This thesis aims to evaluate the competitive situation in the Swedish banking sector. The banking sector in Sweden is characterized by its high degree of concentration, with four major banks controlling a large share of the market. Combined with high profits and high interest margins, this has raised concerns regarding the competitive pressures in the sector. Many existing theories in the literature try to evaluate competition based on market structure, however modern research concludes that high concentration does not necessarily imply less competition. By using a model that estimates the elasticity of factor input prices, the competitive behavior among the market players can be assessed and the results reveal a less competitive situation on the Swedish market compared to previous research within the field of banking competition.

Financial liberalisation is the process of financial development that reduces the extent of government control over the financial industry. It is argued that a liberalised financial system is a fundamental prerequisite for more efficient allocation of savings and investment, which in turn leads to greater economic growth. Financial liberalisation includes the freeing up of interest rate controls, exchange and capital controls, entry of foreign banks, and the deregulation of banking sector. The latter process, which comprises the deregulation of bank structure and conduct rules and the concomitant reregulation of bank prudential supervision, is generally targetted to improve the efficiency and productivity of banks. On the other hand, financial liberalisation and basic deregulation have also (been) precursors to many banking and financial crises. This study examines the effects of deregulation on the Thai banking sector during 1990- 97 using a two-stage approach. In the first-stage analysis, the relative efficiencies and productivity of each bank in each year are measured using DEA techniques. In the second-stage, regression techniques are used to evaluate the impact of financial deregulation on efficiency and productivity, controlling for bank-specific attributes. The main findings regarding bank efficiency are that on average banks operating in Thailand hardly improved their technical, allocative and cost efficiencies, except in 1996 and 1997. Most banks were better at optimising their input mix than minimising their usage and costs of inputs. There was a clear association between size and cost efficiency for the domestic Thai banks, and on average their cost efficiencies were greater than those of the foreign bank branches, all other things being equal. However, the majority of the banks on the best-practice efficient frontier were foreign, and the smallest Thai banks were the least efficient of all the banks studied. The average productivity of foreign banks increased over the period studied, and this was mainly due to outward shifts of the production frontier each year (technological progress) rather than improvements in relative efficiency. The average productivity of domestic banks did not change over time, as technological progress was offset by moves away from the best-practice frontier. Overall, the evidence for the postulated beneficial effects of deregulation is somewhat mixed. Improvements in total factor productivity were driven by the huge expansion in lending made possible by the liberalisation, but these increases in productivity were mainly achieved by the foreign bank branches whose operations were supported by substantial amounts of financial capital from their parents. Productive efficiency of the domestic banks did improve over the period of study, but these improvements were greatest for the large and medium size banks, thus widening the gap between the most inefficient group of small Thai banks and the rest of the banking sector.

Various studies have examined the relationship between competition and efficiency in the banking sector, and others have looked at how this relates to broader economic growth. Goldsmith (1969) and King and Levine (1993), among others, consequently found that financial reform in the banking sector has led to improved efficiency and competition and, as a result, led to economic growth. Financial reform in Africa came about as a result of financial liberalization that took place during the late 1980’s. This reform process was structured to increase competition and efficiency of the financial sector. This has motivated academic inquiry into the assessment and measurement of bank efficiency, bank competition and the impact on economic growth. The literature available indicates a myriad of factors that impact upon bank efficiency and bank competition. A determinant that is scarcely addressed in the literature on Africa however is the quality of institutions. Against this background, this thesis presents a collection of empirical papers on competition, efficiency and economic growth of the banking sector in Africa. Explicitly, annual firm level data on banks from 10 frontier African countries is employed to study different economic theories using various panel data econometric methodologies. The findings reveal that the banking industry in Frontier Africa is characterised by monopolistic competition. In addition, our results may suggest that bank competition could be beneficial for economic growth. As bank competition increases via the efficiency channel, this would ultimately increase economic growth. Furthermore, we also analyse the relationship between bank competition and efficiency. We observe a positive relationship between bank competition and both profit and cost efficiency, as a consequence these findings reject the Quiet Life Hypothesis. We also observe low levels of bank efficiency and competition across the sample. However, the study finds that diversification into non-interest generating activities enables Frontier African banks increase their earnings potential. The study also looks at the quality of institutions and the impact on bank competition. Our results indicate in general, we find that regulatory quality has a positive effect on the degree of competition in the banking sector. The findings recommend that to improve economic growth, policy makers should aim at improving competitive and efficiency conditions in the banking sector because a competitive banking system will allocate resources more efficiently and spur economic growth is as a result. The focus of this policy should therefore be on competition policies, comprehensive financial liberalisation policies, macroeconomic policies and regulatory and supervisory policies.

