samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
From the start, the program included five main parts: - Macroeconomic stabilisation policies: a restrictive fiscal and monetary policy to remove the monetary overhang and to reintroduce macroeconomic equilibrium. - Liberalisation of prices: after 40 years of central price fixing, the bulk of prices were freed. - Liberalisation of external trade - and introduction of partial convertibility (for resident firms’ current account transactions). That required initial devaluation toward an exchange rate seen as viable from the point of view of the balance of payments. - Massive and rapid privatisation, including the use of the voucher scheme. - Social safety net to protect people whose standard of living dropped below poverty line. These adverse impacts of economic transformation were to be contained within tolerable limits. The programme aimed at re-establishing the role of prices and markets for an efficient allocation of resources. For the start, rationalisation of price relations implied a rise of the price level, owing to a monetary overhang, and to low downward price elasticity. In a small open economy, it made no sense to free internal prices without opening the economy to external competition and to world price relations. And, there could be no meaningful liberalisation of imports and exports without current account convertibility, introduced at least for resident firms. The short Polish and Hungarian experience showed, however, that free trade and partial convertibility should not be attempted without a preceding macroeconomic stabilisation.

The level of 4.0% will be reached by 2017. In addition to scenario II, scenario III assumes a more significant decline in oil prices, i.e. down to $ per barrel in 2017. The GDP growth rate in this scenario slows down to less than 1%. The scenario forecasts the use of the Reserve Fund within the framework of existing budget rules in order to stabilise the situation in the economy. As a result, the fiscal policy, in our opinion, will make a more pronounced positive contribution to the aggregate demand dynamics. In scenarios II and III the reduction of inflation to the medium-term target of 4.0% will require more time than in the baseline scenario; we believe it possible to reach this level in 2017. According to the forecast, the inflation will be 6–6.5% in 2015, 4.5–5.0% in 2016 and 4.0–4.5% in 2017. In both alternative scenarios, the Bank of Russia will focus on ensuring financial stability, preventing the reduction of confidence in the domestic financial system and national currency. To do this, we will be ready to use additional tools, including non-standard ones that have not been applied earlier. Currently, the Bank of Russia is also developing the so-called stress scenario – an emergency scenario, which implies a sharp and more significant drop in oil prices over the forecasted horizon. We consider the possibility of adding this scenario to the Guidelines at the next stage of the document finalisation.
Thomas C Baxter: Compliance – some thoughts about reaching the next level Remarks by Mr Thomas C Baxter, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, at the Fordham Journal of Corporate Counsel & Financial Law Symposium, Fordham Law School, New York City, 9 February 2015. *  *  *  These remarks are personal and do not necessarily represent the views of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, or any component of the Federal Reserve System. Introduction Let me begin by thanking Professor Sean Griffith, the director of the Corporate Law Center, and Robert Lyons, editor of the Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law, for inviting me to participate in this symposium about corporate compliance and corporate governance. Let me also thank Fordham Law School for hosting the symposium. I would also like to recognize a colleague who is with us today. He is Martin Grant, who is the New York Fed’s chief ethics and compliance officer. I have had the privilege of working with Martin for the last 25 years, and much of what I have learned about compliance I have learned from him. In the space sometimes labeled compliance, we have come a very long way in a relatively short time. In about 20 years, compliance has transformed from a nice idea to an important component of most major corporations. This is especially true in the highly regulated industries, including the industry where I have made my career, financial services.

However, it is possible to look at compliance in a very different way, as a two-way street and not a “one-way” street. Let me explain what I mean. A sound and effective compliance program can be used, appropriately in my view, as a tool that would permit on-boarding of what is seen as risky business. To continue with the example of correspondent banking, if a U.S. correspondent had a sound and effective compliance program that was well tailored to identify and control the risks of money laundering, terrorist financing, and sanctions evasion, this correspondent might become sufficiently confident to on-board risk. This means that instead of closing accounts for everyone in a specific geographic area, it would continue with some of these accounts, or even open new accounts. Now, I do not want anyone to think I am saying that all correspondents can reasonably have such confidence now. At this point in our journey, I concede the need to develop greater confidence that the identified risks can be controlled at a reasonable cost. With that said, I believe that we will reach a place where ethics and compliance programs are sufficiently developed so organizations can make considered decisions to on-board risk and keep it within the accepted risk appetite by using effective controls. I look forward to that time as we move to the next level. 3.
Assessing these resource needs is critical to evaluate whether, for instance, the New Arrangements to Borrow will have to remain active, even if the quota increase is fully implemented by next year. Moreover, the discussion of resources would have to be linked to a broader rethinking of the need for alternative lending instruments to bolster the global safety net. This topic should be given higher priority at the current juncture and not, as in our previous IMFC meeting, simply as part of a broader agenda for IMS reform. The activation and deactivation, and the criteria for conditionality, for the Flexible Credit Line or similar instruments could be reviewed, towards making them closer substitutes to bilateral swap lines that have been implemented by major central banks. This would help reduce the stigma associated with the Fund’s toolkit, and would contribute to ensure adequate liquidity provision in times of market stress. BIS central bankers’ speeches  3

