EACC

FSB | Global Securities Financing Data Collection and Aggregation: Frequently Asked Questions

Securities financing transactions (SFTs) such as securities lending and repurchase agreements (repos) play a crucial role in supporting price discovery and secondary market liquidity for a wide variety of securities. However, such transactions can also be used to take on leverage and can lead to maturity and liquidity mismatched exposures. They therefore can pose risks to financial stability.
The FSB published policy recommendations to address financial stability risks in SFTs in August 2013. In November 2015, the FSB developed standards and processes for collecting and aggregating global data on SFTs (SFT Data Standards). To facilitate national implementation of the SFT Data Standards, the FSB has developed reporting guidelines.
Drawing on practical experience, the FSB is providing these Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to promote a common approach and to further help national implementation of the SFT Data Standards. The FAQs will continue to be updated as market practices evolve.
FULL PUBLICATION HERE
Contact:

FSB Secretariat | fsb[at]fsb.org

Compliments of the Financial Stability Board.
The post FSB | Global Securities Financing Data Collection and Aggregation: Frequently Asked Questions first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

EACC

ECB | How effective is the EU Money Market Fund Regulation? Lessons from the COVID‑19 turmoil

The turmoil seen in March 2020 highlighted key vulnerabilities in the money market fund (MMF) sector. This article assesses the effectiveness of the EU’s regulatory framework from a financial stability perspective and identifies three important lessons. First, investment in non-public debt assets exposes MMFs to liquidity risk, highlighting the need to limit investment in illiquid assets. Second, low-volatility net asset value (LVNAV) funds are particularly vulnerable to liquidity shocks, given that they invest in non-public debt assets while offering a stable net asset value (NAV). Enhanced portfolio requirements could strengthen their liquidity profile. And third, MMFs seem reluctant to draw down on their liquidity buffers during periods of stress, suggesting a need to make buffers more usable.
Continue Reading below.
1. Introduction
2. Vulnerabilities in funds investing in non-public debt
3. Liquidity risk in the LVNAV framework
4. MMFs’ use of liquidity buffers
5. Conclusion
Box 1 Investors’ role in the outflows experienced by euro area MMFs in the March 2020 turmoil
References
Authors:

Laura-Dona Capotă
Michael Grill
Luis Molestina Vivar
Niklas Schmitz
Christian Weistroffer

Compliments of the European Central Bank.
The post ECB | How effective is the EU Money Market Fund Regulation? Lessons from the COVID‑19 turmoil first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

EACC

Coronavirus Response: Commission proposes to exempt vital goods and services distributed by the EU from VAT in times of crisis

The European Commission has today proposed to exempt from Value Added Tax (VAT) goods and services made available by the European Commission, EU bodies and agencies to Member States and citizens during times of crisis. This responds to the experience gained  during the course of the Coronavirus pandemic. Among other things, it has shown that the VAT charged on some transactions ends up being a cost factor in procurement operations that strains limited budgets. Therefore, today’s initiative will maximise the efficiency of EU funds used in the public interest to respond to crises, such as natural disasters and public health emergencies. It will also strengthen EU-level disaster and crisis management bodies, such as those falling under the EU’s Health Union and the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
Once in place, the new measures will allow the Commission and other EU agencies and bodies to import and purchase goods and services VAT-free when those purchases are being distributed during an emergency response in the EU. The recipients might be Member States or third parties, such as national authorities or institutions (for example, a hospital, a national health or disaster response authority). Goods and services covered under the proposed exemption include, for instance:

diagnostic tests and testing materials, and laboratory equipment;
personal protective equipment (PPE) like gloves, respirators, masks, gowns, disinfection products and equipment;
tents, camp beds, clothing and food;
search and rescue equipment, sandbags, life jackets and inflatable boats;
antimicrobials and antibiotics, chemical threat antidotes, treatments for radiation injury, antitoxins, iodine tablets;
blood products or antibodies;
radiation measuring devices;
development, production and procurement of necessary products, research and innovation activities, strategic stockpiling of products; pharmaceutical licences, quarantine facilities, clinical trials, disinfection of premises, etc.

Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that these kinds of crises are multifaceted  and have a wide-ranging impact on our societies. A rapid and efficient response is essential, and we need to provide the best response now in order to prepare for the future. Today’s proposal supports the EU’s goal to react to crises and emergencies in the EU. It will also ensure that the financial impact of EU-level relief efforts to fight the pandemic and support the recovery is maximised.”
Next steps
The legislative proposal, which will amend the VAT directive, will now be submitted to the European Parliament for its opinion, and to the Council for adoption.
Member States shall adopt and publish, by 30 April 2021 the laws regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive. They shall apply those measures from 1 January 2021.
Background
The Coronavirus pandemic has thrown into sharp light the importance of coherent, decisive and centralised EU-level preparation and response in times of crisis. In the context of the Coronavirus pandemic, the von der Leyen Commission has already outlined plans to strengthen EU preparedness and management for cross-border health threats, and presented the building blocks of a stronger European Health Union. At the same time, the Commission has proposed to strengthen cooperation between EU Member States through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism with the aim of improving responses to future natural or man-made disasters. For instance, in the context of the new European Health Union, the Commission announced the creation of the Health Emergency Response Authority (HERA) to deploy rapidly the most advanced medical and other measures in the event of a health emergency, by covering the whole value chain from conception to distribution and use.
The EU has already taken action in the field of taxation and customs to support the fight against and the recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic. In April 2020, the EU agreed to waive customs and VAT charges for imports of masks and other protective equipment needed to fight the pandemic. This waiver remains in place and plans are underway for its extension. In December 2020, EU Member States agreed on new measures proposed by the Commission to allow a temporary VAT exemption for vaccines and testing kits being sold to hospitals, doctors and individuals, as well as closely related services. Under the amended Directive, Member States can apply either reduced or zero rates to both vaccines and testing kits if they so choose.
Compliments of the European Commission.
The post Coronavirus Response: Commission proposes to exempt vital goods and services distributed by the EU from VAT in times of crisis first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

Read More
EACC

The European American Chamber of Commerce Welcomes Texas to its Growing Network

Erin McKelvey,Executive Director, EACCTX

The European American Chamber of Commerce Welcomes Texas to its Growing Network

Ruth Baron,President, EACCTX

The European American Chamber of Commerce is delighted to announce the addition of Texas to our network. The EACC Texas Chapter was transitioned from the 41 yr. old French-American Chamber of Commerce DFW, whose Board agreed unanimously that including Europe as a whole is the Future especially when it comes to building fruitful Transatlantic Business connections.
The newly formed EACC Texas brings an additional 100+ Members to the EACC’s growing Transatlantic network including many in aerospace and technology. Texas, with its dynamic business environment, is home to the 4th and 5th largest metroplexes in the nation (Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston) as well as the two top tech employment cities in the US (Austin and Dallas).
The EACC TX leadership includes Erin McKelvey, Executive Director & Ruth Baron, President, who both are excited to build relationships with EACC Members in the US and Europe and to continue growth of the chapter around Texas and beyond.
Erin McKelvey, Executive Director, EACCTX
Erin McKelvey has extensive experience in association management having served for 11 years as Director of both the Dallas/Fort Worth and San Francisco Chapters of the French-American Chamber of Commerce. In addition, Erin served as Director of Programs & Member Relations at the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations where she enjoyed interacting with the Council on Foreign Relations and other international think tanks to create policy-related programming. Erin recently launched successful programs in Dallas such as EuroTech Talks and European American Flight Forum as innovation-focused business initiatives.
Erin’s prior business achievements include the launch and management of her own import company wholesaling high-end wine accessories nationwide through large and small-scale retailers, restaurants and online stores. She also worked for Equifax as a bi-lingual analyst for Canadian data research.
Erin holds a degree in Marketing from Texas A&M University and a Certification in Non-Profit Mgmt. Erin is fluent in French.
Ruth Baron, President, EACCTX
Ruth Baron leads the newly formed European American Chamber of Commerce as President after completing one year as President of the French American Chamber of Commerce, one year as Executive Vice President and five years as Vice President.
Ruth brings to the Chamber over 30 years of marketing experience and expertise. Her background includes both B2B and B2C marketing, and her clients have included GE Medical, CHI Health System, Baylor Health Care System, Microsoft, EDS, US Data and PriceWaterhouseCoopers. She has a wide range of experience delivering successful online and offline campaigns including print, television, radio, out-of-home, digital advertising, search engine and email campaigns to national and international organizations. Ruth ran her own marketing company for 17 years before migrating clients to her current company, The Point Group.
Welcome, EACCTX !
The post The European American Chamber of Commerce Welcomes Texas to its Growing Network first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

