Title: Yes, but… - How changes in banks in Västerbotten are linked to the current financial crisis, but are still normal organizational development Background: In the beginning of the 90’s, there was a financial crisis in Sweden which hit Swedish banks hard. The Swedish bank Gota banken went bankrupt and Nordbanken was taken over by the government, in large part because of their apathetic reactions to the situation they were so surprised to find themselves in. Today, almost 20 years later, the banks of Sweden find themselves in a new crisis. Because of the important position banks have in society, it is extremely important that they remain stable and have the capacity to ride out a crisis situation comfortably. As the banks did not show any crisis management strategy or skills in the 1992 crisis, it is relevant to explore if the previous experience has given Swedish banks the ability to handle a crisis situation in an efficient way. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to apply organizational development theory, crisis management theory and adversity reaction theory to the primary data collected from the interviews with the banks and through that analyze if Swedish banks are acting to prevent the financial crisis from affecting them badly. Method: The study has a hermeneutical approach and was carried out by interviewing managers from the five major banks in Västerbotten. The primary data collected has been analyzed to get an understanding of the current development in the banks and its possible link to the financial crisis. Conclusion: We found that banks are constantly changing in order to keep up with their competitors, changes in technology, society and the increasing demands from customers. The current events and changes in the banks are undoubtedly linked to the financial crisis, it has accelerated change, it has slowed down ongoing processes and it has facilitated harder decisions and less popular changes. But the crisis has not caused drastic changes in the organizations or their way of doing business. In fact, it can be said that the changes due to the financial crisis is normal organizational development, as the banks have responded to it in much the same fashion as they do to all changes in the external environment. Key words: crisis management, organizational development, threat rigidity, prospect theory, financial crisis

Background/problem: Many business and industries have been hardly influenced of the occurrence of this financial crisis which is expected to be the worst financial crisis since 1929. Historically the luxury business has always been immune to uncertainties and crisis. It is of great interest to see how the luxury business reacts in the financial crisis from a marketing strategy perspective. Purpose: To explain the impact of the financial crisis on the luxury business by using and identifying the nature of luxury and the suitable marketing strategies. Methodology: A deductive philosophical approach and a positivistic and interpretative research approach are applied in this thesis.Findings: The luxury business has not been influenced by the financial crisis based on the interviews. The main reasons behind it are interpreted as the nature of luxury itself and its unique customers. Conclusion: Based on our study and the involved companies, it is assumed that the luxury business is invulnerable to the financial crisis.

The ongoing financial crisis which has upset the financial markets of the world since the late summer of 2007 has not left Swedish corporations unaffected. Strategies which can be adapted within the firm to improve liquidity and cash flows concern the management of working capital and cash management, areas which are usually neglected in times of favourable business conditions. In this study it is examined how companies have adjusted their liquidity strategies before the crisis started to spread worldwide and a year afterwards, in the beginning of the 2009 when economies are in the middle of the turbulence, still feeling the consequences of the financial crisis and not yet started to recover. Research problem consisted of two main questions: Do active liquidity strategies have a positive effect on company’s profitability in times of financial turbulence/ economic turbulence?   Have the importance of key ratios in the measurement of liquidity changed during the time period? The primary purpose of the study was to evaluate and compare the use and extent of the liquidity practices in two time points. Furthermore, the aim was to measure if the changing of liquidity strategy is related to the profitability measured by return on assets (ROA). Sample consisted of companies listed on Stockholm Stock Exchange’s Small and Mid cap- lists, with some restrictions. The quantitative research strategy was employed and data was collected by using telephone interviews and financial ratios from financial statements. Hypotheses tested different aspects of cash management and liquidity practices. Statistical analysis was conducted by using regression analysis of the change scores and profitability. Overall findings suggested that the adaptation of liquidity strategies do not have a significant impact on ROA. Only increased use of liquidity forecasting and short-term financing during financial crisis had a positive impact on ROA. Moreover, it was found that the importance of the key ratios monitoring companies liquidity have not changed between the studied time points. Working capital ratio is the most commonly used liquidity measurement and in addition the use of working capital and DIO metrics has increased most during the crisis. More frequent monitoring and forecasting on liquidity levels and making more short-term investments can provide gains in profitability Based on the findings the adjustment of liquidity practices is beneficial for the companies, even though benefits are not always directly measurable in profitability. Furthermore, companies are recommended to maintain their focus on liquidity and working capital management in an economic downturn.

