The 2008 financial crisis revealed systemic weaknesses in the global financial architecture, gave rise to the most severe economic collapse since the Great Depression and engendered a fundamental shift in the prevailing consensus on financial governance. It reminded us of the fragility of the international financial system and the politically unacceptable costs to society when it fails. This dissertation adds to the literature on the governance of private and public sector financial institutions. It presents a conceptual framework of linkage between the governance of financial institutions, systemic risk and financial crises. It is based on a review of the empirical and theoretical literature on the influence of financial regulation and governance on the stability of the international financial system. The dissertation examines the application of financial governance in three different contexts: (i) the introduction of a common regulatory framework for the European securities industry, known as MIFID; (ii) the introduction of a risk governance framework at a US federal agency, the US Export-Import Bank, and (iii) the introduction of performance metrics among Export Credit Agencies that operate within a common governance framework known as the Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits. In addition, the dissertation provides specific policy recommendations designed to enhance the portfolio risk management practices of the US Export Import Bank. By extension, these recommendations are relevant to a wider audience of federal agencies with similar portfolio credit risks and may help inform the design of a robust risk management framework that is critical to the government's ability to manage its burgeoning credit portfolio. / Ph. D.

The determinants that affect the financial performance of an insurance company are complicated due to the intangible nature of insurance products and the lack of transparency in the market. Consequently, the financial performance of insurance companies is important to various stakeholders such as policyholders, insurance intermediaries and policymakers. This study aims to investigate the determinants of financial performance of insurance companies based on their financial strength rating performance. The empirical data are drawn from A.M. Best Insurance Report Online: Non- US Database. The sample consists of 57 insurers in the United Kingdom over the period of 2006 to 2010. The analyses include eight firm-specific variables, which are leverage, profitability, liquidity, size, reinsurance, growth, type of business and organisational form. Rating transition matrices and regression models are employed in this study. Rating transition analysis demonstrates a significant degree of rating changes, as reflected in the rating fluctuations. Based on the empirical results, this study establishes that profitability, liquidity, size and organisational form are statistically significant determinants of financial performance of insurance companies in the United Kingdom. This study recommends an alternative to measure the size of an insurance company, which is based on the gross premium written. In addition, this study provides insights into the effects of the global financial crisis on the financial performance of the insurance companies. / Ministry of Education of Malaysia; Universiti Utara Malaysia

This thesis comprises three empirical studies. The first study assesses the multidimensional concept of financial inclusion with an objective to segregate the key determinants, from a range of potential influencing factors. Using a large cross-country sample of developing countries, over a 14-year period from 2004 to 2017, findings suggest that physical access to banking services, advances in financial technology, government effectiveness and rural population are significantly associated with financial inclusion and should be the principal focus of policy initiatives. Sub-sample analysis shows considerable differences in the key determining factors of financial inclusion across six regions and three income groups. The second study empirically investigates the complex relationship between financial inclusion and financial stability for the period and sample considered in the first study, by employing Instrumental Variables Two Stage Least Squares (IV 2SLS) estimation and Difference-in-Differences (DID) methods. Results show that financial inclusion has a significant positive impact on financial stability. Also, countries that actively implement policies to promote financial inclusion experience an enhanced positive impact on stability, as compared to other countries. The third study constructs a Financial Inclusion Index (FII) for 23 Indian states over a 44-year period and then uses the composite measure to examine the impact of financial inclusion on economic growth. Unconditional Quantile Regression (UQR) estimates reveal a positive impact of inclusion on growth, with richer states in the west and the south benefitting more in terms of higher income caused by a higher level of financial inclusion than the poorer states in the north and the east, thus widening the income gap. While, liberalisation augments the financial inclusion induced income inequality, the proportion of the rural population reduces it. / Scholarship from the Faculty of Management, Law and Social Sciences

yes / In recent years financial inclusion has become an important policy goal in the developing countries. The definition of financial inclusion is however, not clear and varies from ‘banking the unbanked’ to ‘branchless banking’. It is also increasingly viewed as a tool of poverty alleviation. Further, it enables the poor to be risk averse and allows investment in their health and education (Arora 2012). Financial inclusion has become all the more important as studies have shown that poor, despite their low incomes and small amount of funds available, actively manage and diversify their portfolios into different financial products even though outside the formal financial system (Collins et al. 2009).

