samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
At the recent release of the 2018 Financial Stability and Payment Systems Report, Bank Negara Malaysia reported that financial institutions in Malaysia will continue to support economic activity, including to households for affordable housing. Loan disbursements and net financing to households grew healthily last year by around 6.7% and 4.7% respectively. The approval rate stood at 71.3%, with around 70% of loans for first time buyers of properties priced below RM500,000. Finally, for policymakers, our role is to continue pursuing greater coordination with the private sector to build a sustainable housing market. In Malaysia, various initiatives have been announced to support this agenda, including the launch of Bank Negara Malaysia’s Fund for Affordable Homes, the National Home Ownership Campaign, stamp duty exemptions and provision of mortgage guarantees and rent-to-own schemes. While we are seeing a gradual rebalancing of housing supply towards the more affordable segments in Malaysia, it is important that future supply is tailored to the needs of future demand. As such, moving forward, it will be critical for Malaysia to accelerate the establishment of an integrated housing database. The database would be important to provide timely information to help build an efficient housing market through greater transparency and lead to better planning by policymakers and developers. The newly established single authority for affordable housing should play a proactive and strategic role in managing affordable housing in Malaysia. Local authorities and developers should also work together to reduce the cost of building houses.

So far, more than 3600 people have completed the modules and a substantial number of them, one in five, have decided not to proceed with the purchase. This points to two things. Firstly, the module is successful in nudging participants to reassess their existing financial obligations before they can take on more than what they can handle. Secondly, it reinforces the need to continue pushing for financial education. Individuals need to know their capacity, and what they can afford before undertaking a commitment of this magnitude. We have established that every individual needs to play their part to ensure that they are fully aware of and are able to undertake the commitment of buying a house. However, the responsibility does not reside with the buyers alone. Industry players in the private sector also 1/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  have a role to play to support the national agenda of affordable homes. As one of the core players in the housing market, developers have a significant role to play. In providing the supply of homes for the public, developers should seek to provide homes at an affordable price point. Using international affordability metrics, houses in Malaysia are considered to be “seriously unaffordable” with a median multiple of five times. This, in turn, affects home ownership. Take the latest data of unsold residential properties of about 171,000 units. About 74% of them are priced beyond what ordinary Malaysians can afford.
As I will talk about shortly, I believe such policy could provide more clarity about our attitudes toward providing monetary accommodation – and would be more in line with a structure I would have preferred to have seen in our August 2011 and January 2012 actions. This policy also can be structured in a way that would represent a balanced risk-management approach to achieving the dual goals of maximum employment and stable prices that the United States Congress has mandated to the Federal Reserve. Communications enhancements First, though, I’d like to discuss the Fed’s latest initiatives to enhance communications. As an accountable central bank in a democratic society, the Federal Reserve has an obligation to clearly articulate what it is trying to achieve with monetary policy. I believe that our latest communications efforts are an important step in further increasing such accountability to the public, as they reaffirm our commitment to both legs of the dual mandate and describe the ways in which we will seek to achieve those objectives. The framework statement Let’s start with the framework statement of our policy goals and long-run strategy. The framework clarifies how the FOMC interprets our statutory responsibilities for facilitating maximum employment and price stability in terms of measurable and achievable economic goals that we aim for over the longer run. We say that the Committee sees a rate of inflation of 2 percent over the long run as being consistent with the price stability leg.