EACC

Speech | Navigating the Digital Transition, Maintaining a Stable Payment System

France Payments Forum – Les Rencontres Digitales Conference 2021 – Crypto-payments, 8 April 2021; Opening address by Denis Beau, First Deputy Governor |
Introduction
The health crisis that we have all been living through for a year now has affected people’s day-to-day habits, changing not only how we consume but also how we like to pay. This has sped up the transition towards more digital approaches.
This acceleration raises major challenges for Europe’s payment ecosystem, but also for payment regulators and supervisors. Thinking now specifically from the viewpoint of the latter, the central question to be addressed is as follows: how to facilitate and support the transition whilst at the same time maintaining the foundations that underpin a safe and efficient payment system. From a safety perspective, these foundations are built on an appropriate regulatory framework and on the availability under any circumstance of central bank money, which alone has legal tender status and which anchors the stability of the whole system; efficiency, meanwhile, relies on having diverse and competing payment solutions and participants, to ensure inclusivity and competitiveness.
I would like to share with you my perspective on the answers to this question. I will begin by highlighting the challenges raised by the accelerated digital transition of our payment system, seen from the perspective of an authority tasked with safeguarding monetary and financial stability (1), before going on to discuss how we at the Banque de France are playing our part in tackling these challenges (2).
I/ Challenges
Major innovation in the field of payments has clearly accompanied the increasing digitalisation of the ways in which we consume and behave, fuelling the emergence of a dynamic and enhanced new ecosystem. As I see it, this raises three types of challenges for the safety and efficiency of our payment system.
A.    Ensure that the rise of “decentralised finance” contributes positively to the safety and efficiency of our payment system
When I say decentralised finance, I am talking about the new trend towards the tokenisation of financial assets, such as the creation of new tradable assets associated with new rights, for instance utility tokens, and the development of crypto-assets. These offer opportunities to improve our payment systems and solutions, particularly for cross-border payments, but also for securities issuance and settlement systems. They could also help to expand the array of financing tools available to businesses. But they also pose risks that could undermine the efficiency and safety of these systems. These risks must be mitigated and controlled. First-generation crypto-assets were born of a desire to create a disintermediated means of payment that would not have an issuer and that would circulate on decentralised settlement infrastructures beyond the control of banks and governments. As a result of this, their actual footprint remains marginal, however much media attention they may receive. Furthermore, as intermediaries in exchanges, these assets are far less efficient than our existing currencies, for a variety of reasons, including their volatile prices, transaction costs and transaction times, which make it hard to use these assets as a means of payment, plus the risks to which users and service providers are exposed. Stablecoins seek to remedy the shortcomings of first-generation crypto-assets, especially their volatility, by being backed by real assets. But even with Stablecoins, the whole crypto-asset payment chain remains highly exposed to a range of risks, from legal, financial and operational risks, to major vulnerabilities in terms of money laundering and terrorist financing, and consumer and investor information and protection issues, including a non-zero risk of capital loss even in the case of Stablecoins. There are also issues, in our countries upholding the Rule of Law and in our regulated market economies, in terms of complying with core competition and privacy principles.
B.    Fostering “co-opetition” between established players and new entrants
Innovation is often associated with FinTech firms and challengers, such as the start-ups that build success from an ability to focus their business and cut costs for a specific service or link in the payment chain. Yet commercial banks, which have traditionally been a major force in payments, also play a key role in innovation. Likewise, the main card schemes helped to drive the emergence of new payment methods, such as contactless payments and mobile payment terminals.
Through partnerships, acquisitions and incubation projects, but also by harnessing in house R&D, established participants have expanded their service offerings to add new solutions, while developing competition and cooperation with new entrants. “Co-opetition” relationships are a deep-rooted feature of the payment industry and are proven to generate value. The challenge now is to nurture them over the long run, taking care to ensure that relationships with BigTech firms are included.
This is because the potential network effects enjoyed by BigTech payment solutions and the upstream payment chain positions of these firms could create risks of competitive distortion, particularly in situations where these participants also provide hardware or software components. Users could find themselves effectively captives of an ecosystem and left with no choice in terms of payment service, or at least be influenced by BigTech firms to use their services at the expense of competitors. This market power might also lead to high fees for payment transactions that could reduce the revenues – and hence the innovative capabilities – of partner banks.
C.    Consolidate European integration and sovereignty in the area of payments 
The limits of Europe’s integration and sovereignty in the area of payments have been highlighted once again by the entry of tech giants into the field of payments and the emergence of a systemically important project such as the Libra/Diem initiative, which could see non-European participants providing new solutions on the European market.
Although implementation of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) project was beneficial in supporting defragmentation for credit transfers and direct debits, non-European participants have been able to leverage regulatory harmonisation in their efforts to conquer the entire European market, whereas domestic participants have struggled to expand beyond their country of origin.
