samchain/econo-pairs-v1 huggingface dataset:
1 This calculation and reference are only intended to make a comparison with other economies and do not imply an  evaluation of the contractivity of the monetary policy or the neutral interest rate. At this time we are working in the process of reestimating the neutral interest rate, those results will be published in the December Monetary Policy Report. 4  Bilateral Meetings  Foreign exchange intervention  As announced, the foreign exchange intervention program ended on September 30. It helped the foreign exchange market to function properly, facilitating the adjustment of the economy and the financial markets to external and domestic conditions. In total, we sold $ billion in the spot market and placed $ billion in forwards. The stock of the latter will continue to be renewed, at market conditions, until January 13, 2023. The Central Bank does not pursue a specific level for the exchange rate. Interventions are not related to this parameter, but rather to the evaluation of whether the exchange market is presenting problems in its functioning that may affect other markets. The conditions in which the market operates today are very different from those of midJuly. In general, the currency has followed the behavior of other parities. In any case, as always, we remain committed to the floating exchange rate regime, reserving the option to intervene in the exchange market in exceptional circumstances.

The major elements of cost are the considerable expense of insolvency, the substantial loss of value through any excess, “fire sale” markdown of the value of assets and business lines and the externalities of a large failure to other firms, their stakeholders and market participants in the form of knock-on and psychological effects. When the observation is made that a financial institution is not resolvable or is too big to fail, it represents a judgment that the financial costs and externalities of failure are unacceptable. The desire to improve the resolution process for cross-border financial firms is widely shared, but how we should we judge progress? The success of private and public sector actions, such as those recommended by the CBRG, to improve the resolution of systemically important firms can perhaps be gauged by the extent to which resolution costs are reduced. We might further gauge progress against additional expectations, such as the absence of taxpayer support of the resolution process, the efficiency of the process (to the extent it is not captured in resolution costs) and the equitable and consistent treatment of stakeholders. To improve the resolution process, the CBRG’s first recommendation is that national authorities have appropriate tools to deal with all types of financial institutions in difficulties so that an orderly resolution can be achieved. The recommendation specifically mentions power to create bridge financial institutions, transfer assets, liabilities and business operations to others and to resolve claims.
One of the explanations for the historically very low policy rates is a downward trend in global real interest rates, that is, the interest rates obtained when inflation is subtracted from nominal interest rates. Most central banks control a short, risk-free nominal interest rate – the so-called policy rate. This then affects other nominal market rates to households and companies with longer maturities. The nominal rate has a certain impact on household consumption and corporate investment and hence on demand in the economy. But perhaps an even more important role is played by the real interest rate. Monetary policy is considered to be able to affect the real interest rate in the short term. This is partly due to the fact that it can take time for companies to adapt their prices when demand changes. Via the real interest rate, the central bank can thus influence demand in the economy and by extension inflation. On the other hand, monetary policy is not considered to be able to affect the real interest rate over the longer term. Instead, it is then determined by other factors, such as demographic development, households’ valuation of consumption today compared with in the future, trend growth and, in smaller economies, also by the international real interest rate level. But the long-term real interest rate plays an even more important role for rate-setting. If it has fallen, the average policy rate needs to be lower in order to be able to uphold the inflation target.

