Krzysztof Rybiński: Globalisation and its implications for monetary policy Speech by Mr Krzysztof Rybiński, Deputy President of the National Bank of Poland, at a series of seminars by the Centre for European Regional and Local Studies and the UNESCO Chair, Warsaw University, Warsaw, 6 April 2006. *  *  *  Ladies and Gentlemen, Globalisation is a term used frequently in the economic debate nowadays, and it would be difficult to find an area of economic research that is “globalisation-free”. However, its meaning is so broad, that when globalisation is referred to in a discussion, various people understand various things. For this very reason, a discussion on globalisation and the monetary policy should commence with an attempt to define the term. One of the definitions of globalisation is provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) 1 , where it is construed as “the growing interdependence (integration) of national economies, in particular as a result of the growing international trade and financial flows”. Moreover, an element of globalisation that is worth mentioning is the fast flow of information and knowledge, which is the driving force behind globalisation processes. One should keep in mind that globalisation is not a completely new phenomenon 2 . In view of the existence of political barriers to international trade, the flow of capital and goods was equally as possible one hundred years ago as it is today.
Or is it a natural phenomena? Are players in the industry not aware of the benefits? Or are they aware of the benefits, weighed it against the potential risks and decided not to pursue this strategy because of business and operational reasons? First let’s analyze the potential benefit. For example, a Bank enters into a joint venture with a housing developer. The financing of the project in the form of equity can yield a lucrative return when the development is completed and then sold. Margin for profit upon sale can be high, as Bank enters into the development at the earliest chain of production. The Bank can still provide financing for the home purchasers, the difference this time – the homes are the Bank’s own asset. Those are direct impact; there are positive impacts in other key areas as well. What happens to the profit from sales and financing? It gets channeled back to Depositors (giving them higher returns on the deposits). This concept would, completely, according to equity-based financing proponent, move Islamic banks away from mimicking conventional products and would truly operate as the shariah had wanted it. Is this true, are there any other factors to be considered? In terms of risk assessment, such a transaction will necessarily inject greater market discipline among industry players. This business model is premise on a few fundamental assumptions.