samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
Many micro enterprises fail within the first few years of operation, if the producers do not pay heed to this vital requirement. The distancing of the project management from the selection of business line is a well thought out process, because it forces the beneficiaries to make business decisions and take responsibility for same. To build their capacity to make these decisions, training was provided as to how they should conduct simple and quick market surveys and how they could satisfy the quality requirements expected by their customers. After the beneficiaries have selected their business projects, they are referred to the relevant regional development bank for funding support. In view of the speciality and complexity of the loan objectives, micro loans are granted to beneficiaries on the strength of a mutual guarantee or an interse guarantee. If any member of a group defaults the loan, other members of the group are called upon to repay the loan. This ensures credit discipline and compels the members of the group to be constantly alert and vigilant on how a member of a group is using the funds lent to him, because if he defaults, the other members have to bear the burden of repaying the loan of the defaulting member. The peer pressure exercised by members on each other is a better loan management and monitoring system than what the mainstream bankers usually do through their branch network and local staff.

The Isuru Project enlisted the expertise, experience and the capacity of grass root level organisations in delivering the project services as retailers. Hence, the project was instrumental in the capacity development of a large number of community based nongovernmental organisations. This paved the way for the development of a large number of microfinance institutions which formed the microfinance infrastructure of the country. Some of these institutions operate at the national level and have the capacity to mainstream and become national level formal financial institutions 24 . It was necessary to assess the success of the project from the point of view of its main objective, i.e., helping the poorest of the poor to cross the poverty line within a given period of time. To assess this, two impact assessment surveys were conducted by the project office by employing hired field workers specifically trained for this purpose 25 . The findings of the two surveys are basically similar and have vindicated the cost incurred in financing the project: •  The head counting of the surveyed beneficiaries revealed that the percentage of female participants was around 67%, thereby confirming the national average (1997). This had increased to73% by 2005. •  75% of the beneficiaries had attended schools and were able to read and write (1997). This literacy rate was somewhat below the national average of 92%, but can be explained as due to the abject poverty with which the group under reference was afflicted and therefore had been disadvantaged.
Anita Angelovska Bezoska: Journalists are one of the main transmitters of monetary policy messages Address by Ms Anita Angelovska Bezhoska, Governor of the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia, at the Journalist Workshop - 2018, organized by the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia, Skopje, 25 December 2018. * * * Distinguished media representatives,  Welcome to the fourth Journalist Workshop hosted by the NBRM. I am glad to see you in greater numbers this year, which is confirmation of your interest in the topics that will be the focus of today’s event. Allow me to take a brief look at several basic, yet important aspects of central bank communication: 1. Why is central bank transparency and communication important and needed? 2. How has central bank communication evolved over the years? What were the challenges in the period after the outbreak of the global crisis and how were they addressed globally? 3. Challenges in central bank communication in the Republic of Macedonia. A comparison between the current and the past transparency level and central bank communication shows an exceptional transformation in this segment. The need for strengthening central bank transparency was brought to the fore for the first time in the 1990s, implying enhanced communication with the public, including the media. This change is associated with the concept of central bank independence, or the independence of the monetary policy from fiscal policy.

I am sure that in the period ahead, we will raise the level of transparency, by promoting the way, the form and the channels of communication, and we will always make sure that we are socially responsible institution whose communication with the media representatives will be at the highest professional level and will be an example for others. I believe that we will succeed in this by mutual correctness, respect and professionalism. I wish you a pleasant, successful and fruitful workshop. 3/3  BIS central bankers' speeches
And third, progress in building the Capital Markets Union is essential to increase the resilience of the EMU to macro-financial shocks, better spread the costs of asymmetric or idiosyncratic shocks, reduce the risks of financial fragmentation, and provide a more favourable environment for private investment. At present, the relatively small size of equity markets and the substantial national bias in asset portfolios limit risk sharing in the area. In addition, a deeper Capital Markets Union can improve the channelling of abundant aggregate savings into investment in infrastructure, energy and innovation, areas where private investment is crucial. In this regard, a key element for a truly deeper and more integrated EU capital market would be a sufficient volume of pan-European safe assets. An EU safe asset would become a common benchmark for investors, allowing security prices across the EMU to better reflect the risk of their fundamentals. It would also facilitate the development and integration of the area's financial markets, and movements in search of credit quality would no longer produce cross-border flows to countries considered safer. It would also boost the confidence of international investors in the European project, helping to strengthen the international role of the euro. All this is particularly relevant in a context of geopolitical tensions and asymmetric shocks. 6  The consequences for monetary policy Let me now turn to the third part of my talk: are all these recent global developments relevant for the conduct of monetary policy?