Because the monetary policy impulse works through its impact on financial market conditions, I don’t see why the Fed would want to act in a way that deliberately made this linkage less predictable. In actuality, I have been pushing in the opposite direction. By explaining the importance of financial conditions as part of our monetary policy decisions, I am trying to tighten the linkage. Balance Sheet Normalization I’d like to wrap up my comments tonight by discussing the likely next step in the monetary policy normalization process: beginning to allow maturing Treasuries and agency MBS paydowns to run off the Fed’s balance sheet, in contrast to our current practice of reinvesting all of the proceeds. As you are aware, following the June FOMC meeting we issued an addendum to our Policy Normalization Principles and Plans.3 In that addendum, the FOMC outlined how it planned to gradually reduce the Fed’s securities holdings over time. Namely, when that program is implemented, the FOMC will decrease its reinvestments in an orderly way, with repayments reinvested only to the extent they exceed gradually rising caps. For maturing Treasury securities, the FOMC anticipates that the monthly cap will be $ billion initially and will increase in steps of $ billion at three-month intervals over 12 months until it reaches $ billion. For repayments of agency MBS, the monthly cap will be $ billion initially and will increase in steps of $ billion at three-month intervals over 12 months until it reaches $ billion.
Within Asia, the ASEAN-5 (Association of Southeast Asian Nations-5) countries3 are expected to expand by 5 to 6% this year and their external trade volume will reach around 60% that of China. ASEAN, which is a two-trillion-dollar economic grouping, is the fifth largest in the world in terms of purchasing power parity. ASEAN countries have been working steadily together towards greater economic integration and have committed to build the ASEAN Economic Community, a single market and production base, by 2015. 4. In 2010, MENA as a whole grew 3.8%, led principally by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economies. Considering the uncertainty in parts of MENA, the IMF nevertheless still expects the GCC to grow by 7.8% this year, driven by the robust expansion of oil production and strong public spending. The medium-term outlook remains good as countries in the region lay the foundation for sustainable and diversified growth. 5. Asia will become increasingly important for the GCC as the patterns of trade, investment and consumption shift from the West to the East. To reap greater benefits from these highly dynamic and fast-expanding regions, we should press on towards the goal of growing connectivity and deepening economic cooperation between our two regions. We  1  Sources: Monetary Authority of Singapore, Consensus Economics Inc, weighted by shares in Singapore’s NODX. 2  IMF, Regional Economic Outlook: Asia and Pacific, April 2011. 3  ASEAN-5 comprises Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and Singapore.

National and industry players have to work closely together to address the many challenges faced by Islamic finance as it internationalizes into new markets. This morning, let me touch on just three issues, which I am sure you will be discussing in greater depth during the course of the conference. 11. First, there is a fundamental need for further standardization and harmonization of both regulatory and Shariah standards across the Middle East and Asia. The greater use of standardized legal documentation will increase efficiency, certainty, transparency and liquidity. This would allow for easier cross-border offering of financial products that would reach a wider investor base and thereby bring about greater economies of scale and reduce transaction costs. Standardisation will also enable better risk management by ensuring that risks are clearly identified and appropriately mitigated between financial institutions and their  4  Asian Development Bank, Asian Development Outlook 2011 (April 2011). 5  Economist Intelligence Unit, “GCC trade and investment flows: The emerging-market surge”, 2011. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  counterparties. Shariah scholars and multilateral agencies such as the IDB, Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) and Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) are already working to address these critical issues. As a member of the IFSB, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will work with them in their efforts to allow greater access to an even larger global community, including non-Muslim countries. 12.
•  Abstracting from this volatility, there are a few discernible trends emerging that augur well for future of Singapore’s financial centre. First, asset management. •  As at end-2012, total assets managed by Singapore-based asset managers reached an all-time high of $ trillion, a year-on-year increase of 22%. •  About 80% of AUM was sourced from outside Singapore and more than 70% of total assets were invested in the Asia-Pacific region, reflecting Singapore’s role as an asset management hub serving both regional and international investors. •  We continue to see strong interest from global fund houses, seeking to set up or expand their Asian presence in Singapore  Second, insurance and reinsurance. •  Singapore is now the leading reinsurance and specialty insurance hub in Asia, housing a strong cluster of direct insurers, reinsurers, captives, brokers and ancillary service providers. •  Increasingly, more insurers and brokers are offering specialised lines such as trade credit and political risk insurance, aviation, marine, energy, against terrorism and professional indemnity. •  For example, we are home to Lloyd’s Asia, the only major marketplace outside of Lloyd’s of London that writes specialist and reinsurance business in the region. Third, our offshore RMB centre. A key milestone in 2013 was launch of RMB clearing facilities in Singapore. More importantly, a broader ecosystem is taking shape. •  MAS has entered enhanced bilateral currency swap arrangement with People’s Bank of China (PBOC) in Mar 2013: –  The size of the swap arrangement has doubled to RMB300 billion.