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Better access to financial literacy programs in underserved communities has the potential to improve financial decision making and to help individuals and families escape poverty. This multimethod dissertation explores some of the challenges of developing financial literacy programs for underserved individuals and provides insights into the cultural and institutional factors that discourage financial literacy and sound financial decision making. This research re-examines the construct of financial literacy, reviews relevant past research, and presents a conceptual model with hypotheses regarding factors that affect financial literacy. To test the model, multiple studies were conducted in underserved communities in rural and urban areas to understand the complexity of the relationship between financial literacy and financial decision making. These studies were supplemented by a series of in-depth interviews with financial literacy experts, community leaders, and underserved individuals. The results indicate the importance of refining both financial literacy instruments and training to rural and urban underserved communities, while also building stronger ties to community leaders and financial institutions. / Business Administration/Finance

Playing video games is a common hobby for many Swedish teenagers. Bystanders might think that excessive exposure to video games will cause harm for the youth, but what is lesser known is that the games can help develop several cognitive functions. For example, many of the popular games today have an economic dimension to them, where players will need to learn the proper way to manage their money in a certain game. With this in mind, is there a possible correlation between the amount of time spent playing video games and financial capability? This study examines that question with a quantitative approach. A survey was sent out to swedish high school students, asking them questions about their habits in regards to video games as well as questions to measure their financial capability. The findings point towards a slightly negative correlation between hours spent per week playing video games and the students financial capability. The lowest negative number was from Spearman’s rho - 0.214, and was found in the attribute positive financial behaviour. Important to note is that the significance from the p-values has indicated that the results are not significant. Apart from the analysis, the pivot tables that showcased the answers from the survey exhibited some interesting patterns for the group that played more than 15 hours per week. For example, the object scenario shows that 15 of 39 respondents would choose an aesthetic non-functional item insted of an item which has a functional advantage in the game. These patterns could be researched further under different circumstances than the current study. / Playing video games is a common hobby for many Swedish teenagers. Bystanders might think that excessive exposure to video games will cause harm for the youth, but what is lesser known is that the games can help develop several cognitive functions. For example, many of the popular games today have an economic dimension to them, where players will need to learn the proper way to manage their money in a certain game. With this in mind, is there a possible correlation between the amount of time spent playing video games and financial capability? This study examines that question with a quantitative approach. A survey was sent out to swedish high school students, asking them questions about their habits in regards to video games as well as questions to measure their financial capability. The findings point towards a slightly negative correlation between hours spent per week playing video games and the students financial capability. The lowest negative number was from Spearman’s rho - 0.214, and was found in the attribute positive financial behaviour. Important to note is that the significance from the p-values has indicated that the results are not significant. Apart from the analysis, the pivot tables that showcased the answers from the survey exhibited some interesting patterns for the group that played more than 15 hours per week. For example, the object scenario shows that 15 of 39 respondents would choose an aesthetic non-functional item insted of an item which has a functional advantage in the game. These patterns could be researched further under different circumstances than the current study.

No / A huge body of literature has well acknowledged the crucial role played by financial sector in economic growth. Financial sector enables mobilisation of savings and allocation of credit for production and investment. Among its other functions are supplying transaction and portfolio management services and providing payment services, and source of liquidity for the firms. Financial sector also monitors borrowers, matches illiquid assets with liquid liabilities, and integrates credit and liquidity provision functions (Bossone, 2000). Banks boost economic growth by identifying the entrepreneurs with the best chances of successfully initiating new goods and production processes (King & Levine, 1993) and facilitate long-run investments in the high return projects (Bencivenga & Smith, 1991). In this chapter we examine the role of financial sector in achieving economic growth and development. We also briefly look at the factors determining financial development.

Yes / Following the recent financial crisis, Walker (2009) recommended that financial institutions should form a separate board level risk committee (RC) to manage various risks and prevent excessive risk taking. This research focuses on investigating how firms with separate risk committees differ from those that do not have one. The main research question we address is whether RCs have a fundamental influence on financial performance. We measure financial performance by ROA and ROE and we control for firm size, liquidity and gearing. Our sample consists of all listed financial institutions in FTSE-100 index from 2010 through 2014. Results indicate a negative relationship between risk committee characteristics (i.e., existence, size, independence, and meeting frequency) and financial performance. The results also indicate that firms without risk committee (RC) performed considerably well than firms with RC. The results are contradictory to Walker’s (2009) where RCs are recommended for their ability to mitigate and manage risks more expertly. However, we argue that establish strong RC constrain management ability to make excessive risk taking behaviour which may affect financial performance negatively. We contribute to the current research on the impact of risk committee governance attributes on financial performance after banking and governance reforms.

Yes / This paper investigates whether shareholder value is affected by non-compliance with the prescriptions of a principle-based ‘comply or explain’ sys-tem of corporate governance in the context of the global financial crisis of2007–2009. Using System Generalized Method of Moments estimates to controlfor different types of endogeneity, the main findings of this paper suggest thatnon-compliance with the UK Corporate Governance Code adversely affectsshareholder value. Furthermore, ex-post estimates reveal that compliance withcertain corporate governance mechanisms is more beneficial than others. Withregard to this, compliance with provisions related to board independence ismore important than complying with performance-related pay requirements ofthe code. These findings have implications for policy makers and financialinstitutions regarding the usefulness of compliance with a prescribed code ofcorporate governance, specifically during periods of financial distress.