When people hear the term “offshore banking,” they might think of offshore banking and tax secrecy centers, such as Switzerland, Grand Cayman, Panama and the UK Channel Islands, where the world’s wealthiest, along with organized crime and developed and developing world despots, stash their wealth to shield it from the taxes and the prying eyes …
Offshore Banking: The Shadow Global Financial System Running Amok Read More »
Longstanding government fiscal and monetary policies are fundamental contributors to the global imbalances that have built up, and as recently as 2008-2009, broke out and all but tore down the as yet prevailing global financial and economic order. China pegging the value of its currency, the yuan, to the US dollar has been a significant contributing factor. Despite support among economists and analysts, it’s high time for China to make the transition to a floating exchange rate system and open up its domestic markets to international investment opportunities, both coming in and going out.
Global economic conditions over the past five years clearly indicate that fundamental changes are needed if some sort of balance in the global economic system is to be achieved. Given the tremendous growth China’s economy has experienced in the past two-plus decades, and the repercussions of its US dollar peg, transitioning to a floating rate currency system could serve both China and its trading partners worldwide well.
The debate regarding the effects China fixing the value of its currency, the yuan, to the US dollar continues, even as China continues to resist calls to float its currency. In fact, it’s become apparent that Chinese government monetary policymakers have tightened the peg in the face of another potential banking system crisis and severe economic contraction, this time centered in Europe. This three-part series is an attempt to ‘deconstruct’ and examine, both wholly and in part, the effects of China’s US dollar peg and arguments for and against China moving to a floating exchange rate system.