To prevent these problems from getting out of hand, our country’s development should be undertaken in a way that does not place importance on GDP growth at the expense of all else, but aims to strike a balance between GDP growth and the preservation and conservation of natural resources and the environment. Rapid development should not be undertaken unless the environment and natural resources are able to sustain and support such development. The public needs to have greater interest in resource management, particularly water management, in order to allow sustainable use, alongside the growing needs from agriculture and industry. We need to restore nature and the natural balance of the environment, which can thrive in parallel with the growing economy, increased tourism demands, as well as improved living standards for all Thais in general. Hence, in order for economic development to continue in the right direction, development should not be measured solely by GDP growth, but by other development indicators as well. There has been increasing discussion on the concept of Green GDP, although this has not yet been put into practice. [In Bhutan, instead of adopting traditional GDP measures, the Bhutanese have adopted “Gross National Happiness”, or GNH as their development philosophy. In recognition that human happiness is a composite of both the material and non-material needs, GNH is meant to address this. GNH is a more comprehensive measure that incorporates economic development, environmental preservation, cultural promotion, and good governance.]
Anita Angelovska Bezhoska: Payments in the digital era - inside out Speech by Ms Anita Angelovska Bezhoska, Governor of the National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia, at the 13th Conference on Payments and Market Infrastructures, jointly organised by the National Bank of North Macedonia and the Netherlands Bank, Ohrid (digitally), 9 December 2021. * * * Dear Governor Knot, Minister Besimi, Dear speakers and participants It is my great pleasure to welcome you to our traditional conference on Payments in the Digital Era: Inside Out, hosted by our central bank together with the Dutch Central Bank, for which I express my deep gratitude to governor Knot and his colleagues. Our lives are becoming increasingly digital as a result of the proliferation of new technologies that transform public and private services making them more convenient and accessible to consumers. As our lives have gone digital, so have our payments. The digitalisation of consumer payment behaviour, which has been going on for years, has been accelerated by the pandemics that shifted it in a higher gear. Globally, last year cash payments declined by 16%, while the number of non-cash transactions increased by 6%. The pandemics has particularly accelerated the shift towards real time/instant payments that grew by 40%. In the euro area, according to the ECB survey on payment attitudes (2020)1, 40% of the respondents stated that since the onset of the pandemic they have used less cash and more cards (contactless in particular).

The main reasons for changing payment habits include the increased convenience of the electronic payments, for example increased limit on the amount of contactless payments, the perceived risk of infection from banknotes, governments’ recommendations to use cash less, as well as more difficult access to and lower acceptance of cash at the points of sale. This trend in payments is unlikely to be reversed. Almost 90% of the respondents stated that they would continue to use cash less once the pandemic is over. Similar trends in payment habits can be observed in our country as well. Consumers have shown strong preferences for using cashless instruments such as cards. For example, the number of payment transactions initiated on the virtual point of sale last year doubled and continued to raise at double-digit growth rates this year. Also, the volume of contactless card payments increased by about 50% in 2020 and this trend has continued this year. Obviously, advancement in technology opens the doors to innovative digital services, but to unlock its true value for businesses and consumers, we as regulators have a role to play. In this context, clear example is the Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) that opened up EU payments market to higher competition, by establishing a level playing field for traditional players and new entrants, while providing higher protection for consumers. The new concept of open banking was conducive to richer payment landscape with numerous new entrants (third party providers) and numerous new customer-centric services.
Ingimundur Friðriksson: Interest rates and financial markets in February 2008 Speech by Mr Ingimundur Friðriksson, Governor of the Central Bank of Iceland, at a Rotary Club meeting, Reykjavik, 28 February 2008. *  *  *  On Thursday 14 February 2007, the Board of Governors of the Central Bank of Iceland announced its decision to keep the Bank’s policy interest rate unchanged at 13.75%. In its announcement, which can be found on the Bank’s website, the Board of Governors explained the rationale behind its decision. It mentioned the fact that inflation was higher than November forecasts indicated, and that the short-term inflation outlook had deteriorated since November. This is borne out by the rise in the Consumer Price Index in February. The Board of Governors emphasised that uncertainty has increased, and that the Central Bank intends to monitor developments in economic indicators very closely, particularly those that reflect the impact of poorer financial market conditions on lending and demand. In the conclusion of its announcement, the Board of Governors stated that, as before, it was critical for households and businesses that inflation be controlled and inflation expectations anchored successfully. The policy rate decision was based on these considerations. The Central Bank is required by law to promote price stability. Currently in effect is a joint declaration issued by the Icelandic government and the Bank in 2001, stating that the Bank must aim at keeping inflation as close as possible to 2½%.