This bachelor thesis in economics examines the Asian financial crisis, the impact on the countries in the region and how well they recovered financially. The countries that are taken into consideration are Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.  The variables used to explain the implications of the crisis are GDP, trade openness, unemployment and current account. Descriptive statistics show that the most closed economy that was affected by a current account reversal was also the hardest hit in terms of GDP.  The statistics also show that all the countries under observation have recovered to their situation prior to the crisis in terms of GDP, but not in terms of the level of unemployment. Two regressions that were performed showed the relation between trade openness and the effect of GDP after the crisis, and the relation of trade openness to growth after the crisis. The regressions show that the more closed an economy is the larger the effect of a crisis. At the same time these countries had the highest growth rates after the crisis and were also among the first to recover. Theoretical reasons for these results are given.

This paper utilizes a sample of firms over the years 2000–2009 to test the effects of credit rating changes, the financial crisis, interest rates, and other variables on short-term, long-term, and total debt levels on the balance sheet. Each independent variable was created using a one year lag in order to run the regressions. The values of these variables from the previous year are being analyzed to see if they can predict debt levels for the following year. The results of this paper suggest that levels of long-term and total debt are somewhat reliant on and are positively correlated with the federal funds rate. The results indicate that short-term debt levels are much harder to predict, but they appear to be negatively correlated with the financial crisis. Long-term debt levels were also affected by this variable, but were positively correlated with it. Z-score was a significant predictor of all types of debt, and was positively correlated with each. In an effort to acquire as many data points as possible for the regressions, strict data filtration techniques were used. This limited the sample to 177 firms. The overall insignificance of the results in this study suggest that further research on what drives debt levels on the balance sheet is necessary. This will generate a greater understanding of firm behavior both inside and outside of a financial crisis.

This paper uses U.S. macroeconomic data drawn from 2001 to 2010 in order to test for the operation of a credit channel of monetary transmission. Using a combination of a VAR and ADL time series frameworks, evidence is found for the impairment of the credit channel during the crisis period relative to the period which preceded it. Evidence is also found against the presence of a "credit crunch" during the crisis, and supporting evidence is found for the existence of a "credit trap." This analysis indicates a significant role for credit market imperfections in the transmission of monetary policy, and holds policy implications for the potential impact of future monetary expansions conducted in the setting of a financial crisis.

The intent of this paper is to analyze the structural composition of the European Monetary Union and its implications for the European Financial Crisis, specifically with respect to Greece. This analysis will be driven by a trend analysis of several economic variables from 1999-2010. These variables range from the four requirements set under the Maastricht criteria, competitiveness indicators, and relative European trade balances, to international investment position. A quantitative and empirical analysis of this data finds that the Greek crisis was a result of structural issues with the EMU and the Greek government. The ECB’s inability to enforce the Maastricht Criteria and independent fiscal policy, as well as Greece’s inability to implement efficient fiscal and economic policy, resulted in growing imbalances within the Euro area, as well as a loss of competitiveness and irresponsible rise in sovereign debt for Greece. It is inferred that the EMU was ineffective in achieving its goals of integration; that Greece was not ready to join the EMU when it did; and therefore Greece as a Member State of the EMU was destined to fail.

Until recently, the role of auditors in the 2008 financial crisis had largely been overlooked by regulators and the general public. Though not responsible for the meltdown, accounting firms have been criticized – and sued – for failing to warn investors about problems at financial institutions before the crisis. Auditors can and should take steps to improve their function as independent overseers in the financial world. But there also is a gap between the expectations of auditors and their true responsibilities. As Lord Justice Lopes at the Court of Appeal in England famously said more than a century ago: The auditor “is a watchdog but not a bloodhound.” This thesis examines the so-called expectations gap and recommends ways to improve the audit quality of financial institutions.

