samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
Central Bank of Chile’s Twenty-first Annual Conference “Monetary Policy and Financial Stability: Transmission Mechanisms and Policy Implications” Opening remarks by Governor Mario Marcel  Good morning and welcome to the Twenty-first Annual Conference of the Central Bank of Chile. It is a pleasure to host this event that every year gives us an opportunity to reflect and discuss about issues that have direct implications on our work as central bankers from a broader perspective. I am looking forward to active discussions through the rest of the week on this year’s conference theme: monetary policy and financial stability. Ten years have passed since the onset of the Global Financial Crisis and we are still dealing with its economic consequences. But we have learnt a lot, and a decade of hindsight about the causes and long-lasting effects has led us to rethink the way we conduct monetary policy, how to ensure financial stability, and how these two elements are, or should be, interconnected. One of the most important policy lessons from the crisis concerns the relevance of actively seeking financial stability in a context of ever-increasing financial complexity. And central banks worldwide have been increasingly involved in assuring this, since it has become clear that financial stability is a pre-condition for price stability.

This, the so-called Leaning Against the Wind debate, has become one of the most hotly debated issues in macroeconomics, in policy as well as academic circles, and will be one of the main topics we will be discussing and learning about during these couple of days. Let me contribute to this debate with the perspective of a policymaker in a small-open economy like Chile. In our case, financial vulnerabilities have been often related to large and volatile capital flows, with their consequent effects on asset prices and credit spreads. In this context, raising the interest rate in normal times due to financial stability concerns as the LAW strategy would prescribe, may be counterproductive as it would attract more capital flows, would tend to appreciate the domestic currency and would encourage foreign-currency borrowing. These mechanisms, of course, have been at the core of monetary policy in developing countries for many years. In the case of Chile, they were more evident during the 90s when capital controls were in place to try to give more autonomy to monetary policy in a context of persistent and large capital inflows. However, these mechanisms are relevant as well when debating about the role of monetary policy in actively pursuing an objective of financial stability.
This principle is embodied in the French novel “The Three Musketeers” by Alexandre Dumas. Set in the 17th century, the novel recounts the journey of D’Artagnan, who left for Paris to join the Musketeers of the Guard, and how he overcomes all adversities. Together with him are three musketeers with contrasting personalities: Athos who is intelligent; Porthos who is adventurous; and Aramis who is true and faithful. But together they form a well-balanced trio that supports D’Artagnan on his journey. The three musketeers today are Finance, Technology, and Trust, corresponding to Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. Society is D’Artagnan. Can the three modern musketeers work together to support Society? Can they complement one another? Can they click? 1 / 10  BIS central bankers' speeches  Finance – the Astute Musketeer Losing Appeal Let me introduce the first musketeer – Finance. Like Athos, Finance is wise but can be complicated, and to some extent, mysterious and nonaccessible to many people. As a result, Finance – at least in its traditional form – is losing its appeal. Consumers find that banks’ processes are too cumbersome to navigate. They are increasingly looking to technology firms for their needs. Some of them are even losing trust in the ability of banks to act in their interest. Bill Gates once said: “People need banking, not banks”. It is a reminder that, to survive, Finance needs to be intuitive, innovative and customer-centric. Technology – the Musketeer who can Transform Finance This is where the second musketeer – Technology – comes in.