Meanwhile, European integration in the area of card payments has failed. The so called international card schemes exclusively manage all cross-border payments within the European Union, not to mention a large share of domestic payments. This situation has created a dependency with multiple consequences. I am talking particularly about the definition and control of technical standards, financial aspects, but also challenges related to payment data, i.e. our capacity to protect these data and enforce compliance with European standards such as the GDPR, if decision-making centres are based outside Europe.
II/ What is the Banque de France doing?
To help to meet these challenges, we at Banque de France are focusing our activities around two main areas:
1/ Support and implement regulatory frameworks and supervisory practices that promote innovation and the stability of our financial system 
Most of the current regulatory framework predates the technological breakthroughs that we are now facing. Accordingly, it makes sense to adjust the regulatory framework to these technological developments, the challenges they present and the attendant risks. The same naturally applies to our supervisory framework and methods. For this reason, we are actively involved in multilateral cooperation work, such as the G7, the G20, the Financial Stability Board and the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures, particularly on crypto-assets and enhancing cross-border payments.
We are also supporting the European strategies on digital finance and retail payments published by the Commission in the final quarter of 2020 and especially the two flagship initiatives, namely the draft Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation and the future Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) Regulation on operational risks in the financial sector.
2/ Be involved as a participant in the evolution of payment systems
However, adapting the regulatory framework will not be enough. At the Banque de France, we believe we also need to be part of the evolution of payment systems by pursuing, at this stage, two goals: facilitate and experiment.
As regards the first of these goals, we want to build on the major integration projects that have come before and promote the emergence of European initiatives that can strengthen Europe’s payment market.
Right now, just one initiative looks capable of providing a satisfactory response to the challenges: the European Payments Initiative, or EPI.
With this initiative now under way, we feel that it is vital for EPI to make good on its promises.
On the experimental front, the Banque de France is currently conducting a programme exploring the use of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) to settle interbank transactions, to assess to what extent and under what conditions such a currency could make the settlement of financial-asset transactions safer and more efficient, while at the same time preserving the fundamental role of central bank money in the proper execution of these transactions.
The Banque de France is also playing a very active role in the Eurosystem work, under the aegis of the ECB, on a retail digital euro. An ECB report published in October 2020 said that the Eurosystem should get prepared for the swift introduction of a retail digital euro should the need arise. The Eurosystem held a public consultation that closed in late January, attracting over 8,000 responses. The input from this will inform the meticulous examination of the reasons, consequences and prerequisites for the potential introduction of a CBDC that we are conducting. A first report will be presented by summer 2021 to the Governing Council, which will then decide whether to extend the analytical work by carrying out an investigatory phase.
In the end, the challenge is to determine whether and in what way a central bank digital euro is necessary. Key areas of analysis include a consideration of ways to prevent a digital euro from leading to excessive conversion of bank deposits into CBDC, which could disrupt bank refinancing and banks’ capacity to lend to the real economy, in turn destabilising the financial system and financing of the economy. A report published by the Bank for International Settlements and seven central banks in October 2020 stressed that three foundational principles must govern any CBDC-related decisions: do not compromise overarching public policy objectives such as monetary and financial stability; organise coexistence with other forms of public and private money; and promote innovation and efficiency in the financial system.
If the decision were taken to introduce a central bank digital euro, this currency would also have to help to strengthen the sovereignty and competitiveness of the European payment market, while interacting smoothly with EPI. Finally, we believe there is a form of continuity between a retail CBDC and an interbank CBDC: logically, a retail digital euro should be able to rely on a CBDC for interbank settlement purposes to support optimal circulation.
Conclusion
Unquestionably, the trend towards greater digitalisation of the economy, which has accelerated to an unprecedented degree since the onset of the health crisis, has illustrated the payment ecosystem’s ability to adjust to the health restrictions affecting our economy on an everyday basis. But this positive assessment must not cause us to overlook the challenges connected with payment innovation, which touch on issues of safety, accessibility, competition and sovereignty. At the Banque de France, we are committed to supporting the development of an independent, innovative and resilient European payment market that can maintain confidence in the currency while also strengthening our monetary and financial sovereignty.
This commitment, which stems from our core statutory tasks, has a central place in the roadmap followed by our institution. As you may have seen in the annual report that we published a few days ago, payments have their rightful place in the Banque de France’s strategic guidelines for 2024, with three initiatives centred on modern, safe payments and on maintaining confidence in the currency in all its forms more broadly.
Thank you for your attention.
Compliments of the Banque de France.
The post Speech | Navigating the Digital Transition, Maintaining a Stable Payment System first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

