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Financial Products (financial + products)
Selected AbstractsThe Financial Crisis: Causes and Lessons,JOURNAL OF APPLIED CORPORATE FINANCE, Issue 3 2010Kenneth E. Scott The author argues that the root cause of the recent crisis was a housing bubble whose origins can be traced to loose monetary policy and a government housing policy that continually pushed for lower lending standards to increase home ownership. The negative consequences of such policies were amplified when transmitted throughout the financial system by financial institutions through the process of securitization. In attempting to assess culpability for the crisis and identify possible reforms, the author focuses on three categories: 1Defects in Financial Products: Without criticizing derivatives and the process of securitization, the author identifies the sheer complexity of the securities as a major source of the problem,for which the solution is a simpler security design combined with greater disclosure about the underlying assets being securitized. 2Defects in Risk Management: Thanks in large part to agency and other incentive problems, there was universal underestimation of risks by mortgage originators and financial institutions throughout the securitization chain. Changing incentive pay structures is part of the solution, and so are better accounting rules for SPEs. But more effective regulatory oversight and ending "too big to fail" may well be the only way to curb excessive private risk-taking. 3Defects in Government Policy and Regulation: While acknowledging the need for more effective oversight, the author argues that there was ample existing authority for U.S. regulators to have addressed these issues. Lack of power and authority to regulate was not at the heart of the problem,the real problem was lack of foresight and judgment about the unexpected. After expressing doubt that regulators can prevent major financial failures, the author recommends greater attention to devising better methods of resolving such failures when they occur. One of the main goals is to ensure that losses are borne not by taxpayers but by private investors in a way that maintains incentives for market discipline while limiting spillover costs to the entire system. [source] Increased Diversity and Deepened Uncertainty: Policy Challenges in a Zero-Inflation Economy,INTERNATIONAL FINANCE, Issue 3 2007Kiyohiko G. Nishimura The world economy today shows ,great diversity'. There are multiple engines of growth in various regions around the globe. Risks are diversified, as many novel financial products are being introduced and sold to a continuing flow of newcomers to the financial world. This increased diversity seems to deepen uncertainty surrounding monetary policy in two respects. First, coupled with increased competition, it may make prices less responsive to short-run demand changes than before, thus making monetary transmission mechanism less certain. In fact, Japanese IS and Phillips curves seem increasingly uncertain in the past 15 years. Second, we are in transition between one financial structure of little diversification and another of great diversification. In a transition period, information is scarce and rapidly becomes obsolete, posing real challenges to financial stability. I argue that the flexible gradualism, which the Bank has now adopted, is a prudent way to cope with such deepened uncertainty. [source] Capturing the voice of older consumers in relation to financial products and servicesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 2 2010Carol Brennan Abstract The purpose of this pilot study was to focus on the suitability of selected financial products for older people. Bank accounts and equity release products were selected for this study by an expert advisory panel. New marketing initiatives are being used to promote bank accounts, including forms of insurance, for the ,50+' market. Also, older people are now expected to provide for their retirement and it is anticipated that equity release will be one product which may be used to fund and maintain consumer lifestyles. In the first phase of the study, a questionnaire was distributed to 152 people aged over 50 years in Scotland. Eighty-three were completed, a response rate of 55%. The results informed the development of questions for the second phase which were discussed with 46 participants via the World Café in June 2008, enabling a deeper insight into their opinions. The research found that consumers had lost trust in financial product and service providers because of the perceived excessive profits of banks and lack of customer service. Further, many products and services were prohibited for or incurred extra costs to those aged over 60 or 65 years, leaving limited choices, and equity release products were seen as a last resort for those in financial difficulty. Although the profitability of banks has changed dramatically since the completion of data collection, the issues identified by older consumers in Scotland will be of international interest. The demographic changes resulting in an increasing proportion of elderly people in the population are reflected throughout the UK and many Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. Similar financial products and services, which were the focus of this study, are promoted internationally, offering opportunities to replicate the research methods. [source] A study to identify the training