This study deals with market reaction to public information. The sample studied concerns six different famous European football clubs that are regularly involved in European competitions. These clubs are AS Roma from the Italian championship Calcio Serie A, FC Porto from the Portuguese championship Super Liga, Ajax Amsterdam from the Dutch championship Holland Casino Eredivisie, Galatasaray and Besiktas Istanbul from the Turkish championship Super Lig, and Celtic Glasgow from the Scottish championship Premier League.               Palomino et al. (2009) is the main source of inspiration for this study. Most of the findings are in lines with their results. There are two main contributions in this research. Firstly, our sample is composed by clubs from 5 different European countries: Italy, Scotland, Turkey, Portugal and Netherlands. Secondly, the ten years period of the study includes the financial crisis period. The results obtained for the financial crisis period have contaminated most of our results, justifying the choice to focus mainly on the results of the period 2002-2012 without the 2007-2009 period, which is the period associated to the financial crisis.               This research is divided into four parts. We firstly find evidence that the release of public information during the on-season has more influence than the one of the off-season. Indeed, the abnormal volumes calculated during the on-season are greater than the abnormal volumes computed during the off season. Likewise, we observed similar results as for the volatility. Secondly, this study demonstrates that the games’ results have a positive or a negative impact on the shares’ clubs returns depending on the game outcome. Indeed, the abnormal returns’ results are negative for losses and positive for wins. Moreover, we demonstrate that the stock market absorbs negative events (e.g. defeats) faster than the positive events (e.g. victories). Thirdly, we found that the losses that occur at the end of the season have more impact in terms of magnitude on the abnormal returns. On the contrary, the investors do not seem to react differently regarding the wins. Then, we were unable to find relevant findings regarding the unexpected results’ impact on the clubs’ share price. Surprisingly, we found that there is a surprise effect concerning victories whereas there is no surprise effect regarding the defeats.               Most of the findings of the study prove that public information concerning game results does influence investors’ behavior and thus have a significant impact on the share price of the famous European clubs.