Nonetheless, all three of Iceland’s large commercial banks recorded a profit in the fourth quarter of 2007, and they concluded the year with an ample equity position. Banks all over the world have been forced to write off large amounts of money because of their investments in securitised assets related to the US mortgage market. Icelandic banks’ investments in obligations of this sort were small. That being the case, they have had relatively little need for such write-offs – and some had no need whatsoever because they had not invested in securitised assets. Furthermore, it is worth remembering that changes in the share price of Iceland’s banks have not differed markedly from that of banks in other areas of the world. Over the past few years, for example, the share price of Icelandic commercial banks dropped by 7-30%, while various large Nordic banks fell 15-40% and the shares of well-known international banking giants depreciated by margins ranging from 30% to over 50%. The decline is greater if measured against the peak of share prices. Financial companies carry unusual weight in the Icelandic stock exchange’s share price index (OMXI 15) – at present, some two-thirds. No matter where one looks, the price of financial company stock has declined all over the world – in most locations, it has fallen more than that of other companies that constitute equity indices.
I will now briefly elaborate on the pros and cons of dollarization on a macro-economic level, thus not the operational implications. Whether an effect of dollarizing the economy is considered a positive or a negative, it could greatly differ between its advocates and its opponents. I will now briefly refer to some effects of dollarization: 1. Dollarization could lower transaction costs, especially when most payments to nonresidents are in US dollars. 2. Depending on the capital restrictions in place and the depth of the domestic banking sector, it could lead to reduced interest rates, thereby making it less costly to borrow. This could also be the case when acquiring an international loan, as there will be no exchange devaluation premiums on rates charged to local companies and the government. 3. Because of the elimination of exchange rate risk, dollarization could be beneficial to international trade and foreign investment. 4. The import of the monetary policy of the U.S., being the issuing country of the adopted currency, is unavoidable. This means that local policymakers are no longer in the position to use the exchange rate to absorb external shocks or to finance budget deficits by printing money. 5. Some of the tasks of the central bank, especially the function of lender of last resort, which is the credit line for local banks when experiencing financial stress, will disappear. This is typically linked to the ability of the central bank to print its country’s currency. 6.

Jeanette R Semeleer: To dollarize or not to dollarize – the Central Bank of Aruba’s point of view Speech by Ms Jeanette R Semeleer, President of the Central Bank of Aruba, at the conference “Opportunities and Risks of Dollarization for the Dutch Caribbean”, organized by the Minister of Finance of the Netherlands Antilles, Curaçao, at the Bank of the Netherlands Antilles, Willemstad, 24 August 2009. *  *  *  Ladies and gentlemen, good morning! 1. Introduction  I am truly honored to have been invited to speak to such a distinguished audience on a topic that touches everyone’s wallet, and that is dollarization. With dollarization in this context I refer to as the use of the US dollar as the exclusive legal tender in a country. I must admit that at the Centrale Bank van Aruba (CBA), although we have regular bilateral meetings, we have been quite surprised with the recent consideration of the BNA to replace the Netherlands Antillean guilder for the US dollar as the legal tender for the island of Curaçao on a very short term. In view of the far-reaching consequences of such a change, possibly for Aruba too, I highly applaud Mrs. De Lanooy’s initiative to organize a forum of experts, which could enlighten us further on a rather complicated issue. At the end, it is of crucial importance that the required political decision is based on a thorough assessment of the opportunities and risks associated with dollarization.
The significant interest rate here is that used in the Bank’s repurchase transactions with credit institutions, sometimes referred to as the Central Bank’s policy interest rate. Such transactions in fact represent the Bank’s liquidity facility for these institutions. The commercial and savings banks subsequently set their own rates of interest, having regard to the Central Bank’s policy rate, and short-term market interest rates generally change in phase with the Central Bank rate. If other factors remain constant, changes in the Central Bank interest rate also affect long-term interest rates, but here other aspects also enter the picture. The response of these rates to changes in the Central Bank rate is therefore not always predictable and tends to occur with a certain time lag. Inflation forecasting plays a crucial role in Central Bank policy. It produces four forecasts annually, which are published in its quarterly Monetary Bulletin. The inflation forecast extends just over two years into the future, on a quarter-by-quarter basis. As in other countries, interest rate changes by the Central Bank take quite some time to have an impact throughout the economy. This makes it necessary to have a forward-looking policy, with the inflation forecast based on state-of-the-art methodologies. In addition to its inflation forecast, the Central Bank publishes a quarterly assessment of the economic and monetary situation and prospects, including a national economic forecast, and their probable impact on price level developments.