Ravi Menon: Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Annual Report 2012/13 Opening remarks by Mr Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, at the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Annual Report 2012/13 Press Conference, Singapore, 23 July 2013. *  *  *  Good morning. Welcome to MAS’ annual report press conference. I would like to highlight five key messages today. •  first, macroeconomic outlook better this year than last;  •  second, strong $ more than offset good returns on MAS’ investments;  •  third, banking system sound but build-up in household debt worrying;  •  fourth, stepped up efforts to ensure we remain clean and trusted financial centre;  •  fifth, good progress in key drivers of financial centre growth. GDP growth stronger and CPI inflation lower this year compared to last Let me start with the economy. The overall macroeconomic outlook this year is better than last year. Barring shocks, Singapore’s GDP growth will be stronger and CPI inflation lower in 2013, compared to 2012. Economy comfortably on track to meet 1–3% growth forecast The Singapore economy will comfortably meet the growth forecast of 1–3% for 2013. Growth was estimated at 2% in H1 and should pick up further in H2 First, the advanced economies are in better shape this year. •  Tail risks have receded. There is less likelihood of a Eurozone break-up or a fiscal cliff in the US.
Do they interact in a way that dampens a shock or in a way that intensifies it? To the extent that the system has  BIS Review 83/2009  1  important reinforcing rather than dampening mechanisms, then it may need to be modified. That may require significant re-engineering. Let me give you some examples of reinforcing and dampening mechanisms: Capital. When firms have incentives to continue to pay dividends to show they are strong that is a reinforcing or amplifying mechanism. The paying of the dividends depletes capital, making the firms weaker. In contrast, when firms have incentives (or are forced) to cut dividends quickly to conserve capital, that is a dampening mechanism. Foreign exchange. When the debts of a country held by foreigners are denominated predominantly in the home currency, currency depreciation reduces the net debt burden – the value of foreign assets climbs relative to the asset claims of foreigners. The U.S. operates in a dampening regime in this respect. In contrast, when the debts of the home country are denominated in foreign currency, currency depreciation increases the net debt burden. Some of the Baltic countries are wrestling with this dilemma currently. Some reinforcing mechanisms that we might want to engineer out of the financial system: •  Collateral tied to credit ratings. Credit downgrades lead to increased collateral calls which drains liquidity, leads to forced asset sales, further weakening the firm subject to the collateral calls.

7  NORGES BANK  Chart 7 Activity picked up faster than expected  Number of employed excluding furloughed. In thousands 2950  2950  2900  2900  2850  2850  2800  2800  2750  2750  2700  2700  2650  2650  2600  2015  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  2022  2023  2024  Projections May 2020 Projections December 2021  ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES 17 FEBRUARY 2022  2600  Sources: Statistics Norway and Norges Bank  INFLATION IS RISING Two years after the outbreak of the pandemic, we can see that activity in the Norwegian economy has recovered firmly. The same can be said for many of our trading partner countries. But something might be changing. Following many years of low inflation, we are again seeing high inflation figures both in Norway and among our trading partners (Chart 8). A key driver of domestic inflation has been unusually high electricity prices through winter, which have resulted in high electricity bills for both households and firms. Much of the increase is likely to be temporary, and electricity prices are expected to come down in spring. But the winter’s electricity prices may serve as an early warning. The green transition probably means that we will be seeing higher and more volatile energy prices than we have been used to. Chart 8 High inflation in many countries  Consumer prices. Twelve-month change.
As a first pragmatic step, for host supervisors, it is necessary to establish an intermediate holding that consolidates all financial activities, in order to submit systemically important players to requirements. Agustín Carstens elaborated yesterday on the "segregation" and "inclusion" approaches. In addition, regulation of big techs in finance should go beyond traditional regulation of finance. Let me explain: big techs pose at least three new challenges. That of competition - as they are already much more concentrated than existing financial institutions, and the network economy tends to establish "the winner takes most" rule. That of data protection and privacy, of course. And finally, that of operational risk and cybersecurity. However, in each of these three fields - competition, data protection and cybersecurity - there is no international body, unlike in finance. And the national - or European - authorities that do exist are still hardly used to cooperating with each other. To develop cross-border and cross-domain cooperation, the scope is wide but essential: the OECD, the BIS and the FSB can and must be sandboxes. As a beacon of hope, Europe is showing the way on all these common challenges.

