samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
Introductory Speech by Prof. Edward Scicluna Governor of the Central Bank of Malta The Institute of Financial Services annual’s seminar: “The ESG Journey: a Pulse Check for the Maltese Economy”. St Julian’s, Malta 11 November 2022 Ladies and Gentlemen, good morning I would like to thank the Institute of Financial Services and in particular its President Kenneth Micallef, for their kind invitation to address this distinguished audience. It is becoming increasing apparent that climate change is one of the greatest, and most immediate, threats faced by mankind. So I do not need many explanations why today I shall put the emphasis on the “E” of ESG, namely on the environment and on the fundamental transformations that lie in front of us. This is not to underestimate the role of the Social and the Governance  elements: matters of inclusiveness, labour relations, equality and the conduct of public and private institutions are proof that sustainability extends well beyond the environmental question. But Global temperatures are rising – 2010s was the warmest decade on record and extreme weather events have doubled compared to forty years ago. Decades of scientific research have established that greenhouse emissions associated with human activity are behind climate change. 1  Only a coordinated international endeavour can deliver the necessary shift away from fossil fuels. This urgency led 196 parties to sign the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit the increase in global temperatures.

Finally, I would like to welcome the members of the Forum and its observers, and thank them in advance for committing to and participating in this exciting and important project. 4  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/speeches and @BoE_PressOffice  4
In any event, the results of this exercise show the systemic importance of this vulnerability and the need to be ready to provide a sufficient, internationally coordinated response, depending on how the pandemic develops worldwide. 6  “A system-wide scenario analysis of large-scale corporate bond downgrades”, European Systemic Risk Board Technical Note, July 2020. 12  Economic policies to tackle the challenges ahead I will focus the final part of my speech on the challenges ahead. The economy is currently recovering gradually; but as I explained at the beginning of my presentation, the recovery is incomplete, uneven and subject to a high degree of uncertainty mostly related to how the pandemic will evolve. This means that corporate sector risks will continue to be relevant until the pandemic is under control, especially for those companies more affected by the shock. Let me summarize now how, in my view, the course of action should be under the current macroeconomic environment. First, economic policies should continue providing support to the economy. In particular, we should avoid an early termination of support measures because this may give rise to socalled cliff effects. Policymakers should be vigilant regarding risks and stand ready to introduce further stimulus if the macroeconomic outlook deteriorates further. This is of course particularly important as regard fiscal measures.

1  The impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the Spanish economy  To put the discussion on corporate sector risks and vulnerabilities in context, I will first briefly review the impact of the COVID-19 crisis in Spain. The Spanish economy has been one of the hardest hit by the pandemic among advanced economies, with GDP experiencing unprecedented quarter-on-quarter declines of 5.2% and 17.8% in the first and second quarter, respectively. In the third quarter, economic activity is expected to have partially recovered, with the latest information pointing to a weakening in growth momentum since the end of July as a consequence of the worsening of the health crisis over the summer months. Looking ahead, the Spanish economic outlook continues to be highly dependent on epidemiological developments, about which much uncertainty remains. In any case, the latest Banco de España forecasting exercise points to a large GDP fall in 2020 as a whole, which could range between 10.5% and 12.6% depending on how the pandemic evolves and, therefore, on the severity of the measures needed to contain it. In either of the two scenarios considered, this contraction in GDP would be followed by a fairly dynamic recovery in 2021 and 2022. This recovery, however, is expected to be incomplete, meaning that, by the end of the forecasting period, Spanish GDP would still be below its prepandemic level. 2  Firms’ liquidity risks and the economic policies implemented to tackle them  Let me now discuss the main risks that firms are facing in this challenging environment.
We consider that our work has been both interesting and rewarding and we hope that it has also helped some of our colleagues to make their own institutions stronger. 2  BIS Review 123/2006