With increasing dependence on information technology, institutions are faced with numerous threats such as distributed denial of service, malicious hacking and virus attacks which affect vital services provided to customers. Barely a week ago, the vulnerability of major organisations to such attacks was laid bare when a massive “ransomware” virus hit up to 300,000 computers across 150 countries including Malaysia. Judging from its name, the “WannaCry” virus clearly achieved its aim as users found themselves locked out from their computers and their data held at ransom. A host of organisations were left reeling in the wake of these cyber extortion attacks, including the Russian interior ministry, delivery and shipping giant FedEx and the UK’s National Health Service where some hospitals were unable to perform operations, putting patients’ lives at stake. There is also the danger of phishing and stealing of confidential customer data which could destroy the trust placed on your company. Yahoo!, one of the internet’s top sites with a billion monthly users, suffered a massive security breach in 2014 when hackers stole the personal details of at least one billion user accounts. The implications are far-reaching as a stolen digital identity makes us vulnerable to manipulation and undermines the safety of, not just ourselves, but also the ones we love. Bank accounts, social media profiles and even medical information can be abused to put us and our family in harm’s way. In the months following the hacking revelations, more than five billion dollars was wiped off Yahoo’s market capitalisation.
There are, however, several dimensions of recent growth that could have turned out more favorable. For instance, the contribution of investment to growth was smaller than it should have been, with consumption spending being the main driver of GDP dynamics in recent years. While there is no question that welfare has increased markedly, the concern for rendering these welfare gains sustainable 4/5  BIS central bankers' speeches  should prompt a switch to policies aimed at fostering investment, thus boosting the productive potential of the economy, so that future economic growth would not lead to further widening of macroeconomic imbalances. In the end, the lesson of the crisis is that a short-term focus in economic policies and paying no heed to accumulating macroeconomic disequilibria ought to be avoided, as they eventually lead to suboptimal outcomes. The only way ahead is by means of a coherent macroeconomic policy mix and resolute structural reforms aimed to boost the growth potential of the economy, ensuring durable growth and enabling the economy to benefit from EU membership. In Romania, infrastructure investment should be a major policy focus, as it would contribute the most to reducing regional disparities while also allowing businesses to access underutilized labor resources – a particularly welcome development in the nowadays tight labor market. In terms of macroeconomic policy, it is beyond any doubt that countercyclical monetary policy favors smooth convergence.

Zeti Akhtar Aziz: Strengthening Malaysia’s financial system Speech by Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, at the launch of the Finance Accreditation Agency, Kuala Lumpur, 6 September 2013. *  *  *  It is my great pleasure to join you this morning on the occasion of the launch of the Finance Accreditation Agency. The establishment of the Finance Accreditation Agency (FAA) is part of the efforts to strengthen the financial system as it continues to evolve in a rapidly changing environment. The change in our financial system in this recent decade since the Asian financial crisis has been transformational. It has encompassed major structural reforms in the banking sector, the development of a deep and vibrant securities market which has now assumed a key role in financial intermediation, the growth of Islamic finance and the modernisation of the insurance sector. The regulatory and supervisory structure and approach has also evolved to become more risk-focused, more aligned with efficient capital and financial markets, and less reliant on prescriptive and direct controls. This has fostered greater innovation and competition in our financial system, while preserving strong incentives for prudent risk-taking. This has been reinforced through the supervisory oversight and increased market transparency. The evolution of business and distribution models has followed, with significant gains achieved in efficiency, greater financial inclusion and a more dynamic and responsive financial industry to better serve the economy.
Likewise, many married couples want to have children – not for GDP but because children are a source of joy and fulfilment of love. Government policies on marriage and parenthood are guided by this higher purpose. And of course, a growing labour force is a happy, economic by-product. We must make balanced choices in addressing the trilemma. We must accept a slower rate of labour force growth. The underlying demographic slowdown is so severe that it is neither feasible nor desirable to try to completely offset it through immigration or foreign workers. But we must also allow a certain rate of net immigration to augment our resident population. This is not just about numbers but about rejuvenation and expanding our talent base. 8 / 17  BIS central bankers' speeches  And while we cannot keep increasing our share of foreign workforce indefinitely, we must be flexible in allowing fluctuations in the ratio according to economic cycles, changing circumstances, and opportunities. Finally, we must reframe our question on foreign workers. It is not about how many foreign workers industry wants or society can afford to have, but what number and kind of foreign workers we need to maximise the job and wage opportunities for Singaporeans. Foreign workers must be a complement to the local workforce. Let me move on to the second broad theme: that demographics is not destiny. We can sustain our economic dynamism in the face of demographic change.

