruct, industry do’ and ‘regulator knows best’, to creation of public-private sector alliance. It is vital to leverage on each other’s strengths and resources, not only to reap the benefits of technology, but also to overcome the emerging threats. We are all in this together. Greater harmonisation of regulatory framework on the remittance industry at the regional and 2/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  global levels is required to increase consistency in standards and reduce regulatory burdens on industry players. As a start, we have shared with other central banks on how we regulate the money services industry in Malaysia. This includes the transformation journey of MSB industry in Malaysia, our approach to innovation and technology, as well as monitoring of the whole industry. I believe that in the long term, harmonisation of rules will also foster innovation and spur regional expansion amongst industry players, while upholding the highest ethical and professional standards.
In the light of this, one cannot avoid wondering whether it is wise and really in the market’s interest to lock certain instruments into a separate legislation, which can be difficult to change once in place. If EMU really leads to the European market for borrowed capital being improved, which we all believe and hope, developments may move in a completely different direction. We shall have to see what the future holds in store. Securitisation The existing Swedish form for housing finance is, as pointed out, not necessarily a bad financing form in a developed European market with a uniform currency. On the contrary. The Swedish housing loan institutions are known and respected in the market, have large outstanding volumes that provide a basis for good liquidity and a transparent price formation and can moreover benefit from a rating that is improving as Sweden’s does. The great challenge from EMU is rather on a different level. When competition gradually increases, not only on the corporate side but also in the market for apartment blocks, tenant-owned apartments and houses, this will probably eventually reduce profit margins. The return on equity will then also fall. An issue that naturally arises is whether it is possible to find housing forms that make more economical use of equity provided by the owners. In my opinion, it is in this perspective that the discussion on securitisation is to be viewed.

3  BIS Review 113/1999  Gilt-edged bonds If we wish to see how EMU can affect housing finance, it is close to hand to study conditions in Germany since these, together with the Danish model of housing finance will be given special treatment in the EC directives in the area. In Germany, housing loans are traditionally financed via so-called Pfandbriefen, which are essentially housing bonds with a clearly specified body of collateral. As has been pointed out, the Swedish housing companies finance the whole of their balance sheets without linking particular collateral to each loan issued. With regard to Pfandbriefen, legal regulation moreover plays an important role for the nature of collateral and checks on the parts of the authorities. The Government has had a committee of inquiry investigate how the so-called “gilt-edged bonds” could be designed in Sweden and the legislation and supervision that should be required. In brief, this proposal means that the right of priority would apply to this type of bond, that clear limits would be introduced for the extent of borrowing against them (at most 75% for housing properties) and that collateral would be identified in a special register controlled by Finansinspektionen. The Ministry of Finance is at present considering its standpoint on these proposals. When the discussion on gilt-edged bonds was initiated in Sweden at the beginning of the 90s, the background was concern that the new investment rules planned for the insurance companies would make it more difficult for the housing institutions to obtain finance.
These instruments are becoming increasingly relevant investment alternatives but overall remain a minor portfolio item. Challenges We have several sources and data providers to shed light on the evolution of sustainable finance instruments, but what exactly is a sustainable bond market? The information presented above provides an overview of euro area residents’ issuances and holdings of debt instruments with sustainability characteristics. These indicators provide information on the proceeds raised to finance sustainable projects. In the case of 2  green bonds, they are identified as “debt securities where the proceeds are used to finance projects with clear environmental benefits” and various sources are used to gain a broader picture. Since debt securities are considered sustainable if they are at least labelled as such by their issuers (i.e. self-labelled), in addition to the information provided by data providers, the loosest level of assurance is relied upon. The ECB notes that remaining limitations are mostly due to the lack of internationally accepted harmonised definitions of certain concepts.2  In recent years, financial market initiatives have moved ahead of legislation and several private providers have developed labels to identify green bonds and other sustainabilityrelated bonds, for example, the International Capital Market Association and the Climate Bonds Initiative. However, this does not mean that there is a single definition. In the European Union, the European Commission has been working over the last few years on the development of a European Green Bonds Standard in order to establish uniform requirements for issuers of this type of bond.

