Importance of rating/credit rating agencies' role has recently significantly increased. Rating has become an integral part of the financial, capital markets. Yet this market (i.e. credit rating market) is not subject to regulation (the market works on the basis of a self-regulation principle) which is the fact widely used as a basis for the criticism of this industry in the light of recent events in the financial markets (the collapse of Enron, Parmalat, and other companies, lately followed by a collapse of the subprime mortgage market). The paper outlines the (monopoly) structure of the rating industry in the U.S. and the EU, discusses the new roles of rating in the regulation (e.g. regulation of the banking sector, BASEL II) as well as potential barriers for the market entry. The paper also addresses potential conflicts of interest and lack of regulation which can be observed in the industry.

The thesis is focused on the analysis of credit products offered by the credit unions in the context of Czech retail banking. The objective of the thesis is to compare the terms of specifi c loan products of banks and credit unions. The first part is devoted to the history of credit unions in the Czech Republic since the late 20th century. Then it discusses the various types of products off ered by these institutions. The last part is trying to assess the specifi c terms of the credit products off ered by selected credit unions and banks.

The following pages of my master thesis aim to acquaint the reader with the major changes brought about by Basel III banking regulation. This new regulatory framework was created in response to the financial crisis (beginning in 2007), which revealed some weaknesses in the original Basel II regulation, and its purpose is to prevent future similar situations in the financial market by increasing the stability and resilience of the banking sector. Impacts of Basel III are reflected primarily in increased demand for quality capital used by banks and maintaining sufficient liquidity. As shown by the results of the analysis, these factors have further effect on interest spread of banks and the real economy.

As of today, securitization is an established product on the capital market. The first transaction was made in the US in the 1970s. Since then the product has been developed and today there are several different structures of the product. Internationally securitization has been used for two reasons. Originally securitization was used to gain capital relief, but since capital requirements such as Basel II were implemented, the usage of securitization changed to more of a funding source. The purpose with this paper is to highlight the benefits and risks concerning securitization and to investigate the demand for securitization on the Swedish market. If the demand was found to be low, we would further examine why it’s low. We have investigated which assets are best suited for securitization and above all how the Swedish market will develop in the future. Securitization has been studied all across the world mainly due to the financial crisis, but studies from Sweden is lacking. Our literary sources are complemented with empirical knowledge through interviews of people with expertise in securitization. The paper is divided into three parts. The first part will deal with the theoretical aspects regarding securitization. The second part will process the empirical angels of securitization. In the third part we present an analysis and our own reflections on the subject. The Swedish securitization market has historically seen rather few transactions, despite the strength of the Swedish economy. Our research found that the assets used for securitization is mainly residential mortgage portfolios and consumer credits. These assets have certain characteristics and most importantly they are generating a good cash flow and can be structured in vast numbers to diversify a bank’s portfolio. How the market will develop in the future depends on how the bank sector will respond to Basel III requirements, the structure of future transactions and the competence of originators and buyers.