It is about growing the Singaporean talent base as well as being a magnet for the world’s talents. It is about a vibrant entrepreneurial and innovation base, characterised by a lot of start-ups, a lot of experimentation, and a lot of R&D. A key aspect of dynamism is also high rates of churn in the labour and capital resources in our firms: There needs to be continuous flux and reallocation of resources in response to changing economic and market conditions. Both capital and labour need to be nimble and highly adaptive. The structure of the Singapore economy is well suited for sustaining our dynamism. Singapore’s strong advanced manufacturing and related trade and logistics activities are internationally competitive. In modern services, comprising financial, professional services, and info- communications technology, we enjoy an international hub status. Together, these sectors make up some 40% of our economy. If our domestic services can be further professionalised – job by job, each worker possessing deep skills and delivering a high quality of service, we will be a dynamic economy. Finally, dynamism must be about our people. We must remain an open society. 16 / 17  BIS central bankers' speeches  Not just in being open to foreign trade, investment, and talent, but being deeply connected to the rest of the world. Not just attracting foreign talent to Singapore but Singaporeans venturing abroad as our companies and industries internationalise.
A dilemma of today’s world is that despite attempts to improve transparency the new instruments themselves can actually make it more opaque. Secondly there are questions of pricing and valuation. Accounting standards have a vital role to play here. Meaningful disclosure requires a common approach to valuation of contracts across the whole financial sector and the achievement of standardised accounting requirements. Thirdly there is the importance of risk management processes within firms. Do firms understand the implications of the use of models in controlling their risk? And fourthly there is the area of legal risk. Will untested contracts “close out”, particularly in adversarial circumstances? If not this would be an area that could lead to liquidity concerns. Then of course there is Basel II: an essential ingredient in the prudential standards being developed to strengthen the supervisory architecture. Today’s near final accord might not be ideal - and it is more complex than we wanted. But it is a great advance on the status quo in terms of aligning capital to actual risk; and over time it can be improved. It is important to meet the 2006 implementation deadline and for agreement on the framework itself to be reached next year. Banks have invested much in their implementation systems already and delay would set back progress and add to costs. Clearly both the EU and the US need to go through a domestic rule making process but surely this can be fitted within the timetable.

The interest rate only has a predictable effect on the krone exchange rate when it influences price inflation in the right direction.2 Historically, it has often been the case that the central bank has raised its key rate when confidence in monetary policy has declined, and the currency has been exposed to depreciation pressure. This is probably one of the reasons why it has proved difficult to find empirical support for a direct relationship between the interest rate and the exchange rate. The impact of the interest rate on the krone exchange rate will depend on how uncertain krone positions are perceived to be and the size of the risk premium required for these positions. The Bank’s analyses3 indicate that the krone exchange rate is also affected in the short term by uncertainty in the global economy and international financial unrest. Volatility in international foreign exchange markets may explain short-term fluctuations in the krone exchange rate, particularly since 1997. This may be because international operators are more aware of the Norwegian krone as a speculative object. The direct relationship between the interest rate and the exchange rate is therefore not stable, and the exchange rate level in itself provides limited information for the setting of interest rates. It is essential to take into account that the Norwegian economy is small and very open. Norway’s foreign trade is substantial. All capital controls have been removed. Our financial market is becoming increasingly integrated into the international economy. Significant structural changes took place during the 1990s.
Then there are the more forward-looking arrangements for the development and linkages of elements of the financial infrastructure to facilitate the efficient and safe financial intermediation across monetary systems. 13. Obviously no one point on this wide spectrum of international monetary co-operation can be considered as the ideal situation. Much depends on the needs arising from the circumstances, and the circumstances are changing all the time. But along with financial liberalization and the globalization of financial markets, the trend, to the extent that one can be ascertained, seems clearly to be one of increasing monetary co-operation. As is well known, European monetary co-operation is aiming for monetary integration by 1999, having moved in the past 50 years from BIS Review 91/1997  -3-  information exchange to policy co-ordination. Whether this could be achieved on time or not, and whether monetary integration should necessarily then be considered as the final goal of monetary co-operation in other regions, we shall have to wait and see. But one has to admire the vision of the pioneer thinkers. I understand that the French economist Jacques Rueff actually declared way back in the 1950s that “Europe will be created via a currency or not at all”. 14. By contrast, Asian monetary co-operation is considerably less well structured. There is traditionally some exchange of information, mostly on a bilateral basis, through meetings conducted annually, and largely prior to a game of golf or even on the golf course.

