by Chan Wai-Tak. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1989. / Bibliography: leaves 113-118.

This study was designed to investigate the influence of social class on activity and attitude patterns relative to bank credit card usage by selected households of the Muncie-Delaware County (Indiana) Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area. The universe surveyed in this thesis consisted of respondents all known to have one basic characteristic -current or previous possession of a bank credit card.The data were collected by personal interview of 139 bank credit card recipient households in the studied area. Interviews were performed with a structured, non-disguised questionnaire providing guidance.The responses in all surveyed areas were analyzed according to the respondents' social class membership. Factors utilized to determine social class position were occupation, source of income, education, and house type.Although bank credit cards served as the central focus of the study, possession and usage of other types of credit cards by respondent households were surveyed. The thesis explored activity and attitudes relative to usage of department store and oil company credit cards.

by Leung Oi-Man, Amy, Tsang Wing-Kwong, Eric. / Bibliography: leaves 84-85 / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1986

by Hau Ka-hau, Wu Wei-chi. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-[85]). / ABSTRACT --- p.iii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.vii / LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS --- p.ix / LIST OF TABLES --- p.xi / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.xii / Chapter / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Background Information --- p.1 / Purpose of.the Study --- p.5 / Chapter II. --- METHODOLOGY --- p.6 / General Description of the Experimental Technique --- p.6 / Subjects Used --- p.8 / Simulation Game --- p.8 / Company Interview --- p.9 / Details of the Experiment --- p.9 / Chapter III. --- DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION --- p.13 / Chapter IV. --- COMPANY INTERVIEWS --- p.22 / Interview with Citibank --- p.22 / Interview with American Express --- p.28 / Chapter V. --- IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS --- p.33 / Factors Affecting the Selection of a Credit Card --- p.33 / Benefits of the Bonus Points Programs --- p.35 / Lucky Draw --- p.37 / Discounted Merchandise --- p.39 / Target Marketing --- p.41 / Chapter VI. --- LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY --- p.44 / Chapter VII. --- CONCLUSION --- p.46 / APPENDICES --- p.48 / TABLE --- p.82 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.84

by Ho Yiu Hung, Ronald. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1989. / Bibliography: leaf 77.

Summary in Chinese. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong. / Bibliography: p. leaves 260-263.

by Cheung Mo Man, Mandy, Lau Yiu Kwong, Clive. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [31]-[34] (2nd group)). / EXECUTIVE SUMMARY --- p.i / ACKNOWLEDGMENTS --- p.iii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iv / LIST OF TABLES --- p.vi / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.vii / Chapter / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter II. --- OBJECTIVES --- p.5 / Chapter 2.1 --- Decision-Making Objective --- p.7 / Chapter 2.2 --- Research Objectives --- p.7 / Chapter III. --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.9 / Chapter 3.1 --- Standardization Versus Adaptation --- p.9 / Chapter 3.1.1 --- International Marketing Standardization --- p.11 / Chapter 3.1.2 --- International Marketing Adaptation --- p.13 / Chapter 3.1.3 --- Standardization or Adaptation? --- p.14 / Chapter 3.2 --- Studies on Credit Card Market --- p.16 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Cross-Cultural Studies of Credit Cardholders --- p.16 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Studies of the Credit Card Market in Hong Kong --- p.20 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Studies of the Credit Card Market in the United Kingdom --- p.23 / Chapter 3.3 --- Overview of the Credit Card Market --- p.25 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Global Market --- p.25 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Hong Kong Market --- p.36 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- United Kingdom Market --- p.39 / Chapter IV. --- METHODOLOGY --- p.43 / Chapter 4.1 --- Research Design --- p.43 / Chapter 4.2 --- Data Collection --- p.47 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Secondary Data Collection --- p.47 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Primary Data Collection --- p.48 / Chapter 4.3 --- Sampling --- p.50 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Sampling Method --- p.50 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Sample Size --- p.51 / Chapter 4.4 --- Construction of Questionnaire --- p.52 / Chapter 4.5 --- Field Work --- p.55 / Chapter 4.6 --- Data Analysis --- p.56 / Chapter 4.6.1 --- Editing --- p.56 / Chapter 4.6.2 --- Coding --- p.57 / Chapter 4.6.3 --- Methods of Analysis --- p.58 / Chapter V. --- LIMITATIONS --- p.61 / Chapter 5.1 --- Sampling Control --- p.61 / Chapter 5.2 --- Information Control --- p.62 / Chapter 5.3 --- Administrative Control --- p.63 / Chapter VI. --- FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS --- p.65 / Chapter 6 .1 --- Usage Patterns --- p.65 / Chapter 6.2 --- Card Selection Criteria --- p.72 / Chapter 6.3 --- Attitudes Toward Credit Cards --- p.76 / Chapter 6.4 --- Demographic Characteristics of Heavy Users --- p.81 / Chapter VII. --- RECOMMENDATIONS --- p.85 / Chapter 7.1 --- Standardization Versus Adaptation --- p.85 / Chapter 7.2 --- Recommended Marketing Strategies --- p.89 / Chapter 7.2.1 --- Marketing Strategies for the HK Market --- p.89 / Chapter 7.2.2 --- Marketing Strategies for the UK Market --- p.93 / APPENDIX / BIBLIOGRAPHY