The main characteristics proposed by the European Commission are: - Taxonomy alignment: meaning that the funds raised by the bond should be allocated to projects that are aligned with the EU taxonomy. - Transparency as to how bond proceeds are allocated, through detailed reporting requirements. - External review: all European green bonds must be checked by an external reviewer to ensure compliance with regulations and taxonomy alignment of the funded projects, and,  2  See ECB (2023). Towards climate-related statistical indicators. Statistics Committee of the European System of Central Banks. January. 3  - Supervision by the European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA) of the reviewers. This means that external reviewers providing services to issuers of European green bonds must be registered with and supervised by ESMA. The European Council and the European Parliament have this year reached a provisional agreement on the creation of this European Green Bonds Standard. Pending the final text, a very important element of the proposal is that the standard will be voluntary. The European Central Bank issued an opinion in 2021 on the proposal for a regulation on European green bonds,3 which it welcomed. Regarding its voluntary nature, the ECB considered that, in the short term, a strictly mandatory standard might lead to divestment from non-taxonomy-aligned green bonds and a sudden drop in Union-based green bond issuance.
BIS Review 97/2008  1  Meeting challenges – people and values There is no magic formula for meeting the challenges I have just outlined. Rather, as always, the fundamentals boil down to having the right people with the right values. In the 2007 Insurance Banana Skins survey conducted by UK’s Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation (CSFI), the quality of talent was cited as one of the key risks facing the global life insurance industry. I am therefore pleased that GE Life is using the FICS framework to proactively develop talent for the company. As for values, I understand that GE Life embraces the 3 core values of integrity, initiative and involvement. In the spirit of this commemorative year, allow me to borrow your values framework to illustrate its relevance to the industry as a whole. Integrity First, integrity. Integrity is the foundation of trust, and for the insurance industry with a longterm relationship, this is crucial. Even as more complex insurance products are being introduced in the market, insurance intermediaries have a duty to ensure that consumers are only offered products they can understand and find suitable. Any undesirable sales practice such as churning and inappropriate switching will undermine the reputation of the insurance industry, and also affect its ability to attract good quality talent. Intermediaries must therefore uphold the highest standards of integrity, professionalism and exemplary business conduct, and ensure that any advice given is fair, objective and in the best interest of the client.

This is the main reason for the expansionary nature of our policy making in recent years, even with inflation being persistently above the target range. Keep in mind that the fiscal rule determines a generally acyclical public expenditure, meaning that it runs independent from the business cycle. Why? Because fiscal policy is typically slow to react and any change in spending decisions are much more difficult to undo. Thus, monetary policy is essential to deal with the economy’s cyclical fluctuations. That explains our actions. Since late 2013 we have implemented a clearly expansionary monetary policy, indeed one of the most expansionary among emerging market economies. Real short-term interest rates have been negative or barely above zero for all this time, helping medium- and long-term rates to be nearly as low as they have ever been. This policy has not only helped the economy to adjust smoothly by providing support to aggregate demand; by letting the exchange rate move freely it has also contributed to the adjustment of relative prices—a key element to address in these conjunctures. The contrast with other episodes is evident. Suffice it to recall the costs associated with the defense of the exchange rate in the early 1980s and, to a lesser extent, during the Asian crisis and its aftershocks in the late 1990s.
Second, a green economy will need to be much more energy efficient. Energy intensity — the energy needed to produce a dollar of GDP — will have to improve substantially. The IEA has estimated that, to reach net zero, the rate of improvement in energy intensity would have to go up to more than 4% a year, which is more than double the average rate of the previous decade. Current plans and commitments made by countries will yield an improvement of only 2.8% a year. Third, a green economy will need to find ways to decarbonise so-called ‘hard-to-abate’ sectors and activities. There are currently not very good transition pathways for aviation and maritime. There are also some critical materials whose production is hard to decarbonise. Some 17% of the world’s primary energy supply is used just to make four materials – steel, cement, plastic, and ammonia (which is used in fertilisers). These four materials have been described as “pillars of modern civilization”. Not only are there no readily available substitutes for these materials, but also no practical low-carbon ways to produce enough to meet current demand. And the world must actually expand their production as Africa and Asia modernise. Fourth, the sectoral composition of economies will change. The sectors with the highest greenhouse gas emissions – such as coal, oil and gas power and petroleum products – will be most impacted. They account for about 20% of global GDP.