EACC

Coronavirus: EU Commission mobilises €123 million for research and innovation to combat the threat of variants

The EU Commission is mobilising €123 million from Horizon Europe, the new EU research and innovation programme, for urgent research into coronavirus variants. This first emergency funding under Horizon Europe adds to a range of EU-funded research and innovation actions to fight the coronavirus and contributes to the Commission’s overall action to prevent, mitigate and respond to the impact of coronavirus variants, in line with the new European bio-defence preparedness plan HERA Incubator.
Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said: “We continue to mobilise all means at our disposal to fight this pandemic and the challenges presented by coronavirus variants. We must use our combined strength to be prepared for the future, starting from the early detection of the variants to the organisation and coordination of clinical trials for new vaccines and treatments, while ensuring correct data collection and sharing at all stages.”
New calls for urgent research into coronavirus variants
The Commission launched new calls that complement earlier actions to develop treatments and vaccines by organising and conducting clinical trials to advance the development of promising therapeutics and vaccines against SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19. They will support the development of large scale, COVID-19 cohorts and networks beyond Europe’s borders, forging links with European initiatives, as well as reinforce the infrastructures needed to share data, expertise, research resources and expert services among researchers and research organisations.
The projects funded are expected to:

Establish new and/or build on existing large-scale, multi-centre and regional or multinational cohorts, including beyond Europe’s borders, which should rapidly advance the knowledge on SARS-CoV-2 and its emerging variants.
Further develop promising therapeutic or vaccine candidates against SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19, having already completed preclinical development in clinical studies.
Support research infrastructures to speed up data sharing and deliver fast research support and expertise, to confront the coronavirus variants and to be ready for future epidemics.

The successful consortia are expected to collaborate with other relevant initiatives and projects at national, regional, and international level to maximise synergies and complementarity and avoid duplication of the research efforts.
These emergency calls will tackle the short to medium-term threat and simultaneously prepare for the future. They will contribute to building the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), which will enable the EU to anticipate and better tackle future pandemics.
The calls will open for submissions on 13 April and the deadline for submission is 6 May 2021. The new solutions need to be available and affordable for all, in line with the principles of the Coronavirus Global Response.
Background
In February 2021, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the start of a European bio-defence preparedness plan HERA Incubator aimed at preparing Europe for an increased threat of coronavirus variants. The HERA Incubator will bring together science, industry and public authorities, and leverage all available resources to enable Europe to respond to this challenge.
Since the beginning of the crisis, but also since much earlier, the Commission has been at the forefront of supporting research and innovation and coordinating European and global research efforts, including preparedness for pandemics. It has pledged €1.4 billion to the Coronavirus Global Response, of which €1 billion comes from Horizon 2020, the previous EU research and innovation programme.
The new special calls announced today under Horizon Europe, the successor of Horizon 2020, complement these earlier actions to fight the coronavirus: support for 18 projects with €48.2 million to develop diagnostics, treatments, vaccines and preparedness for epidemics; 8 projects with €117 million invested on the development of diagnostics and treatments through the Innovative Medicines Initiative; 24 projects with €133.4 million granted to addressing pressing needs and the socio-economic impact of the pandemic; and other measures to support innovative ideas through the European Innovation Council. The calls implemented action 3 of the ERAvsCorona Action Plan, a working document resulting from dialogues between the Commission services and national institutions.
Compliments of the European Commission.
The post Coronavirus: EU Commission mobilises €123 million for research and innovation to combat the threat of variants first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

EACC

ECB | What are targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTROs)?

Targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTROs) are central to making sure that our monetary policy reaches people. Through TLTROs, the ECB offers longer-term loans to banks at favourable costs and encourages them to lend to businesses and consumers in the euro area. This keeps borrowing costs low and supports spending and investments.
How does it work? TLTROs are different from our main refinancing operations in three distinctive ways:

TLTROs are specifically targeted – as the name says – at maintaining or increasing banks’ lending to businesses and consumers.
TLTROs are conditional. Banks only get cheap credit from the ECB if they actually pass the money on to the people and businesses in the form of loans. The maximum amount offered is capped at a share of banks’ loans to companies and households (excluding loans for house purchases). The more a bank granted in loans to companies and households before the start of the operations, the more it can borrow under TLTROs.
TLTROs offer longer-term loans. They only have to be paid back after four years, much longer than the ECB’s standard liquidity-providing instruments. This provides banks with stable and dependable funding.

Why do we offer TLTROs?
TLTROs help to keep the economy going and ensure that businesses and households continue to get the funds they need to stay afloat and invest. TLTROs are one of the main instruments for the ECB to preserve favourable financing conditions. They provide banks with funding certainty at a favourable cost so long as they support lending to firms and households. TLTROs encourage lending when banks would otherwise be more hesitant to give out loans.
By encouraging bank lending, TLTROs ensure that the economy benefits from our monetary policy. The loans to companies and households finance investment and support spending on goods and services, especially when the economy faces major headwinds. This in turn helps us to bring inflation back towards our aim of below, but close to, 2%.
The ECB has launched three series of TLTROs: TLTRO I in 2014, TLTRO II in 2016 and TLTRO III in 2019.
TLTRO III plays an important role in weathering the coronavirus crisis
TLTRO III is one of our key measures to fight the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the economy. Banks can borrow funds from the ECB at a favourable rate as low as -1%. This means they are offered at 0.5 percentage points below the ECB’s deposit facility rate. Banks are rewarded with this lower interest rate if they keep lending to businesses and households. We are offering banks these more attractive terms from 24 June 2020 until 23 June 2022.
This encourages banks to lend more and pass on these attractive terms to companies and households to help them better weather the coronavirus crisis. The third TLTRO programme consists of ten operations, each with a maturity of three years (previous TLTROs had a maturity of up to four years). This means that banks have three years to pay back what they borrowed. TLTRO III operations started in September 2019, before the coronavirus crisis hit the economy. The programme was then adapted to respond to the impact of the crisis in March, April and again in December 2020. The last operation will be conducted in December 2021.
Compliments of the European Central Bank.
The post ECB | What are targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTROs)? first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