This thesis first examines the role of banks in the transmission mechanism of monetary policy by focusing on the eight European new member States of Central and Eastern Europe over the 2004-2013 period. We specifically investigate the influence of monetary policy changes on bank lending activity and if this potential influence is contingent on bank characteristics, such as banks' size, capital, liquidity, risk factor and market power. Moreover, we focus on the prospective role of banks in the monetary policy transmission mechanism in order to reveal any clear trends in banks' lending behaviour during the 2008-2011 financial crisis. Secondly, we investigate the impact of a protracted period of low monetary policy rates on loosening of banks' credit standards regarding enterprises, households and consumer loans through concentrating on the nine Eurozone countries involved since the initiation of the Euro area Bank Lending Survey in the three distinct time frames of pre- (2002Q4-2008Q3), mid- (2008Q4-2010Q4) and post- (2011Q1-2014:Q4) financial crisis. Furthermore, we test the fundamental concept of the risk taking channel by examining excessive risk-taking behaviour by banks in stressed vs. non-stressed countries of the Eurozone. In an additional analysis, the efficacy of the European Central Bank's 3 year Long-Term Refinancing Operations is evaluated in great depth in order to determine whether banks' credit standards have been softened and the degree to which demand for loans has increased. Thirdly, we explore the financing structure of bank lending constrained Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in the eleven Eurozone countries by utilising firm-level data over the period of 2009 to 2014. We estimate if bank lending constrained firms demonstrate relatively more usage or requests for alternative financing. Additionally, a comprehensive investigation is presented by unveiling the impact and determinants of various financing constraints including credit lines, bank loans, trade credit and other lending on Eurozone firms. Furthermore, the notion of discouraged borrowers originally formulated by Kon and Storey (2003) is empirically evaluated. Finally, we present the conclusion of our research by further outlining its limitations and prospective scope for future studies.