He was, after all, the chief minister for over a decade of the Gujarat, the most probusiness state in India. And almost every U.S. business leader I know has heard of Ratan Tata’s experience when he looked to Gujarat for an alternative to the frustration of his attempt to build a new car factory in West Bengal. As I understand it, Mr. Tata went to see Minister Modi, had a handshake deal in 30 minutes, and in 14 months the new factory was up and running. That almost makes Texas look like California by comparison! BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  So Mr. Ambassador, we are all watching for this first prime minister born since Independence to work his probusiness, nonbureaucratic, can-do spirit upon the whole of India. It is in America’s interest for India to thrive. We wish Prime Minister Modi, the government you represent with such distinction, and the Indian nation the very best of luck. The Texas Jagannatha Tonight, you and I are surrounded by the smart, probusiness people of Indian heritage who have chosen to invest and operate within the most probusiness state in the United States. I am going to throw up a few slides to quickly summarize the environment in which they operate. Texas is a job-creating juggernaut. I pick that word deliberately, knowing it derives from the Hindi Jagannatha and is, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, a title of Krishna.
It came care of fixing the exchange rate – first to gold under the Gold Standard and latterly in the post war period to the dollar. With the demise of the dollar standard in the early 1970s, however, the exchange rate anchor had been tossed overboard. At the Bank of England, as elsewhere, the search was on for a new nominal anchor. Into this vacuum stepped Andrew Duncan Crockett. Crockett joined the Bank in 1966 as a graduate entrant, just before the break-up of the Bretton Woods dollar standard. He set to work on the biggest problem of the day, locating a new nominal anchor. In so doing, he began working alongside another young(ish) new Bank entrant, Charles Goodhart. The result was a joint paper published in the Bank’s Quarterly Bulletin in June 1970. It was titled “The Importance of Money”.11 Re-reading it now, it was a prophetic piece of work. In the UK, it laid some of the analytical foundations for what, during the late 1970s and 1980s, became monetarism. More than that, the paper placed commercial bank money and credit at the centre of the macro-economy. It could as well have been titled “The Importance of Credit” or indeed “The Importance of Banks”. After a successful spell at the IMF, Crockett returned to the Bank of England in 1989. In 1994, he then became General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements, the central banks’ central bank. In central bank circles, change was in the air.

Yet the considerable slack in productive capacity and the sluggish recovery in demand and activity across Europe suggest that inflation rates, while positive, will hold at moderate levels in the near future, with no risk of deflation discernible for the moment. Given the incipient pick-up in activity and the continuation of very modest levels of both actual and expected inflation, the official interest rate for the euro area, at 1% since last May, is at the appropriate level. Switching our focus to the Spanish economy, the decline in output in 2009 is not going to be sharper than in other countries, but the contrast with the growth rates of the ten previous years is more patent. The fact is, as I have explained on other occasions, the Spanish recession shares features with other countries, but has its own hallmarks, such as the real estate adjustment and the behaviour of the labour market. The powerful external contractionary forces generated by the international crisis compounded the internal adjustment on which the Spanish economy had embarked, exacerbating the decline in domestic spending and employment. The latest figures indicate that, as in the euro area and the rest of the world, the sharpest phase of contraction in the Spanish economy is now behind us. According to the data released some days back by the INE, activity slipped once more in the third quarter, unlike in other developed countries, although it did so at a quarter-on-quarter rate of 0.3%.
In addition, by restricting the availability of loans to those matches that are likely to succeed, the social benefits will be achieved at lower cost. While there is currently little underwriting of student loans in terms of individual or family wealth – which is as it should be – better underwriting of loans may result in higher preparedness standards for students. Just as importantly, it will require evidence, provided by the institution, of sufficient success in graduating students of a specific preparedness level and placing them into viable jobs with sufficient income to permit repayment of the loans. This unfortunately contrasts with the current student loan system. We see evidence of problems associated with the lack of careful underwriting standards for educational matches that are supported by student debt. For example, current performance for some degree programs and some universities are problematically weak, in terms of degree completion rates and loan repayment rates. There have been reports of some schools in cities with large minority populations and low-income residents who tried to build enrollment by encouraging academically under-qualified students to apply for loans that they would be unlikely to be able to repay, especially if they received a substandard education. These practices BIS central bankers’ speeches  7  undermine our commitment to financing effective higher education matches, and it is important that they be addressed. Conclusion Nothing in the analyses I discussed with you undermines the strong case for completing a college degree for prospective students who match well with a particular college.