MyInfo is a government digital service that enables Singapore residents to authorise thirdparties to access their personal data residing across different government agencies through APIs. This means that, with the consent of the customer, banks can use the MyInfo service for more efficient KYC using government-verified personal data. I can now open a bank account or obtain a credit card – online and instantly – when I give consent to my bank to access my data through MyInfo. 4 / 10  BIS central bankers' speeches  Customers do not need to go through the tedious process of filling up forms and providing hardcopy documents to banks for verification. And they certainly don’t need to go to the bank branch. Banks benefit from higher productivity and better risk management. Second, secure and seamless payments through PayNow. PayNow was jointly developed by MAS and the banking industry. It enables individuals and businesses to transfer funds using just the personal ID number or mobile phone number or unique entity number of their recipients. It operates 24-by-7 and funds can be transferred directly from one bank account to another in real-time. I can now send money to my friend in just three clicks on my smart phone – all I need to know is his mobile number. Business users of PayNow can generate a QR code containing their unique entity number.
The recent floods in Thailand in 2011, was one of the costliest catastrophes in history. As insurance penetration rises across Asia, property insurers will face greater concentration of exposures to natural disasters. Life insurers will also be impacted in other ways, including higher incidences of diseases while also experiencing pressures on long term returns on investment. The insurance industry therefore needs to be able to manage such exposures as well as act as a catalyst for societies to adapt to such climate change. Risk management systems in particular, needs to be able to capture and aggregate exposures to such event risks in a timely manner. Also important is to incentivise efficient energy use through innovative product design and pricing. In addition, the industry needs to come together to seek out opportunities to partner with government and non-governmental organisations to facilitate improvements in urban planning, infrastructure design and building codes. BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  The integration of environmental and social considerations in insurers’ corporate strategies and operations will clearly become increasingly important to long-term sustainability. This must also include a sustained focus on financial inclusion to achieve balanced and equitable growth. Important is to ensure that all households continue to have meaningful access to financial products and services and that even for those that currently have financial access that they do not become financially excluded especially in an environment where financial products and services are becoming increasingly unaffordable or complex. It is estimated that up to 4 billion people worldwide require low-cost insurance protection.

Improve access to loanable funds among local entrepreneurs and thereby enable them to partner with foreign investors. This should enhance their economic inclusiveness or participation in the development of the country. Ladies and gentlemen As I conclude, allow me to remind you of the plight of so many of our people living in rural districts. Despite the high economic and business potential in these areas, financial services are non-existant. This means that income earning citizens in the informal sector such as fishermen, bee-keepers, handcraft makers and farmers cannot deposit their earnings in a safe savings account due to the absence of bank branches. In addition, those with good business ideas cannot access loans to actualize their projects and create wealth. These people have to devise unconventional means of keeping their money such as hiding it in their homes, burying or indeed moving with the money where ever they go. Furthermore, civil servants and other citizens in formal employment have to travel long distances and in some instances for a number of days before they can access their salaries. A number of them end up losing their hard earned income in thefts and other calamities. This has to change, and banks working in partnership with the Government can make this happen. I therefore, wish to challenge Commercial banks including First commercial Bank (Z) Ltd to consider opening branches, in the unbanked districts.
Each of these initiatives may be small. But they all add to the soft infrastructure and networks that we have to create between Asia and the Middle East, to build enduring economic and business ties. Conclusion To conclude, let me just say that the financial centres of both our regions can play an important role in catalysing cross-regional flows of savings, and creating a multiplier effect on Asia and Middle East growth and investment. We must also establish and strengthen people-to-people links, and contribute to each others’ efforts to develop financial sector skills and build management capacity. And we must start with our young, bring them together, and help them dispel stereotypes of each other, not just by understanding their differences but finding what they share in common. I suspect they share far more in common than the generations before them. AMED provides a vehicle to jumpstart this process. I hope that the potential areas of cooperation that I have highlighted will throw up more ideas, for the financial sector panel session later today as well as in the field of education. Thank you. 4  BIS Review 47/2005

The Bank of Albania asserts that the financial markets and agents have sound and liquid balance sheets, but they continue to be risk averse into undertaking long-term investments. In conclusion, the Supervisory Council decided that the actual monetary policy stance is appropriate and decided to keep the key interest rate unchanged at 2.0%. The new information analysed at the meeting does not change our evaluations for the current situation of the economy and financial markets, and expectations for their outlook. The current monetary conditions are adequate for ensuring the return of inflation to our 3.0 % target in the medium term. Judging from the expected developments and the balance of risks surrounding them, the Supervisory Council deems that the monetary policy of the Bank of Albania will continue to maintain its stimulating nature, for some quarters ahead. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches
2  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/speeches  2  The Bank is also seeking to increase our cognitive diversity, which shapes our perspectives – how we think about problems and solve them  iii  Cognitive diversity doesn’t lend itself to targets. But it’s no less important. iv  Research shows that while older  colleagues often view diversity as an issue of representation and fairness, millennials tend to view cognitive v  diversity as essential for a diverse and inclusive organisation. This younger generation is interested in connecting with each other, collaborating across teams and exploring a variety of ideas to solve problems. That’s not just interesting, it’s necessary. The spirit of the millennial is better suited to the complex challenges that central bankers face in a risky and uncertain world. So our commitment to diversity cannot only be about meeting targets. It must promote an environment that brings cognitive differences to the fore, and it must create a culture where everyone can maximise their potential. We need a richness of ideas and perspectives that are exchanged in the pursuit of clear goals under an overarching mission. This is the crux of inclusion: an organisation where people feel empowered, enabled and engaged in pursuit of a common goal. The why  Increased trust  As a central bank, we need to be understood, credible and trusted for our policies to be most effective. The Bank’s work often requires deep technical skill and knowledge.