Esta pesquisa investiga a relação entre o conservadorismo contábil e o mercado de crédito bancário no Brasil. O conservadorismo é considerado uma das práticas mais tradicionais e importantes da contabilidade. A literatura teórica e empírica argumenta que o conservadorismo condicional, caracterizado pelo reconhecimento oportuno e assimétrico de perdas econômicas nos números contábeis, aumenta a eficiência dos contratos de crédito, pois permite que os credores identifiquem tempestivamente a elevação do risco dos tomadores e adotem medidas para salvaguardar os seus capitais. O conservadorismo também restringe comportamentos oportunistas dos gestores e dos proprietários em relação aos lucros gerados pela empresa, protegendo os interesses dos credores. Devido aos benefícios proporcionados pelo conservadorismo condicional, os credores podem criar incentivos econômicos para motivar a adoção de práticas conservadoras pelas empresas, por meio da redução nas taxas de juros das operações de crédito. Esta pesquisa examina empiricamente se a adoção de práticas contábeis conservadoras leva à redução no custo do crédito bancário das empresas no Brasil. A amostra analisada é formada por dados de 1.300 empresas e aproximadamente 813 mil contratos de crédito, observados no período de 2000 a 2009. Os exames se basearam na especificação de modelos econométricos que associam o custo do crédito bancário ao grau de conservadorismo e a um conjunto de variáveis de controle, que inclui características das empresas, das operações de crédito e dos bancos credores, além de variáveis binárias de tempo que capturam fatores macroeconômicos. Os parâmetros dos modelos foram estimados pelo método dos momentos generalizado (GMM) sistêmico, para controle do problema de endogeneidade dos regressores. O custo do crédito bancário foi calculado de duas maneiras, uma considerando todos os contratos de responsabilidade da empresa e outra apenas as operações com recursos livres. Para mensurar o conservadorismo, foram utilizadas cinco métricas que capturam o fenômeno a partir de diferentes perspectivas. Não foram obtidas evidências de relação estatisticamente significante entre as medidas de conservadorismo e as taxas de juros das operações de crédito contratadas pelas empresas da amostra. Esses resultados são robustos a variações na especificação dos modelos, no método de estimação dos parâmetros e na definição operacional das variáveis. As evidências confirmam a hipótese de que a adoção de práticas contábeis conservadoras não leva à redução no custo do crédito bancário das empresas no Brasil. O ambiente institucional brasileiro de fraca proteção legal aos credores e baixa demanda de demonstrações contábeis com atributos de qualidade informacional não produz incentivos para que os credores estimulem a adoção de práticas contábeis conservadoras pelas empresas, por meio da redução nas taxas de juros das operações de crédito. Como as empresas não percebem benefícios econômicos associados ao reporte de números contábeis conservadores, a utilização de tais práticas é restrita no Brasil. Dessa forma, os resultados da investigação no mercado brasileiro não corroboram as predições teóricas. / This study investigates the relationship between accounting conservatism and the bank credit market in Brazil. Conservatism is considered one of the most traditional and important practices in accounting. The theoretical and empirical literature argues that conditional conservatism, characterized by asymmetric and timely recognition of economic losses in accounting numbers, increases the efficiency of debt contracts, because it permits creditors to identify increased risks of borrowers on a timely basis and take measures to protect their capital. Conservatism also restricts opportunistic behavior by managers and owners in relation to the companys earnings, thus protecting creditors interests. Due to the benefits provided by conditional conservatism, creditors can create economic incentives for firms to adopt conservative practices, by reducing interest rates on loans. This study empirically examines whether the adoption of conservative accounting practices leads to a reduction in the cost of bank credit of Brazilian companies. The sample analyzed is composed of data on 1,300 firms and approximately 813 thousand debt contracts, in the period from 2000 to 2009. The examinations are based on specification of econometric models that associate the cost of bank credit to the degree of conservatism and a set of control variables, which include characteristics of the firms, credit transactions and lending banks, besides time dummy variables to capture macroeconomic factors. The models parameters were estimated by the system generalized method of moments (GMM), seeking to control for the problem of endogeneity of the regressors. The cost of bank credit was calculated in two ways, one considering all loan agreements of the borrower firm and the other only considering the loans obtained from banks free resources. To measure conservatism, we used five metrics that capture the phenomenon from different perspectives. We did not find evidence of a statistically significant relationship between the conservatism measures and interest rates on the loans contracted by the firms in the sample. These results are robust to variations in model specifications, parameter estimation method and operational definition of the variables. The evidence indicates that the adoption of conservative accounting practices does not lead to a lower cost of bank credit of Brazilian firms. The Brazilian institutional setting is marked by weak legal protection of creditors and low demand for financial statements with high informational quality. This situation does not produce incentives for lenders to stimulate the adoption of conservative accounting practices by firms, by means of reducing interest rates. Since firms to not receive economic benefits associated with reporting conservative economic numbers, the use of such practices is restricted in Brazil. Therefore, the results for the Brazilian market do not corroborate the theoretical predictions.

Attitudes of husband and wife regarding the use of the bank credit card were compared and related to the couple's marital happiness rating. The sample consisted of 40 young married couples residing in campus married student housing at Utah State University during Fall Quarter 1970. Subjects had at least one child and we r e U. S. born citizens between the ages of 20 and 35. The instruments used we r e: (1) a background questionnaire, (2) a marital happiness rating scale, and (3) a series of eight case study situations . The statistical tests us ed were the paired-comparison t-test and the Pearson r. No significant difference was found between attitudes of husband and wife regarding the use of the bank credit card. There was no significant relationship between attitudes of husband and wife regarding the use of the bank credit card and couples expressing a "Very Happy" marital happiness rating or couples expressing other than a "Very Happy" marital happiness rating.