Singapore will do well to prepare for a future where CBAMs cover a significant part of world trade. CBAMs are likely to be a reality, especially if several major economies agree on a global minimum carbon price. The EU has already proposed a CBAM. A well-designed CBAM that does not raise barriers to trade, is compliant with W TO rules, and gives some relief to the poorest countries who are also small emitters, is not a bad outcome. CLEANER ENERGY The second imperative for the net zero transition is a decisive shift towards cleaner energy. According to the IPCC, to have a good chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, global consumption of coal, oil, and gas must start declining immediately and steeply. This is unlikely to happen. The growth in renewable energy has been spectacular but not sufficient to meet growing energy demand. Despite a 50-fold increase in the supply of new renewable energy in the last two decades, fossil fuels continue to account for more than 80% of global primary energy consumption. One of the reasons is that about 750 million people in the world still lack access to electricity. For them, the priority is having the lights on at an affordable price, not how much carbon dioxide is emitted in its production. Most of the people living in sub-Saharan Africa in 2020 consume no more energy per capita than the people of France and Germany did in 1860.
Rather, she is impressively balanced and fully aware, at least in my opinion, that her legacy will be whether she can successfully complete Act V by realizing the Fed’s mandate to maintain price stability while providing the monetary means to achieve full employment. All of which means that despite the mighty efforts of Captains Bernanke and Yellen and their officers and crew, present company included, we do not know how “The Grand Experiment” drama will end. We certainly all hope it proves an inspiring history, not a tragedy. But, we will not know for some time. We will not know until the curtain drops on Act V. R.I.P? Betsy Duke had it right: Only when we have normalized monetary policy – only when the play is done – will we know if QE3 rests in peace or comes back to haunt us. Only when it is done will we know if “The Grand Experiment in Modern Monetarism” is a smash hit or a bomb or something in between. As Yogi Berra said and Lenny Kravitz sang: “It ain’t over till it’s over.” But one thing I know for sure: This speech is over. Thank you for listening. And now, Mickey, time and patience permitting, I would be happy to avoid answering any questions you and your colleagues might have.

This is the fourth edition of this Conference organised by the European Institute of the Mediterranean, with the support of the Banco de España, to discuss economic and financial matters in the Mediterranean region. The three previous editions were in Barcelona, in 2014 and 2017, and in Rabat in 2015, on that occasion with the support and hospitality of Bank Al-Maghrib. This conference is therefore beginning to take root as a successful meeting point between different actors with interests in the economic and financial developments in these countries. The exchange of ideas among a wide and diverse range of participants – including central bankers, public officials, academics, and representatives from the private sector and international organisations– in a friendly environment proved enormously fruitful in previous editions, as, I am sure, will be also the case this time. Let me also add that forums like this are particularly relevant for central banks, which in recent years have had to face deep-seated transformations in economic and financial relations globally. This new environment forces us to re-think the design and implementation of economic policies in order to better contribute to the progress of our society. I would also like to inform you that the Banco de España is preparing a seminar on central bank communication, the first of which is aimed at Mediterranean and Latin American countries, to be held in the spring of 2019.
The authorities have delegated this task to Norges Bank and decided that the Bank’s monetary policy objective is to keep inflation low and stable. The inflation target is quantified in the regulation on monetary policy as annual consumer price inflation over time of close to 2.5 percent. The Bank’s policy instrument is the key policy rate. Confidence that inflation will be kept low and stable is underpinned by the central bank’s independence. Norges Bank has a clear mandate and an independent position. This fosters trust in the Bank’s ability to do its job. But a regulation defining the inflation target and central bank independence are not enough. Confidence in the inflation target can only be upheld if the central bank actually ensures that inflation is low and stable over time, thereby maintaining monetary stability. Credibility and trust are built up over time. In Norway, inflation has been low and stable for a quarter of a century. As the expression goes, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. How is money created? Today, there are two forms of central bank money. One of the forms is common knowledge – banknotes and coins. The other, bank reserves at Norges Bank, is less well known. The sum total of banknotes and coins and bank reserves at Norges Bank is about NOK 85 billion.5 But the total money supply is much larger than this. Customer deposits in banks are also money. These deposits, referred to as deposit money, total more than NOK 2 trillion in Norway.