Implementing the reforms needed to create a better balance on the housing market and to build more housing will, however, take some time. Measures to restrain the accumulation of debt by households and to strengthen the banking system will therefore be necessary during this period. Over the long term, mortgage borrowers will benefit from lower indebtedness The measures that need to be applied to restrict households’ opportunities to borrow and to strengthen the banks’ resilience may have short-term effects on demand and inflation, which monetary policy needs to consider. But the measures may also impact different groups in society in different ways. In practice, this could be one reason for why it has been difficult to apply appropriate measures. There are so many groups to consider: mortgage borrowers and other households, high income earners and low income earners, households in rural areas and households in metropolitan areas, and so on. But in several cases, the variations are also large between different households within these different groups, which makes it difficult to determine who will win and who will lose from different measures. It may therefore be difficult to conduct a policy that clearly mitigates the consequences for those households hit hardest by the measures. Another difficulty concerns distribution effects in the short and long terms. These can often differ. In the short term, it is likely that many indebted households – mortgage borrowers – may be forced to cut back on their consumption while they reduce their debts.
But when ambitious reform programmes are adopted and implemented, that is what happens! These countries are on the road to recovery. The markets have been quite calm so far. But what if the situation worsens? Their reaction also shows the resilience of the euro area to external shocks. The safety nets that have been put in place in recent years are playing their part. I’m referring to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the banking union and the different European Central Bank programmes. But we must be vigilant. The ECB clearly stated on Sunday that it was monitoring economic and market developments closely. Should risks arise, we are ready to use the instruments we have at our disposal – quantitative easing and the OMT programme – and we are even ready to use new instruments within our mandate. What could these new instruments be? The Governing Council of the ECB is monitoring the situation in real time. We have already said that we are ready to do more in terms of monetary policy, if necessary. Until now, the ECB has always found answers to crises, within its mandate. The Court of Justice of the European Union has validated the OMT programme that was put in place in 2012 [a bondbuying programme for countries receiving financial assistance, which has not yet been used, ed.]. It was the Court’s judgment that the ECB should be allowed broad discretion when choosing its instruments.

From 1986 to 1990, monetary policy was oriented towards maintaining a fixed exchange rate against a trade-weighted basket of currencies. In 1990, the krone was pegged to the European currency unit, the ECU. The peg was abandoned in December 1992 when international currency turbulence compelled Norway and several other countries to discontinue the fixed exchange rate system against the ECU. However, monetary policy was still geared towards maintaining a stable krone exchange rate against European currencies. The ECU was used as the main reference for European currencies. The euro took over this role when it was introduced on 1 January 1999. BIS Review 90/2001  1  Developments since the beginning of 1997 indicated that the exchange rate was no longer an appropriate operational target of monetary policy. Norges Bank therefore placed increasing emphasis on low and stable inflation as a precondition for exchange rate stability. In our opinion, the best contribution monetary policy could make to a stable krone exchange rate against the euro was low and stable inflation in line with inflation in the euro area. Monetary policy was therefore oriented towards bringing inflation over time into line with that aimed at by the European Central Bank. Guidelines for economic policy in Norway  On 29 March, the Government issued new guidelines for monetary policy. Monetary policy shall now be oriented towards low and stable inflation. The operational target of monetary policy is consumer price inflation of 2½ per cent.
Eddie Yue: New and important frontiers of financial development reached in 2017 Welcome remarks by Mr Eddie Yue, Deputy Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, at the Hong Kong-London Financial Services Forum 2017, Hong Kong, 18 December 2017. * * *  Opening Richard, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. I would like to welcome you all to the Hong Kong-London Financial Services Forum 2017, especially our guests travelling from London. This is already the seventh Forum since the first Hong Kong-London RMB Forum convened back in 2012. The Forum has proved to be an effective platform for the private sectors in the two places to collaborate and promote the use of RMB in the international markets as well as to grasp the associated business opportunities. Last year, London and Hong Kong decided to broaden the scope of the Forum to cover not only RMB business but also other new and important frontiers of financial development including infrastructure financing, the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative, green finance, as well as Fintech. Looking back, it was a good move. As 2017 is drawing to a close, I think most of you would agree that B&R and fintech are the two hottest buzzwords in the financial services sector this year. RMB Internationalisation But that is not saying offshore RMB business has been all quiet in the past year. On the contrary, 2017 witnesses important milestones in Mainland China’s capital account liberalisation.

3/3  BIS central bankers' speeches
Two elements are vital in this process. The first is to ensure that the domestic intermediation process remains strong so as to support domestic demand. And secondly, the fiscal stimulus is key to containing the effects of the external developments and to placing Malaysia in a position to resume growth once conditions in the global economy stabilises. During this challenging period, financial institutions including Islamic financial institutions have an important role to ensure the continuous access to financing by the private sector. Key to this, is the forward looking business strategies being adopted by banking institutions, the organisational structure and the operational capability that is put in place. I would like to take this opportunity to highlight two other important dimensions in the development of Islamic finance, going forward. For more than two decades, the Islamic financial system in Malaysia has gradually transformed into a comprehensive Islamic  BIS Review 25/2009  1  financial landscape. This has been reinforced by a legal and regulatory framework, the essential financial infrastructure, and an environment conducive for product innovation. Notwithstanding the success of Islamic finance, the global ramifications of the crisis also calls for more concerted efforts to bring the industry to a higher level of resilience. Of importance, in this process, is to embrace the values of Islamic finance of justice and fairness that benefits the society and the system. It is thus important for Islamic finance to transcend beyond just the pursuit of growth and monetary performance but also to emphasise ethical market conduct practices.