In closing, Malaysia is committed to be part of the New Silk Road to facilitate greater cross border economic and financial flows for increased inter-regional trade and investment transactions. InsyaAllah, the greater inter-regional economic and financial linkages would bring greater benefits which will be mutually reinforcing and contribute towards raising the prospects for greater global shared prosperity. BIS Review 31/2007  5
The issuances of 12 Shariah Standards set clear Shariah parameters to facilitate innovation beyond credit-based products. There are more than 100 competitive financial products ─ ranging from basic financial services to wealth management; corporate finance; and investment banking. Meanwhile, investment accounts have spurred greater investment intermediation activities. Since its inception two years ago, investment accounts have grown to account for 12% of total Islamic deposits and investment accounts in 2016. Its offering has been further intensified through the operationalisation of the Investment Account Platform which has the potential to mobilise capital to various productive ventures effectively. The development of the Islamic finance sector is seen not only in the headline numbers, but more importantly in addressing social and environmental concerns. Islamic finance has taken the lead in the space of ethical finance where concepts, such as Sustainable, Responsible, Impact Investing (SRI), have been embraced in pursuit of values beyond financial motivation. An important pioneering example in the Islamic capital market is the issuance of SRI sukuk by 1/4  BIS central bankers' speeches  Khazanah that brings greater social impact through the promotion of quality education. Just last month, the first Green Sukuk has also been issued in the country to promote clean and sustainable power supply. While we have come a long way, now we need to think of ‘what’s next’?

Thomas Jordan: Monetary policy and uncertainty Summary of a speech by Mr Thomas Jordan, Member of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, at the University Freiburg im Breisgau, Freiburg, Germany, 15 January 2008. The complete speech can be found in German on the Swiss National Bank’s website (www.snb.ch). *  *  *  The economy is a complex system. Moreover, it is constantly changing as a result of technological advances and globalisation. Consequently, monetary policy operates in a very uncertain environment. The unforeseen and radical developments in the international financial markets emanating from the current crisis in the US housing and mortgage market have – once again – brought home the major role of uncertainty in monetary policy. We are uncertain about the exact way in which the economy functions, the current state of the economy and about future exogenous shocks. This uncertainty can express itself in the form of risk, with a known probability distribution. Alternatively, it may take the form of Knightian uncertainty, in which the probability distribution is unknown. It is the latter form of uncertainty which presents monetary policy with the greater challenges. Uncertainty is a reason why changes to the monetary policy instrument are generally applied only gradually and in small steps. However, if the economy is thought to be facing major threats, uncertainty may demand rapid and decisive action. Monetary policy decision-makers must be aware of uncertainty and the limitations of their knowledge.
News conference  Berne, 13 December 2018 Andréa M. Maechler  Introductory remarks by Andréa M. Maechler  I will begin with a review of developments on the financial markets and look at the status of the Swiss franc. After that I will say a few words about the upcoming transition from Libor to SARON as the new reference interest rate in Switzerland and inform you about progress being made on this front. Situation on the financial markets  So let me start with developments on the financial markets. In the second half of the year, sentiment on the financial markets darkened considerably at times, despite the fact that the economic situation in many countries remained sound. Nonetheless, the economic data did weaken slightly in some regions. This caused investors to focus on a number of risks – most notably, ongoing concerns about protectionist tendencies, but also the currency crises unfolding in several emerging economies and Italy’s budget dispute with the EU. As a result, volatility on the financial markets has increased significantly since mid-year (cf. chart 1). This is particularly true of the equity markets, where prices fluctuated substantially at certain points. Thanks to strong economic data and solid corporate earnings growth, US stock exchanges performed better than their counterparts in Europe and the emerging markets (cf. chart 2). Despite suffering sizeable losses in October, the S&P 500 recently closed only moderately lower than it had at the end of June down 3%.