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Purpose: The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of how a bank’s features and internal factors have affected its choice of method in calculating the capital requirement. Theoretical and Empirical Method: The research strategy of this study has been of a qualitative nature with a deductive approach. The choice of method was depth interviews with respondents from a targeted sample of Swedish banks. These respondents were chosen based on the knowledge they possess as key employees in the capital requirement process and their involvement in choosing their banks’ method for calculating the capital requirement. The interviews were semi-structured, with open questions that allowed a dialogue with the respondents in which they could express their opinions and knowledge regarding the factors affecting their banks’ choice of method. Theoretical Approach: The study is based on the new institutional economics theory of how institutions affect organizational behavior. It’s also based on earlier research within the regulation Basel II by, among others, Hakenes and Schabel (2011), Rime (2005) and Wahlström (2009). Conclusions: The results of this study show that banks have identified different factors that affect their choice of calculation method for the capital requirement. The choice the banks are facing is to keep the standardized method, develop an advanced internal based method, create partnerships with other banks or focus on alternative clientele portfolios. The two factors that were considered to be have the greatest significant for the choice of calculation method were resources associated with the implementation of the IRB approach models and how the banks’ clientele portfolio was designed. How these were distributed and to what extent they influenced the choice was highly individual for the chosen banks. / Syfte: Syftet med den här studien är att öka förståelsen om hur en banks förutsättningar och interna faktorer har påverkat dess val av beräkningsmetod för kapitalkravet. Teoretisk och empirisk metod: Forskningsstrategin för studien har varit av den kvalitativa typen med en deduktiv ansats. Valet av metod var djupintervjuer med respondenter från ett målinriktat urval av svenska banker. Respondenterna valdes utifrån de kunskaper som de besitter genom sin position på respektive bank, där deras deltagande i metodvalsprocessen påverkade valet av beräkningsmetod. Intervjuerna var av typen semistrukturerade, med öppna intervjufrågor för att få till en dialog med respondenterna och ta del av deras åsikter och kunskaper gällande de olika faktorerna till metodvalet. Teoretisk referensram: Studien utgick från den nyinstitutionella teorin, om hur institutioner påverkar organisationers beteenden. Den har baserats på tidigare forskning inom regelverket Basel II av bland annat Hakenes och Schnabel (2011), Rime (2005) samt Wahlström (2009). Slutsats: Resultatet av denna studie visar på att bankerna har identifierat olika faktorer som påverkar valet av beräkningsmetod för kapitalkravet. Valet som bankerna står inför är att behålla Schablonmetoden, utveckla en IRK-metod, skapa samarbeten med andra banker eller fokusera på alternativa klientelportföljer. De två faktorer som ansågs ha störst signifikans för valet av beräkningsmetod var resurserna som förknippades med implementeringen av modellerna i IRKmetoden och hur bankens klientelportfölj var utformad. Hur dessa var fördelade och i vilken grad de påverkade valet var högst individuellt för de utvalda bankerna.

Since the implementation of the Basel II framework in 2007, banks have been given the  opportunity to apply for the option to develop intern models for calculating their required capital. The purpose with this opportunity is that the capital requirements will correspond to the real risk exposure. This has been criticized, since there are incentives for the bank to do  an incorrect risk assessment intentionally and through that get a lower capital requirement. In this report we study how this opportunity affects the banks’ capitalization and if stricter capital requirements in fact leads to that the Swedish banks are better prepared for a financial crisis. The report also describes the risks that this opportunity to internal rating  causes. The study has been done by qualitative method where seven people, with different interests in the market, have been interviewed. By the answers given by the respondents and by earlier publications this report reveals that stronger capitalization is positive, but that  the Basel framework causes a risk that the banks intentionally underestimates  their risks. Nor is it possible to conclude that the banks are better prepared for a crisis afterthe implementation. This is because the IRB approach is something new and therefore  not optimized and yet balanced.

Research issue: The transition from Basel II to Basel III becomes consuming for banks, financially. But Basel III should be profitably for financial market economy. Risks in the financial world is very complex. Is Basel III is sufficient to manage risk and future crises Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the application of Basel II and the transition to Basel III in Sweden with the banking system in focus. Method: The study has a qualitative research methodology for the collection of empirical data. The study is based on interviews with four large banks of Sweden (Swedbank, SEB, Nordea, Handelsbanken) and with Finansinspektionen. We also used previous studies, books and rapports. Conclusions: Basel has no direct connection to the profitability of the banks. The translation to Basel III was an obvious step for a more stable financial market. With Basel III it became more expensive for the banks; the more cost the less returns and hence led dividends for shareholders. But the banks will not bear the costs themselves, the costumers will get affected. Banks have begun to adapt to Basel III. There are requirements to save equity immediately not only in crisis. Which leads to the return is not likely to be lowered at bad times.

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.