Zeti Akhtar Aziz: Islamic finance developments in Malaysia Address by Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, at the Launch of Public Islamic Bank Berhad, Kuala Lumpur, 3 March 2009. *  *  *  It is my pleasure to be here today on the official launch of "Public Islamic Bank Berhad". This marks the transformation of the Islamic window operations into an Islamic subsidiary, a dedicated institutional structure that will give greater focus to Islamic banking business operations. The continued progress of Islamic finance in our financial system has demonstrated that despite the on-going global financial crisis, it has not discouraged the further expansion and development of Islamic finance. Malaysia now has a total of 17 Islamic banks, of which nine (9) are the subsidiaries of the domestic banking groups. The underlying philosophy for the incorporation of an Islamic subsidiary is primarily aimed at further strengthening the institutional structure for Islamic banking business operations. Financial institutions which have achieved a critical mass in their Islamic banking business, have migrated from their Islamic banking window operations to an Islamic subsidiary. The establishment of Islamic subsidiary has greater potential to complement the goals of the banking group by providing business flexibility and autonomy to the Islamic subsidiary. Currently, the Islamic banking system in Malaysia has successfully positioned itself as a robust and competitive component of our financial system.
The noticeable slowdown across consumer and commercial loans that started in the third quarter continued into the fourth quarter, causing these loans to post an annual growth rate of 8.7 and 16.2 percent, respectively, at the end of the year (Chart 9). Thus, commercial loans continued to grow at a faster pace than consumer loans in the fourth quarter of 2015, following the same pattern since early 2014. We expect that these developments in loan growth and loan composition will contribute to the rebalancing process and financial stability as well as limit the effects of the recent cost pressures on inflation. The annualized growth rates of 13-week averages show that consumer and commercial loans lagged far behind past years’ averages; the former across 2015, the latter mainly in the second half of 2015. However, as reflected by 13-week averages, both loans, particularly commercial loans, saw a modest rise during the  4  BIS central bankers’ speeches  last quarter of 2015 (Chart 10). The recent adjustments made to the risk weights of consumer loans are likely to support loan growth in the upcoming period. Yet, due to ongoing tight financial conditions, we expect annual loan growth rates to remain at reasonable levels in the coming months. Chart 9. Chart 10. (Adjusted for Exchange Rate, Percent)  Rate, 13-Week Moving Average, Percent)  Annual Credit Growth Rates  Source: CBRT. 2. Annualized Credit Growth Rates (Adjusted for Exchange  Source: CBRT.

Amid an economic environment fraught with prolonged global uncertainties, it is important to contain negative spillovers into the Turkish economy. In terms of the fundamentals of the economy, the significant improvement in the current account balance over the past few years, reasonable growth rates in loans and a loan composition that supports price stability and financial stability all contributed to reducing economic fragilities. These developments were due to the tight monetary policy and the measures taken regarding financial stability as well as the sharp fall in commodity prices in the case of the current account balance. Moreover, the effective use of the measures presented in the August road map has alleviated the excessive fluctuations in exchange rates and loan rates. Our current tight monetary policy reduces the economy’s sensitivity to global shocks, thus supporting financial stability. We maintain the view that the tight monetary policy may be implemented within a narrower interest rate corridor, should the global volatility decline persistently or policy measures that would maintain and improve the gains in external balance and financial stability be implemented effectively. In 2015, the annual growth rate of loans extended to the non-financial sector, which decelerated partly due to our tight monetary policy stance, and the macroprudential measures introduced by the BRSA regarding consumer loans excluding mortgage, fell to 13.6 percent, adjusted for the effect of exchange rates.
2  For an outline, see Asplund, M. & Friberg, R. (1998), “Links between competition and inflation”, Sveriges Riksbank Quarterly Review 3, Sveriges Riksbank. 3  See, for instance, Dutz, M. & Hayri, A., (1999), "Does more intense competition lead to higher growth? ", Discussion paper No. 2249, Centre for Economic Policy Research. Nickell, S, (1996), "Competition and Corporate Performance", Journal of Political Economy, No. 4. 2  BIS Review 25/2002  The relative price level in Sweden The price level in Sweden is approximately 28 percentage points higher than the EU average and 4 Sweden is thus, along with the other Nordic countries, one of the most expensive countries in the EU. There is a considerable spread of price levels within the EU, as illustrated in diagram 1. The price level in the most expensive country (Sweden) is twice as high as that in the cheapest country (Portugal). Sweden in general has higher prices on goods and services not traded across borders, while the price level for trade goods such as clothes and furniture is below or in line with the EU average. Diagram 1: Differences in price levels for private consumption in relation to the EU average 2000.