needs of life insurance sales representatives in Taiwan using the Delphi approachINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2006Chiang Ku Fan This article reports a study conducted to identify the needs for continuing professional development for life insurance sales representatives and to examine the competencies needed by those sales representatives. A modified Delphi technique was used. Most life insurance companies in the USA implement an education and training plan advocated by the Life Office Management Association. Insurance companies in Taiwan implement similar education and training plans, but they do not seem to result in the successful performance of their sales representatives. Besides augmenting knowledge of various financial products and marketing approaches, this study also suggests that life insurance companies need to train their sales representatives to an adequate standard in competencies of problem solving, communication, information technology utilization, culture compatibility, emotional intelligence, collective competence and ethics. [source] MEASURING RISK IN ENVIRONMENTAL FINANCEJOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SURVEYS, Issue 5 2007Suhejla Hoti Abstract Environmental sustainability indices, such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes and the Ethibel Sustainability Index, quantify the development and promotion of sustainable social, ethical and environmental values in the community. Moreover, such indices provide a benchmark for managing sustainability portfolios, and developing financial products and services that are linked to sustainable economic, environmental, social and ethical criteria. This paper reviews the existing data and risk indices in environmental finance. The main purpose of the paper is to analyse existing sustainability and ethical indices in environmental finance, and evaluate empirical environmental risk by estimating conditional volatility clustering that is inherent in these indices. Financial volatility models are estimated to analyse the underlying conditional volatility or time-varying risk that is inherent in alternative environmental sustainability indices. Volatility clustering is observed for most series, but some extreme observations are also evident. The log- and second-moment conditions suggest that valid inferences can be drawn for purposes of sensible empirical analysis. [source] Leveling the Playing Field: Negotiating Opportunities and Recognition in Gendered JobsNEGOTIATION AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT RESEARCH, Issue 1 2009Louise Marie Roth Abstract In gendered jobs, how do women and men negotiate opportunities to perform and receive recognition for their accomplishments? Women face disadvantages negotiating the workplace, especially in male-dominated positions, while men receive advantages even in female-dominated jobs. This article uses research on gender inequality on Wall Street to illustrate how gender schemas sustain gender inequality in career opportunities, access to networks and mentors, and evaluations of performance. Women on Wall Street faced exclusionary networks and assumptions that men were more competent at finance. The article then focuses on strategies that some women on Wall Street have used to successfully negotiate career opportunities and recognition. These strategies include developing expertise, specializing in financial products, and seeking positions with objective performance criteria. [source] Credit risk and bank margins in structured financial products: Evidence from the German secondary market for discount certificatesTHE JOURNAL OF FUTURES MARKETS, Issue 4 2008Rainer Baule This study analyzes bank margins in the German secondary market for exchange-traded structured financial products, with particular emphasis on the influence of banks' credit risk. A structural model allowing for the incorporation of correlation effects between market and credit risk is applied to compare quoted and fair theoretical prices. For discount certificates, as the most popular type of structured financial products in Germany, an empirical study is conducted. Compared to earlier studies, total margins are found to be rather low, whereas the portion that draws back to credit risk appears to be a material part of the total margin. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 28: 376,397, 2008 [source] MUTUAL VERSUS PROPRIETARY OWNERSHIP: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY FROM THE UK UNIT TRUST INDUSTRY WITH A COMPANY-PRODUCT MEASUREANNALS OF PUBLIC AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2010Yoshikatsu Shinozawa ABSTRACT,:,In the debate of the relative merits of differing ownership forms, most empirical studies examine either corporate performance or the product characteristics of the financial products that are available in the financial services industry. Based on the UK unit trust industry, this paper assesses which ownership form, mutual or proprietary is more efficient in managing unit trust operations and providing high return generating unit trusts. Using a combined corporate performance and product range performance metric, this study reveals no significant differences between the two ownership forms in terms of the corporate-product performance score. The results indicate that the owner-customer fused role in the mutual organization must be considered in the mutual versus proprietary ownership debate. [source] | ||||||||||