The ability to endure, to persevere, to be resilient in the face of such extreme odds is about having a great sense of purpose of what needs to be achieved and the motivation of why it needs to be achieved. The sheer responsibility and the awareness of the accountability that comes with it is the very driver of such perseverance. It is also the fear of failure and knowing the far-reaching and damaging consequences. This is reinforced with the values and the discipline to stay the course to do what is right and to do what is in the interest of the people. The discipline is also important so that the Central Bank is consistent in its behaviour in managing the challenging conditions or in its aspirations to push the frontiers and create great value for the country. During such times, having great clarity in the vision and on the objective of what is to be achieved becomes paramount. This has to be the starting point if it is to draw on the energies of the entire organisation. Articulating it with great clarity throughout the organisation allows the collective alignment to the goals. This also avoids being diverted by distractions when we are confronted with destabilising times. It is also imperative when we are ambitious with bringing about change and transformation. Knowing clearly the outcomes and the benefits it brings increases the potential of bringing diverse groups within a country and across countries to building the consensus on achieving a common goal.
François Villeroy de Galhau: The euro area - staying the course through uncertainties Introductory remarks by Mr François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Bank of France, at the Bank of France Symposium & 34th SUERF Colloquium on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the euro, Paris, 28 March 2019. * * * Good afternoon everyone and welcome to Paris. This is not only the 34th SUERF Colloquium but also the 10th Banque de France International Symposium. It is also Marc-Olivier’s last symposium and I would like to warmly thank him and the teams at SUERF and the Banque de France for their hard work. I also wish to express my gratitude to the speakers and moderators as key players in “staying the course through uncertainties”. In my opening remarks I will modestly describe different types of uncertainty before discussing their possible implications for policy. ** 1 – There are actually four different types of uncertainty We often talk about uncertainty as if it is a single phenomenon. There are, however, multiple sources and forms of uncertainty that have different implications for how policy makers can and should respond. To introduce your discussions over the next two days, I will mention four of them. First, “Current state” uncertainty One form of uncertainty that we grapple with all the time is not being completely sure where we are economically.

The increased interdependence of financial systems and economies and the contagion effects can be expected to be among the significant outcomes of financial internationalization. Financial liberalization could for example amplify further the implications of financial stress from other parts of the world on the domestic financial system. It could also accentuate and amplify asset bubbles and boom bust cycles. Other implications are that it could contribute to the widening of income disparities and also to the marginalization of domestic financial institutions if they are not able to perform in a more competitive environment. Finally, volatile capital flows may not only affect the efficient functioning of the financial markets but could result in misaligned exchange rates that do not reflect underlying fundamentals. These potential risks and vulnerabilities continue to be a challenge not only to emerging economies but also to the more developed financial systems and economies. Lessons from the financial crisis While there are benefits to be gained from the internationalization of financial systems, the risks to financial stability have also increased immensely. The risks generally emanate from the greater prospects for contagion following the greater degree of interdependence. These risks would be even more pronounced in emerging economies in which financial systems have yet to become more developed and matured. To be better positioned to reap the benefits from internationalization of financial systems in emerging economies, the crisis provides us with several lessons. Firstly, is to recognize that the different parts of the domestic financial system is highly interconnected.
The aim of this change is to make it possible for the financial companies to strengthen their capital situation by being able to have a greater proportion of financial instruments other than shares in their capital base. 6  BIS Review 7/2009  At the beginning of October, the Government decided to increase the maximum sum in the deposit guarantee scheme and to extend the scheme to cover all types of deposit in accounts. During the autumn, the Government also presented a plan to further safeguard the stability of the financial system. This plan includes a guarantee programme of a maximum of SEK 1,500 billion to support the medium-term funding of banks and mortgage institutions. It also comprises a stability fund to handle any future solvency problems in Swedish institutions. In common with several other countries, Sweden is also pursuing an expansionary fiscal policy in order to counter the downturn in economic activity. Experiences of earlier financial crises The negative consequences for the Swedish economy will be considerable over the next two years. There are two essential differences between the current financial crisis and the Swedish bank crisis at the beginning of the 1990s. Firstly, the current crisis is a global one, spread over a large number of markets, assets and institutions, while the bank crisis at the beginning of the 1990s was limited to Sweden and other Nordic countries.

For policy-making institutions, particularly in emerging economies, the challenge to fulfill key objectives like price stability, sustainable growth and financial stability, is driving them into uncharted operational territory. I take this opportunity to touch upon some of the most pressing issues at stake. *** Dear Guests, Life with the Sars-Cov2 virus continues to be an unprecedented health and social challenge. Fortunately, health institutions today know more about the virus and which policies serve best to contain it. Unfortunately, we are still far from a definite and practical epidemiological solution. Against this background, the economic fallout from the pandemic is still unfolding. The strict lockdown in the second quarter paved the way towards a synchronized global recession; the economic activity in most emerging and advanced economies shrunk rapidly while unemployment jumped sharply. However, the easing of lockdown measures in the third quarter and the quick deployment of both fiscal and monetary policies at national level, have started to pull up the global economy from the brink of collapse. The scale of the two key support measures at national level, fiscal and monetary policy, reached unprecedented levels in many economies, not seen even during the recent global crisis of 2008. The aggregate fiscal support at global level has reached almost 12 trillion USD. Key policy rates have declined to zero and in some cases have pushed through that boundary and into negative territory.