Growth forecasts have been revised downwards as a result of the interest rate increase in July. GDP growth will pick up, but will remain below the growth potential next year. The internationally exposed sectors of the economy are moving on a different path from some sheltered industries. Whereas private consumption is buoying demand growth, scaling back is expected in the manufacturing industry. Frictional unemployment is expected to rise. High real wage growth is resulting in divergent developments between private and public consumption. A large share of the growth in public spending will go to covering higher labour costs in the central and local government sector. As a result there will be little scope for increased activity in the public sector, and instead high growth in private consumption. A time horizon of two years for interest rate setting allows monetary policy to contribute to stabilising production. This horizon prevents monetary policy in itself from causing unnecessary fluctuations in the economy. As an alternative, we could have sought to achieve the inflation target of 2½ per cent using a time horizon of six months to one year. We would then have had to reduce the interest rate sharply this summer. This would have amplified the pressures in the Norwegian economy that are so clearly reflected in wage developments and household demand for loans. In all likelihood, this would have required marked interest rate increases one to one and a half years ahead.
Good progress has been made and we expect the new competency framework can be rolled out within the next few months. 5. I would like to thank the TMA and its committees for their tireless efforts in joining hands with the HKMA and others in the “platform building” work. Measures that make Hong Kong more competitive as a wealth and asset management centre 6. It is not easy to come up with an exhaustive list of factors that affect Hong Kong’s competitiveness as a wealth and asset management centre in Asia. There are some factors such as air quality, law and order, cost of doing business, international school places, etc that have a major effect on individual firms’ decision to locate or expand operations in Hong Kong and not elsewhere, but these factors apply across the board and are not confined to the financial services sector. What I propose to do now is to highlight a couple of key “soft” infrastructure that is uniquely important to Hong Kong’s future development as the wealth and asset management hub in Asia: (a) as we all know, the existence of an inheritance tax or estate duty, even at low rates, is a material impediment to the development of wealth and asset management businesses. Back in 1998, the HKMA started to lobby the HKSAR Government to abolish the estate duty in Hong Kong in order to foster Hong Kong’s development as a wealth management centre.

Norman T L Chan: How can Hong Kong consolidate its position as Asia’s premier wealth and asset management hub Welcoming remarks and keynote speech by Mr Norman T L Chan, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, at the Treasury Markets Summit 2013, Hong Kong, 6 September 2013. *  *  *  Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen, 1. It is very nice of the Treasury Markets Association (TMA) to invite me to speak at this year’s Summit. It should not come as a surprise to you if I choose to talk about the “soft powers of Hong Kong” again today. I have no doubt that financial centres aspiring to win the privileged position of IFC (international financial centre) all have very good hard infrastructure, such as airport, roads, telecommunications, IT etc. But what really differentiates a winner from the rest is its clear edge in the “financial market infrastructure” or the “soft powers”. Today I would like to talk about two key building blocks in the arena of “soft powers” competition: “platform building” and “reaching out”. Tribute to TMA 2. The aim of “platform building” is quite simple. An IFC must ensure that it has the appropriate legal, regulatory, tax and policy framework for the financial services to develop and prosper. Competition is not just about how good you are or have been, but more about whether you are better than your competitors or not.