Read More
EACC

IMF | Tailoring Government Support

The race to vaccinate against COVID-19 continues, but the pace of inoculation varies widely across countries, with access unavailable to many. Global cooperation must be stepped up to produce and distribute vaccines to all countries at affordable costs. The sooner vaccinations curb the pandemic, the faster economies can return to normal.

‘The sooner vaccinations curb the pandemic, the faster economies can return to normal.’

If the global pandemic is controlled via vaccination, the resulting stronger economic growth would yield more than $1 trillion in additional tax revenues in advanced economies by 2025—and save more in fiscal support measures. The COVID-19 vaccination will thus more than pay for itself, according to the April 2021 Fiscal Monitor, providing excellent value for the public money invested in it.
Varying degrees of fiscal support
In the first year of COVID-19, fiscal policy has reacted quickly and forcefully to the health emergency. Lifelines have saved lives and protected livelihoods. Fiscal support has also prevented more severe economic contractions and job losses than the world would otherwise have seen, including by easing financial stress when monetary and fiscal policies acted together.
Countries’ ability to scale up fiscal support has varied, depending on their capacity to access low-cost borrowing. In the meantime, economic recoveries are diverging, with China and the United States pulling ahead while other countries lag behind or stagnate.
In advanced economies, fiscal actions have been sizable and cover several years (6 percent of GDP in 2021), such as those recently approved in the United States and featured in the 2021 budget of the United Kingdom. Among emerging markets and developing countries, fiscal support has been more limited owing to financing constraints, but the rise in deficits is still notable as tax receipts have fallen. Average overall fiscal deficits as a share of GDP in 2020 reached 11.7 percent for advanced economies, 9.8 percent for emerging market economies, and 5.5 percent for low-income developing countries.
As a result, average public debt worldwide approached 97 percent of GDP at the end of 2020 and is expected to stay just below 100 percent of GDP over the medium term. Unemployment and extreme poverty have also increased significantly. The pandemic thus risks leaving a deep scar.
Until the pandemic is brought under control, however, fiscal policy will have to remain flexible and supportive. The need and scope for such support varies across sectors and economies, with responses tailored to country circumstances. However, governments should prioritize the following:

More targeted support to vulnerable households. The pandemic has had a disproportionately negative effect on poor people, youth, women, minorities, and workers in low-paying jobs and the informal sector. Policymakers should ensure that social protection is available and spending is sustainable over the duration of the crisis by expanding the coverage of social safety nets in a cost-effective way (for example, by limiting the leakage of benefits to unintended beneficiaries).

More focused support to viable firms. If the pandemic persists, widespread corporate insolvencies could result, destroying millions of jobs, particularly in contact-intensive service sectors and small and medium enterprises. At the same time, governments would do well to prevent resource misallocations and limit the rise of nonviable firms. Governments could gradually roll back blanket loans and guarantees, and limit public support to circumstances in which there is a clear need for intervention. Partnering with the private sector to assess the viability of firms before providing support can improve targeting and reduce administrative costs.

Setting the stage for an economic transition
Policymakers will have to strike a balance between providing fiscal support now, on the one hand, and keeping debt at a manageable level on the other. Some countries may need to start rebuilding fiscal buffers to lessen the impact of future shocks. Developing credible multiyear frameworks for revenue and spending will therefore be vital, especially where debt is high and financing tight.
Many low-income countries, even after doing their part, face challenges in dealing with the pandemic in the near term and for development over time, as indicated in recent IMF research. They will need additional assistance, including through grants, concessional financing, the extension of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative, or, in some cases, debt treatment under the Common Framework.
Done properly, fiscal policy will enable a green, digital, and inclusive transformation of the post-pandemic economy. To make this a reality, governments should prioritize:

Investing in health systems (including expanded vaccinations), education, and infrastructure. A coordinated green public investment push by economies that can afford it can foster global growth. Projects—ideally with the participation of the private sector—would aim at mitigating the effects of climate change and facilitating digitalization.