Bakgrund och problem: Finanskrisen 2008-2009 hade sitt ursprung i överoptimistisk långivning med anknytning till fastigheter. Bostadsbubblan som hade uppstått mellan 2001-2006 i USA fick störst betydelse och kom att beskrivas som den främsta utlösande faktorn till finanskrisen. Bostadsbubblan sprack och huspriserna började falla under 2007. Krisen intensifierades och utvecklades till en global finanskris under 2008 då den amerikanska investmentbanken Lehman Brothers tilläts gå i konkurrs. Botten nåddes sannolikt under 2009 som präglades av en global recession. Men samtidigt ser vi fortfarande under 2012 efterspelet av finanskrisen i form av svag tillväxt, osäkerhet på de finansiella marknaderna och stadsfinansiella kriser i euroområdet. Finanskrisens utbrott resulterade bland annat i att banker och andra finansiella institut ströp utlåningen, penningmarknaden total frös och tecken på en totallåsning av banksystemet blev snabbt tydliga. Fastighetsbranschen karaktäriseras av speciella finansiella förutsättningar som gör att den urskiljer sig från andra branscher. Fastighetsbolag har generellt sett en hög belåning för att möjliggöra de kapitalkrävande investeringar som fastigheter innebär. Fastighetsbolagen har därför vanligtvis en kapitalstruktur med stor andel främmande kapital, vilket medför att tillgång till externt kapital och en fungerande finansiell marknad är närmast ett livsvillkor bolagen. Utifrån den bakgrunden ansåg jag att det borde vara intressant att undersöka hur den finansiella situationen i börsnoterade fastighetsbolag har påverkats och utvecklats under finanskrisen. Syfte: Uppsatsens syfte är att beskriva och förklara hur den finansiella situationen i börsnoterade fastighetsbolag har påverkats och utvecklats under den senaste finanskrisen. Vidare syftar studien till att förklara hur finanskrisen har påverkat bolagens finansiella ställning. Studien syftar även till att bidra med i någon mån ökad förståelse för hur börsnoterade fastighetsbolag påverkas av en finansiell kris. Teori: Den teoretiska referensramen behandlar fyra olika temaområden bestående av teori som förklarar kapitalstruktur, finansiella nyckeltal, värderingsteori samt redovisning i fastighetsbolag. Teoriområdet kring kapitalstruktur belyser dels kapitalstruktur som begrepp, men även de teorier som traditionellt förknippas med kapitalstruktur. Redovisning i fastighetsbolag fokuseras på den internationella standarden IAS 40, som tillämpas vid redovisning och värdering förvaltningsfastigheter. Metod: För uppsatsen har en kvantitativ metod använts där 17 fastighetsbolag noterade på NASDAQ OMX Stockholm har studerats. Analysen grundar sig på insamlad data från fastighetsbolagens årsredovisningar för år 2006 till 2010. Resultat och slutsatser: Studiens resultat visar att fastighetsbolagens soliditet minskade och var lägre under 2008-2010. Studien visade även att belåningsgraden hos fastighetsbolagen ökade under perioden 2007-2010. I undersökningen kunde även en stigande lönsamhet i form av förvaltningsresultat och driftöverskott noteras sedan 2006. Studien visade att bolagen gjorde nettoupptag av lån under samtliga år, med en tydlig minskning 2008-2010. En ökande total skuldsättning kunde även påvisas under hela perioden. Avslutnings vis visade studien att samtliga fastighetsbolag redovisade positiva värdeförändringar på sina förvaltningsfastigheter 2006-2007 och 2010. För främst 2008 men även 2009 redovisade stora flertalet av bolagen en markant negativ värdeförändring på förvaltningsfastigheter. / Background and problem: The financial crisis of 2008-2009 originated from overoptimistic lending and projections of asset prices in real estate and residential markets. The housing bubble that developed during 2001-2006 and the sub-prime lending in the US became known as the main cause and trigger of the financial crisis. The bursting of the housing bubble during 2007 followed by decreased housing prices was the first sign of the upcoming turmoil in the US. The financial crisis was intensified and spread to a global financial crisis and recession when the bank Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy on September 14th 2008. The financial crisis most likely reached its bottom during 2009, a year that was characterised by halting global credit markets and a synchronised recession among advanced economies. But in 2012 we can still see the affects of the financial crisis with weak growth in the global economy, uncertainty in the finical markets and sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone. The financial crisis made the banks and other lending institutions reluctant to lend money both among themselves and to others, this triggered a credit crunch and halt in the credit markets. Real estate business and real estate firms are characterised by special financial conditions that separates it from other sectors. Real estate firms generally have a high leverage ratio, to enable profitable investments in capital intensive real estate business. Hence real estate firms are known to have a capital structure with a large proportion of debt; as a consequence real estate companies are highly dependent on the supply of external capital, and functioning capital and debt markets are the lifeblood of real estate firms. This unique characteristic of the real estate industry and the companies makes them an interesting area of study, especially during a time with a credit crunch and financial crisis.                          Purpose: The purpose of this bachelor thesis is to describe and explain how the financial situation in listed real estate companies was affected and developed during the last financial crisis. Furthermore the purpose of the study is to explain how the financial crisis has affected the financial position of real estate companies. The study also aims to contribute to more knowledge about how listed real estate companies can be affected by a financial crisis.    Theory: The theoretical framework for the thesis is constituted by four main areas that explains and describes capital structure, financial ratios, asset pricing models and investment property accounting. Methodology: The thesis is based on a quantitative method and approach, where 17 real estate companies listed on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm has been studied. The empirical analysis was based on data collected from annual reports for the years 2006-2010.     Empirical results and conclusions: The study showed a decrease in solidity (equity ratio) during the studied period, and a lower solidity 2008-2010. The study also showed that the real estate companies increased their leverage (debt to real estate value) between 2007 and 2010. The essay also indicated a higher and increased underlying profitability among the companies since 2006. Another result was that the companies increased the total debt, and took up new external debt each year during 2006-2010. Finally the study showed that all companies in the study reported significant gains from fair value of investment property 2006-2007, and losses during 2008 and 2009.