We may not be entirely comfortable with the thought that every purchase we make is recorded. It may be too reminiscent of the society described in George Orwell’s 70-year-old novel 1984. Fourth, Ola no longer has access to money directly backed by Norwegian authorities. We no longer have functional legal tender. The monetary system has been turned over to private entities. Alternatively, Ola has to use another country’s currency – in our hypothetical case, the euro. We have to ask ourselves: should we allow private solutions to compete freely in developing means of payment, or must the authorities play a role? The crucial factor is whether solutions based on private money deliver the characteristics the payment system should have. The system must be able to channel payments swiftly, safely, at low cost and in a user-friendly manner. The means of payment itself – our money – must be universal, because money is only useful if it is widely used. This requires trust. Deposit guarantee schemes and banking regulation promote trust. The objective of monetary policy is to maintain stability in the value of the currency. Norges Bank assists private operators in implementing faster and safer payments. We cooperate with other authorities to oversee and supervise the payment infrastructure to ensure robustness and efficiency. Privacy rules prevent unauthorised access to payment information. But there are some characteristics deposit money lacks. It cannot offer anonymous payments. The system is vulnerable to advanced attacks. Having more money on deposit than is covered by the deposit guarantee scheme involves risk.
Closer to home, SGX-listed companies have had their fair share of failures in corporate governance. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  7. The answer does not lie in even more rules. We must now focus on changing behaviour and building capabilities, to make the recent reforms meaningful. Let me highlight three areas: •  one, strengthening market discipline  •  two, building Board competencies  •  three, instilling the right values  Strengthening market discipline 8. Let me begin with market discipline – the process by which stakeholders apply effective scrutiny on a company. The key enabler for market discipline is disclosure. We have put in place, in the SGX listing rules, the necessary requirements for disclosure to be ongoing, timely, and accessible. But for disclosure to enable effective market discipline, it must also be meaningful. 9. Meaningful disclosure is especially important given that our Code is non-mandatory. We have adopted a “comply or explain” approach so that we can pitch the expectations at the level of best practice while allowing companies the flexibility to deviate from these expectations if their particular circumstances warrant it. But companies must explain publicly the reasons for any such deviations so that the market can judge. 10. Unfortunately, disclosures being made by companies deviating from the Code are often uninformative. Let me give an example.

A company that did not have independent directors making up at least one-third of the Board offered the following explanation: “The Board believes that there is an independent element on the Board and that it is able to exercise independent judgment on corporate affairs”. The statement does not provide any evidence or information to shareholders on how the independent element is achieved in spite of the smaller number of independent directors. 11. Companies should provide meaningful explanations of their reasons for deviation, and not opt for “template” disclosures that shed no light on these reasons, or worse, obfuscate the issue. There is scope for standardising the format in which disclosures of compliance with key principles in the Code are made, to facilitate comparability across listed companies. MAS and SGX will be exploring this in the coming months. 12. In strengthening market discipline, disclosure is one side of the coin; the other side is the considered exercise of shareholder rights. Shareholders can play an important role in enhancing corporate governance by studying corporate statements, attending general meetings, and voting on key issues. 13. But the reality seems to be that companies have limited engagements with shareholders on governance issues, and most institutional investors do not vote or attend AGMs. The situation may be improving though, at least in Singapore. According to the CLSA Corporate Governance Watch 2010, institutional investors are becoming more active in voting their shares and engaging with companies in Singapore. 14. Shareholders are not the only people who can exercise market discipline.