But there certainly is a problem with the effectiveness of financial intermediation in this region which is inhibiting the flow of long-term savings into long-term investments. I believe an important factor behind this is the perceived or actual risks inherent in dealing with the products, the intermediaries and the market that are part of the process of financial intermediation. I also believe that monetary authorities have a responsibility, through concerted efforts in prudential regulation and supervision, and the development of the financial infrastructure, to contain these risks to levels more acceptable to those concerned, including themselves as managers of official foreign reserves. The Case for Asian Monetary Co-operation 36. These Asian monetary problems which I have described can seriously undermine the ability of Asian monetary authorities to deal with shocks, and so when shocks do come they will cause much agony in terms of economic disruptions and painful adjustments. The problems are also highly contagious, transmitted through sudden shifts in the same direction in the perception of risks by international investors, as they looked for worrisome similarities amongst Asian economies, as the recent turmoil in Asian currency markets has shown. The fall in one market may also lead them to look for liquidity in other markets, thus contributing further to the contagion. BIS Review 91/1997  -8-  37. We are living in an ever more interdependent region. Increasing trade and investment flows, made possible by trade and financial market liberalization, have bound our fates together.
Let me get on to more interesting subjects. Changing yourself is sometime easy and sometime difficult depending on how you manage to tackle the psychology of it. But changing other people is always difficult especially if they are well entrenched, rich, and will not let go of their apparent present prosperity even though they are heading for disaster sooner or later. I am of course talking about changing our banks which we are trying to do through three main approaches: competitiveness, good governance and transparency. Although fully half of our banks will probably be directly controlled by foreign banks, and will have the home supervisory body help making sure that the banks are performing prudently in so far as it can be done remotely from their home base, we still have the problem of supervising the rest of the banks by ourselves. Of course, in nearly all banks there are now major foreign investors who at least will ask piercing questions. But we still have to apply local standards adapted to local conditions, and the best way is to have the host supervisors do a good job. BIS Review 29/2000  2  To ensure competitiveness from all the banks and to enforce an early start by Thai banks, we have already allowed sub-branches or service-points to be opened freely, and so network opening is really rather free and only the account-keeping function needs permission for expansion.

Another user-aid which we have done, but have not had the time nor resource available to make it really effective, is having a separate English and Thai language webpage. We have instituted this dual webpage, but unfortunately the English translation is quite frequently not available. We will try to have more of an equivalence between the two services. But the English language, not being the language of choice in Thailand, we expect that the word “available only in Thai text” is going to reign supreme for a very extensive part of the alphanumeric system. A webpage might seem only a small matter to bring up for this speech, but actually an organisation’s webpage signals its attitude towards advance technology and its intent to be transparent, so it is an important item and is useful to look at for a quick checking into the attitude of people you don’t know well. More importantly the central bank itself has been undergoing a structural revamp which I shall speak about only shortly as I have spoken on this many times before. Basically the six levels of management and one level of operation have been transformed to have only two levels of management and two levels of operations, with each level having people of different ranking depending on the size of the job. This is the usual broad-base horizontal organisation that modern businesses have, not surprisingly proposed by A T Kearney, our consultant.