Our recently created visual summary of the Financial Stability Report, explained how risks in both the UK and the global environment may affect financial stability without the need for dense text. Conclusion  Our staff survey last year showed that almost 80% of staff felt that the Bank takes diversity seriously, and 90% of people felt respected. Our direction of travel is encouraging, but we are far from satisfied. To take this to the next level, we have two priorities. First, we need to do more to change the way that we work. To maximise the potential of our people, the Bank needs to embrace fully collaborative working in diverse teams. We have an incredible endowment of skills and experience. We maximise our impact when we get together - across disciplines and across  8  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/speeches  8  areas. Everyone in the Bank should be able to devote some proportion of their time to such cross-cutting work. Second, we need to make our communications more inclusive. Everyone, every day in the Bank will benefit if our thinking tailored to its audience. This also means making the Bank more permeable, so that internal analysis can be more readily lifted and shared with others. And it means considering what we communicate, through which channels and to whom. Just as having a diverse and talented workforce has been a central pillar of our current strategic plan these priorities will be platforms of our next one.
We nevertheless view the continued existence of our own independent currency, which can be freely traded on world markets, as an important asset for Switzerland in general, and for its financial sector in particular. e)  Efficient supervision  To be sure, no financial centre can survive without credible guarantees as to its soundness and robustness. As we know, financial institutions are different from other firms. Due to the complex ties that exist between them, and given that the very institution of money is built on trust, fragile elements can destabilise the entire industry. They can have devastating effects on the other players, including on fundamentally healthy institutions. A prerequisite for a successful financial centre is therefore a strong banking supervisory authority. f)  Integrity  All the ingredients mentioned so far are important building blocks of a flourishing financial centre. One should not forget, however, that the most significant factor for a successful banking system is the assurance that the public, and the bank customers in particular, be honestly and fairly treated. In short, without trust there can be no lasting successful financial centre. This is more than wishful thinking on the part of a central banker. It is obvious that it is in the selfinterest of any financial centre, of its lawmakers, its supervisory authorities and of its private agents and their associations to set and implement rules and codes of conduct that match the highest standards.

With market globalisation and the free flow of capital, there is a real risk that a financial centre will become involved in illegal transactions against its will. I consider reputational risk as the major challenge facing financial centres at the beginning of this century. In Switzerland this has long become conventional wisdom. Know your customer rules have effectively been implemented and constantly adapted to the evolving requirements of the market realities for many years. Swiss anti money laundering rules and regulations are widely recognised as expressions of the state of the art. I shall come back to this thorny topic in a moment. Challenges ahead What are the challenges ahead? a)  Market globalisation  As I mentioned at the outset, the banking sector has gone through a period of heavy restructuring during the past decade or so. Banking no longer amounts to simply accepting savings and granting loans. Business has become increasingly complex and is dominated by a dwindling number of everlarger financial conglomerates. The trend toward concentration and the tendency toward onshore international banking can be observed in your country as in mine. The internationalisation of the banking business has led the large banks to establish major business units outside their home country. Our banks create now more jobs outside the country than in Switzerland. Obviously, global business is the first challenge to be faced by the financial centres as well as by the authorities. A close co-operation between supervisors is essential.
I will start with the domestically focused banks before moving on to the globally active banks and, in particular, the crisis at Credit Suisse. Domestically focused banks  For the domestically focused banks, the operating environment has changed markedly over the past year. Interest rates have risen significantly and there are signs of a slowdown in the real estate market. Overall, the domestically focused banks have benefited until now from the rise in interest rates. This rise has helped to restore their interest rate margins. The banks have been able to increase their profits and strengthen their capital buffers. At current interest rate levels, domestically focused banks’ profitability is likely to continue to improve. An unexpected upward interest rate shock in the future, however, would likely have a negative impact on these banks. First, in this scenario their interest expenses would increase faster than their interest income. This is because interest rates on many outstanding loans are fixed for several years. By contrast, rates on deposits are likely to react faster to a further interest rate rise. Second, higher interest rates could lead to credit losses in mortgage lending. This constitutes a significant risk for domestically focused banks because mortgages are often their main line of business. Against this backdrop, the results of our stress tests are crucial: Thanks to their capital buffers, most banks should be able to cope with such a scenario.