Ardian Fullani: Economic and political challenges of regional cooperation Speech by Mr Ardian Fullani, Governor of the Bank of Albania, at the round table entitled “The economic and political challenges of regional cooperation”, Tirana, 8 September 2010. *  *  *  Honourable guests, Dear participants, I feel honoured to open today this roundtable. Before anything else I want to welcome our colleagues from Oxford University, who have undertaken an important mission for Albania and the region: contributing to the growth of research capacity, of sapience, and to building of a sustained long-term response to the growth challenges we come through on our common ways, similar but unique, towards the European Union. It is a great pleasure for me and for the Bank of Albania to have the opportunity to begin a series of studies about the domestic and regional economic policy, which will assist the scientific debate about the economic growth model, also backed by a regional point of view at social, economic and political level. You may ask yourself, why Bank of Albania is so much interested in the economic growth and the economic policies overall, as the main target of the central bank is the stability of prices. In the following minutes I shall try to deal with some of the main points of the Bank of Albania’s agenda in recent years.
Any firm making large-scale use of reinsurance needs to consider their capacity to recapture that risk in the event of the failure of one of their counterparties. We note that some firms are reliant on an action to re-cede offshored risk to another reinsurer, should the original reinsurer default. This would only be possible if the reinsurance market can operate continually and without interruption. There could be myriad drivers of reinsurer counterparty default, but some of these could point to market issues, and potentially temporary market tightening or even closure. Firms should consider this risk in their counterparty assessments, and we will look to protect UK policyholders, who are ultimately dependent on the reinsurance payments being made[10]. Process improvements The three main areas of process improvements that I want to highlight, all noted in the Government’s April Consultation Document, are: The internal model application process;  Page 7  Reporting; and The matching adjustment (MA) application process. On internal models, we are seeking ways to improve and streamline the application process as well as achieving a more flexible approach to the modelling of complex and emerging risks. This may allow models that are adequate but suffer from some non-fatal shortcomings to nonetheless be used whilst those shortcomings are addressed over a realistic timetable. Potentially, this approach could also make use of safeguards where appropriate. We will not allow the best, in modelling, to become the enemy of good enough.

In the case of annuity firms, the reforms are reliant on our confidence in the level of MA benefit taken – and hence on the fundamental spread being appropriately calculated. More broadly, in addition to the use of safeguards where appropriate, the reforms are contingent on the continued effectiveness of a central pillar of the Solvency II regime, the quality of firms’ own risk management. That will remain at the core of firm-to-supervisor dialogue and engagement. Our overall work on potential Solvency II reform has already benefited from the effective engagement as part of the pre-consultation phase of the review. Following the publication of our DP at the end of April, we are requesting more information from firms and I am looking forward to our next series of meetings in order to hear the views of firms, their investors and other stakeholders. Thank you. I am grateful to Saoirse Carberry, Craig Turnbull, Alan Sheppard, Avni Gangadia and Miranda Hewkin Smith for their assistance in helping me prepare this speech. 1. Review of Solvency II: Call for Evidence | HM Treasury 2. Brave new world - speech by Sam Woods | Bank of England. 3. Four Rs: Creating the conditions for long-term sustainable growth in the life annuity sector – speech by Charlotte Gerken | Bank of England 4. The Prudential Regulation Authority’s approach to insurance supervision | Bank of England Section 1 explains the PRA’s objectives. 5. At YE21 ‘Investment and cash excluding participations’ - Insurance aggregate data report | Bank of England, 6.