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BFW digitaal 2022/06

  • Key findings of the Macroprudential and Financial Stability Report of the National Bank of Belgium

    Vrijdag 1/7/2022
    Jean Hilgers / Selien De Schryder

    This article is based on the interventions of Jean Hilgers (National Bank of Belgium) and Professor Selien De Schryder (UGent) during the Webinar on the Macroprudential and Financial Stability Report of the National Bank of Belgium (June the 9th, 2022).

  • De energie-efficiëntie van de Belgische woningen en haar impact op de woningprijzen

    Vrijdag 1/7/2022
    Peter Reusens

    The price difference between energy-efficient and energy-inefficient houses has increased over the past decade. And it may even become bigger due to the high energy and construction prices and the future renovation obligations. Although the energy efficiency of the sold homes has improved over the past ten years, it will have to improve a lot more in order to meet the climate targets by 2050. However, there are several supply and demand side impediments and all actors involved – households, government, financial sector and construction sector – have an important role to play in overcoming them. Finally, it is important to take into account the improving energy efficiency when drawing up house price indices.

     

    Het prijsverschil tussen energiezuinige en energieverslindende huizen is het voorbije decennium toegenomen. De hoge energie- en bouwprijzen en de toekomstige renovatieverplichtingen kunnen er bovendien voor zorgen dat dat nog groter wordt. Hoewel de energie-efficiëntie van de verkochte woningen het voorbije decennium is verbeterd, zal deze nog aanzienlijk verder moeten toenemen om de klimaatdoelstellingen tegen 2050 te halen. Hierbij zijn er verschillende drempels aan zowel de aanbod- als de vraagzijde en hebben alle betrokken actoren – gezinnen, overheid, financiële sector en bouwsector – een belangrijke rol om deze te overwinnen. Tot slot is het belangrijk om de verbeterende energie‑efficiëntie in rekening te brengen bij het opstellen van woningprijsindices.

  • Currencies as economic weapons

    Vrijdag 1/7/2022
    Dieter Guffens

    The western sanctions freezing large parts of Russian foreign reserves explicitly used currencies as economic weapons. In the short term, this is unlikely to affect the dominant role of the US dollar as an international reserve currency. Compared to other currencies, the US dollar is still most in line with the requirements that a reserve currency must meet. It is based on a large economy, with well-developed and liquid financial markets and a strong geopolitical status. The fundamental trust in the protection of investors’ property may have experienced a setback by the sanctions, but that also applies to the currencies of other sanctioning Western countries. Cryptocurrencies, gold and the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights are no satisfactory alternatives either, each for their specific reasons. Therefore, in the short term, the most likely evolution is a continuation of the current status quo. In the longer run, changes may well occur and are unlikely to happen in an orderly way.

  • Bazel IV: het sluitstuk van de jarenlange bankhervormingen

    Vrijdag 1/7/2022
    Sietse Bracke

    Basel III is an internationally agreed set of measures developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in response to the great financial crisis of 2007-09. The measures aim at strengthening the regulation, supervision and risk management of banks. In this contribution Sietse Bracke (NBB) outlines in a non-technical way the major aspects of the finalised Basel III framework – dubbed Basel IV by many. Furthermore, challenges with respect to the implementation in the EU are discussed and it is argued that a timely implementation of a non-watered-down version of the Basel framework is warranted to assure long run soundness of the financial system and robust bank lending in times of crisis.

     

    Vijftien jaar na de financiële crisis van 2008 kunnen we eindelijk een punt zetten achter de invoering van de Bazelakkoorden. Nu ja, een punt zetten… Het laatste pakket maatregelen moet nog omgezet worden in de EU-wetgeving en daar knelt het schoentje. De Nationale Bank trekt aan de alarmbel: een verwaterde versie van de Bazel IV-afspraken volstaat niet om de financiële stabiliteit te garanderen.