News conference  Embargo 22 June 2023, 10.00 am  Introductory remarks by the Governing Board  Thomas Jordan, Martin Schlegel and Andréa M. Maechler Chairman of the Governing Board / Vice Chairman of the Governing Board / Member of the Governing Board Swiss National Bank Zurich, 22 June 2023 © Swiss National Bank  Page 1/8  Zurich, 22 June 2023 Thomas Jordan, Martin Schlegel and Andréa M. Maechler  News conference  Ladies and gentlemen It is my pleasure to welcome you to the news conference of the Swiss National Bank. I would also like to welcome all those who are joining us today online. After our introductory remarks, we will take questions from journalists as usual. Questions can also be asked by telephone. Monetary policy decision I will begin with our monetary policy decision. We have decided to tighten our monetary policy further and to raise the SNB policy rate by 0.25 percentage points to 1.75%. In doing so, we are countering inflationary pressure, which has increased again over the medium term. It cannot be ruled out that additional rises in the SNB policy rate will be necessary to ensure price stability over the medium term. To provide appropriate monetary conditions, we also remain willing to be active in the foreign exchange market as necessary. In the current environment, the focus is on selling foreign currency. The SNB policy rate change applies from tomorrow, 23 June 2023.
They could do the ‘paperwork’ for switching for us, and – crucially for many of us – do the searching for information, filling in forms, and setting up payments that often prove an obstacle in making financial decisions. It’s difficult to forecast how attractive these services will actually be for customers and how fast any shift might be. Change if it happens could be relatively slow. Surveys suggest the majority of customers are relatively satisfied with their banking services. 16  Around 2 million UK bank customers already use  rudimentary services of this kind – PSD2 and Open Banking will enable greater security and functionality. These innovations do not directly involve the Bank of England. However, as I noted earlier it will be supported by the greater access to the high value payment system and related accounts at the Bank of England for non-bank payment that we will in future provide. And to the extent that new players in this area want to be banks, it will be supported by the PRA’s New Bank Start-up Unit. 17  These changes fit within our general responsibility to ensure that people can use the money of the UK to transact safely and, subject to that, as efficiently as possible and in line with their preferences. However it is not just the new players and the new services we need to think about.

And, as I have noted, when private banks settle the claims they have on each other, that happens in ‘public’ money, by exchanging their claims on the Bank of England. There have, of course, been examples, as in the US ‘free banking’ era of the mid 1800s, of private money operating outside the supporting technologies of public institutions and regulation. But that is not the case in the UK today. So rather than talk of ‘private money’, it is I think more accurate to talk of money issued by and transacted through publicly authorised firms. 5  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/speeches  5  You will have noted that I keep coming back to the Bank of England. There are many ways to describe the role of the Bank as a public institution serving the people of the United Kingdom. But in this context, perhaps the best is that our role is the stewardship in the UK of the social technology of money or, in Mill’s words, of the ‘machine’. Our statutory objectives, to ensure monetary and financial stability, are in effect to prevent the technology getting out of order. The first sets our responsibility for keeping confidence in the ‘unit of account’ of sterling. The second sets our responsibility for the financial system, on which the creation of, and the transactions in, our money depend. And of course, we are responsible also for the safety and soundness of most of the physical money, the banknotes that are used in the UK.