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6  Central Bank of Chile 29 June, 2017  Financial distortions that influence macro stabilization  Slide 10  ▪ Liquidity constraints prevent relative prices from helping macro adjustment ▪ Inefficient intermediation of savings reduces the return on real investment and balance incentives in favor of speculation and rent-seeking ▪ Underdeveloped financial systems are also prone to concentration and vertical integration, at the cost of clients and systemic risk  [SLIDE 10] The latter are rather dramatic examples of the challenges posed by protracted financial development for price and financial stability, the twin goals of central banks. But such challenges can take many more shapes. A low coverage of banking and credit means that a substantial fraction of the population and companies may not have access to liquidity when they need it, nor credit to live through a contingency. Liquidity and credit constraints prevent relative prices from resolving disequilibria, amplifying the impact of shocks on employment, production and consumption. Inefficient intermediation of savings reduces the return on real investment and tilt incentives in favor of speculation and rent-seeking. Shallow capital markets may be unable to hedge market risks, particularly exchange rate and term exposures, and foster concentration and vertical integration. Underdeveloped financial services can also contribute to economic informality. What is the point in registering a business, complying with regulations and paying taxes if you cannot get funding for working capital or investment projects? The financial dimension of informality is shadow, unregulated banking, which is prone to insolvency, abuse and fraud.

Slide 20  FX derivatives market FX derivatives market depth, 1998-2016 (annual amounts as percent of GDP) 30  26.6  28.4  25 20 15 10  6.5  5  2.4 2.5  2.3 2.3  4.5  0 Advanced Economies  Emerging Economies 1998  2001  2004  Latin American Economies 2007  2010  2013  Chile  2016  Sources: Salinas, J. M. and J. M. Villena (2014), “Mercado Cambiario Chileno, Una Comparación Internacional: 1998 a 2013,” Studies in Economic Statistics 104, Central Bank of Chile, Bank of International Settlements, and IMF. [SLIDE 21] In addition to the above, it should be noted that Chile has reached almost universal coverage of basic services through the so-called Cuenta RUT (ID bank account), managed by the state bank (BancoEstado). This is a sight account that can be opened only with a legally issued ID. At present, there are some 9 million of these accounts under operation (for a total population of 17 million), allowing its bearers access to electronic transfers, debit cards and ATM cash withdrawals. 16  Central Bank of Chile 29 June, 2017  Cuenta RUT is a hybrid financial product that provides a good example of the factors that facilitate technologically-enabled financial products in Chile. These include: universal and secure identity registration; universal online invoicing; internet penetration, and regulations that foster cash-flow services, like factoring and leasing.
Next, I shall discuss how uncertainty and the degree of credibility with which monetary policy is associated influence policy formulation. These two factors play an important role in practice. The third issue concerns the exchange rate. For small open economies this issue is one of the most important determinants of inflation at the same time as it is also an important measure of how stable economic policy is seen to be. How changes in the exchange rate ought to be handled when monetary policy decisions are taken has been an important monetary policy issue in Sweden in recent years. Finally I shall discuss the issue of how the monetary policy goal has been defined and should be interpreted. The Inflation/Growth Connection The Riksbank’s chief task is the achievement and preservation of price stability, which should be interpreted as keeping the rate of inflation at a low and stable level. Behind this view of the role of monetary policy lies the understanding that growth and employment cannot in the long run be achieved via an inflationary policy. There are other factors that determine growth: technological development, the way in which the economy functions, human resources development, etc. Attempts to stimulate the economy in the short run by allowing higher inflation tend to rebound in the long run. Swedish experience in the last decade, and also experiences in other countries, demonstrate this. Participants in the economy see through the policy, revise wage demands upwards and raise prices.

What we saw in the international financial markets—after the bond markets’ crash in 1994 or the Mexico/Barings unrest in 1995—is an interaction between market tendencies in a more limited sense and weak public finances or other credibility problems. High international interest rates and currency unrest have aggravated the problem of public finances,  BIS Review 56/1997  -7-  so that on these occasions economies such as Sweden’s have moved from a virtuous to a vicious circle. Examples of how one could analyse exchange rate developments in the above terms can also be found in events of the last half-year. An explanation of developments with respect to the krona has to do with the position of the Swedish and continental economies in the business cycle. In recent months the dollar and the pound especially have appreciated relative to continental currencies. Monetary policy in the USA and Great Britain has been relatively tight. (Figure 4). This is still not the entire explanation. The krona has also fallen somewhat against continental currencies, especially during the winter and spring. In part, this has coincided with concerns with respect to the EMU process, possibly strengthened in Sweden’s case because Sweden’s position on the EMU issue is unclear. In addition there has been some uncertainty about the steadfastness of long-term economic policy connected with, inter alia, continued high unemployment. The studies that have been done by the Riksbank indicate that there is room for an appreciation of the krona.