Helping people get back to work and change jobs, if needed, through hiring subsidies, enhanced training, and job search programs.
Strengthening social protection systems to help counter inequality and poverty, and reinvigorating efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Reforming domestic and international tax systems to promote greater fairness and protect the environment. To help meet pandemic-related needs, a temporary COVID-19 recovery contribution levied on high incomes is an option. Over the medium term, revenue collection should be bolstered, especially in in low-income developing countries, which could help finance development needs.
Cutting wasteful spending, strengthening the transparency of spending initiatives, and improving governance practices to reap the full benefits of fiscal support.

In sum, governments have gone to exceptional lengths to shore up their economies, but further work is needed to get ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic, provide flexible yet targeted support now, adjust when a recovery is firmly in place, and set the stage for a greener, fairer, and more durable recovery.
Compliments of the IMF.
The post IMF | Tailoring Government Support first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

Read More
EACC

IMF | An Asynchronous and Divergent Recovery May Put Financial Stability at Risk

After enduring a tumultuous 2020, the global economy is finally emerging from the worst phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, albeit with prospects diverging starkly across regions and countries—and only after a “lost year” spent in suspended animation. The economic trauma would have been much worse if the global economy had not been supported by the unprecedented policy actions taken by central banks and by the fiscal measures implemented by governments.

‘Global markets are watching the current rise of US long-term interest rates.’

Global markets are watching the current rise of US long-term interest rates, worried that a rapid and persistent increase may result in tighter financial conditions, potentially hurting growth prospects. Since August 2020, the yield on the US 10-year Treasury note has risen by 1¼ percentage points to around 1¾ percent in early April 2021, returning close to its pre-pandemic level of early 2020.
The good news is that the rising rates in the United States have been spurred in part by improving vaccination prospects and strengthening growth and inflation. As described in the latest Global Financial Stability Report, both nominal and real interest rates have risen, although nominal yields have risen more, suggesting that market-implied inflation—the difference between yields on nominal and inflation-indexed Treasury securities—is recovering. Allowing a modest amount of inflation has been an intended objective of easy monetary policy.
The bad news is that the increase may reflect uncertainty about the future path of monetary policy and possibly investor concerns about the increased supply of Treasury debt to finance the fiscal expansion in the United States, as reflected by sharply rising term premia (investors’ compensation for interest-rate risk). Market participants are beginning to focus on the timing of the Federal Reserve’s tapering of its asset purchases, which could push long-term rates and funding costs higher, thereby fueling a tightening of financial conditions, especially if associated with a decline in risk assets’ prices.
Global implications
To be clear, global rates remain low by historical standards. But the speed of the adjustment in rates can generate unwelcome volatility in global financial markets, as witnessed this year. Assets are priced on a relative basis, and the price of every financial asset—from a simple mortgage loan to emerging market bonds—is directly or indirectly linked to benchmark US rates. The rapid and persistent rise in rates this year has been accompanied by an increase in volatility, with a risk that such fluctuations might intensify.
Any abrupt and unexpected increase in rates in the United States may translate into a tightening of financial conditions, as investors shift into “reduce risk exposure, protect capital” mode. This could be a concern for risk asset prices. Valuations appear stretched in some segments of financial markets, and vulnerabilities are rising further in some sectors.
Thus far, overall global financial conditions have remained easy. But in countries where the recovery is slower and where vaccinations are lagging, their economies may not yet be ready for tighter financial conditions. Policymakers may be forced to use monetary and exchange-rate policies to offset any potential tightening.
While government bond yields have also risen somewhat in countries in Europe and elsewhere, albeit less so than in the United States, the greatest concern comes from emerging markets, where investor risk appetite may shift quickly. With many of those countries confronting large external financing needs, a sudden sharp tightening in global financial conditions could threaten their post-pandemic recovery. The recent volatility in portfolio flows to emerging markets is a reminder of the fragility of these flows.
Meeting the needs of tomorrow
While several emerging market economies have adequate international reserves, and external imbalances are generally less pronounced as a result of the large import compression, some emerging market economies may face challenges in the future, especially if inflation rises and borrowing costs continue to grow. Emerging market local currency yields have risen meaningfully, driven importantly by an increase in term premia. Our estimate is that a 100 basis point rise in US term premia is associated, on average, with a 60 basis point rise in emerging market term premia. Many emerging markets have sizeable financing needs this year, so they are exposed to the risk of higher rates once they refinance debt and fund large fiscal deficits in the months ahead. Countries that are in weaker economic positions, for example owing to limited access to vaccines, may also face portfolio outflows. For many frontier market economies, access to funding remains a primary concern given limited access to bond markets.
As countries adjust policies to overcome the pandemic, major central banks will need to carefully communicate their policy plans to prevent excess volatility in financial markets. Emerging markets may need to consider policy measures to address excessive tightening of domestic financial conditions. But they will have to be mindful of policy interactions and their own economic and financial conditions, as they make use of monetary, fiscal, macroprudential, capital-flow management, and foreign-exchange intervention.
Continuing policy support remains necessary, but targeted measures are also needed to address vulnerabilities and to protect the economic recovery. Policymakers should support balance-sheet repair—for example, by strengthening the management of nonperforming assets. Rebuilding buffers in emerging markets should be a policy priority to prepare for a possible repricing of risk and a potential reversal of capital flows.
As the world begins to turn the page on the COVID-19 pandemic, policymakers will continue to be tested by an asynchronous and divergent recovery, a widening gap between rich and poor, and increased financing needs amid constrained budgets. The Fund remains ready to support its member nations’ policy efforts in the uncertain period ahead.
Author:

Tobias Adrian, Financial Counsellor and Director of the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department

Compliments of the IMF.
The post IMF | An Asynchronous and Divergent Recovery May Put Financial Stability at Risk first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

EACC

“COVID-19 shows why united action is needed for more robust international health architecture”

Op-ed article by President Charles Michel, WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and more than 20 world leaders |
The COVID-19 pandemic is the biggest challenge to the global community since the 1940s. At that time, following the devastation of two world wars, political leaders came together to forge the multilateral system. The aims were clear: to bring countries together, to dispel the temptations of isolationism and nationalism, and to address the challenges that could only be achieved together in the spirit of solidarity and cooperation, namely peace, prosperity, health and security.
Today, we hold the same hope that as we fight to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic together, we can build a more robust international health architecture that will protect future generations. There will be other pandemics and other major health emergencies. No single government or multilateral agency can address this threat alone. The question is not if, but when. Together, we must be better prepared to predict, prevent, detect, assess and effectively respond to pandemics in a highly coordinated fashion. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a stark and painful reminder that nobody is safe until everyone is safe.
We are, therefore, committed to ensuring universal and equitable access to safe, efficacious and affordable vaccines, medicines and diagnostics for this and future pandemics. Immunization is a global public good and we will need to be able to develop, manufacture and deploy vaccines as quickly as possible.
This is why the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) was set up in order to promote equal access to tests, treatments and vaccines and support health systems across the globe. ACT-A has delivered on many aspects but equitable access is not achieved yet. There is more we can do to promote global access.
To that end, we believe that nations should work together towards a new international treaty for pandemic preparedness and response.
Such a renewed collective commitment would be a milestone in stepping up pandemic preparedness at the highest political level. It would be rooted in the constitution of the World Health Organization, drawing in other relevant organizations key to this endeavour, in support of the principle of health for all.  Existing global health instruments, especially the International Health Regulations, would underpin such a treaty, ensuring a firm and tested foundation on which we can build and improve.
The main goal of this treaty would be to foster an all-of-government and all-of-society approach, strengthening national, regional and global capacities and resilience to future pandemics. This includes greatly enhancing international cooperation to improve, for example, alert systems, data-sharing, research, and local, regional and global production and distribution of medical and public health counter measures, such as vaccines, medicines, diagnostics and personal protective equipment.
It would also include recognition of a “One Health” approach that connects the health of humans, animals and our planet. And such a treaty should lead to more mutual accountability and shared responsibility, transparency and cooperation within the international system and with its rules and norms.
To achieve this, we will work with Heads of State and governments globally and all stakeholders, including civil society and the private sector. We are convinced that it is our responsibility, as leaders of nations and international institutions, to ensure that the world learns the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At a time when COVID-19 has exploited our weaknesses and divisions, we must seize this opportunity and come together as a global community for peaceful cooperation that extends beyond this crisis. Building our capacities and systems to do this will take time and require a sustained political, financial and societal commitment over many years.
Our solidarity in ensuring that the world is better prepared will be our legacy that protects our children and grandchildren and minimizes the impact of future pandemics on our economies and our societies.
Pandemic preparedness needs global leadership for a global health system fit for this millennium. To make this commitment a reality, we must be guided by solidarity, fairness, transparency, inclusiveness and equity.
By J. V. Bainimarama, Prime Minister of Fiji, Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of Thailand; António Luís Santos da Costa, Prime Minister of Portugal; Mario Draghi, Prime Minister of Italy; Klaus Iohannis, President of Romania; Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda; Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya; Emmanuel Macron, President of France; Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany; Charles Michel, President of the European Council; Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece; Moon Jae-in, President of the Republic of Korea; Sebastián Piñera, President of Chile; Andrej Plenković, Prime Minister of Croatia; Carlos Alvarado Quesada, President of Costa Rica; Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Albania; Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa; Keith Rowley, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago; Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands; Kais Saied, President of Tunisia; Macky Sall, President of Senegal; Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain; Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway; Aleksandar Vučić, President of Serbia; Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia; Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization.
Compliments of the European Council.
The post “COVID-19 shows why united action is needed for more robust international health architecture” first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.