Research is undertaken into the correlation between shared values and organisational performance. The issue of commitment continuity as a pre-requisite for improved financial and operational performance is investigated in detail. Emphasis is placed on the theories and nature of growth and sustainability; sustainable change within the organisation; and employee commitment emphasising aligned commitment as well as elements constituting the aligned commitment equation. The role of management has been identified as a determining factor that underlies the commitment of employees in an organisation. It is found that organisations should change their definition of “growth” from actual profits to the management of talent within the organisation in order to realise the benefits of sustained commitment. Literature studies into concepts such as shared values and shared vision and how these concepts can be inculcated into organisations through the implementation of effective change management processes is done. Should these concepts be universally accepted throughout the organisation, it will lead to organisational commitment which will eventually evolve into a commitment continuum. The presence of a commitment continuum will inevitably lead to the achievement of sustainable growth and a high performance culture within the organisation. To ensure the process is credible it should at all times adhere to both the spirit and letter of prevailing legislation and regulation as well as accepted norms of good practice. The impact that the concepts such as Knowledge, Information, Empowerment, Performance Strengthening and Shared Values have on the attainment of aligned commitment was examined. Also discussed were the comparisons between the South African and Namibian operations of the financial organisation. This research study was approached from a human perspective and should contribute towards the attainment of a commitment continuum within the organisation, through the aforementioned concept, with specific focus on Shared Values. The study includes both literature and empirical research. The study covers a numbers of disciplines that, when seen together, provides better understanding as how these constructs interact with one another in the attainment of sustained commitment and the presence of a commitment continuum. This, in turn, will lead to improved financial performance on the part of the organisation. The study has practical value in the sense that the newly adapted questionnaire and equation framework should enable organisations to measure the degree to which the influential constructs contributing to aligned commitment, already exist. The results show that a commitment continuum can be established in the financial services sector through aligned organisational commitment, the introduction and development of a shared values system and the establishment and acceptance of a shared vision. Coupled with organisational commitment, this will furthermore lead to growth and sustainability and a high performance culture being attained within the organisation. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Diplomová práca je venovaná bankovým krízam, konkrétne problémom spojeným s ich identifikáciou a datovaním. V teoretickej časti sa zaoberá dvoma klasifikáciami prístupov ku identifikovaniu bankových kríz: Jedna rozlišuje medzi krízami identifikovanými na základe konkrétnych udalostí (takzvaný "prípadový" prístup) a krízami identifikovanými podľa indexov (takzvaný "indexový" prístup). Druhá klasifikácia rozdeľuje skupiny v rámci indexového prístupu (prezentované v 2. kapitole práce). Praktická časť diplomovej práce je venovaná bankovým krízam v jedenástich vybraných krajinách. Najprv je prezentovaná kompilácia bankových kríz v týchto krajinách, založená na 4 hlavných databázach bankových kríz (podľa "prípadového" prístupu). Následne sú konštruované 2 indexy s cieľom identifikovať (podľa nich) bankové krízy v týchto krajinách. Indexy sa volajú Banking Sector Fragility Index a Index of Money Pressure. Nakoniec sú výsledky oboch prístupov navzájom porovnané, a takisto sú navzájom porovnané výsledky oboch indexov. Bližšia diskusia je venovaná prípadu Českej republiky, kde indexy vykazujú lepšiu identifikáciu kríz než "prípadový" prístup. Tento fakt potvrdzujú aj akedmické štúdie českého bankovného sektoru. Indexy pre všetky krajiny aj s tabuľkami identifikovaných kríz sú priložené v prílohe na záver...

Research is undertaken into the correlation between shared values and organisational performance. The issue of commitment continuity as a pre-requisite for improved financial and operational performance is investigated in detail. Emphasis is placed on the theories and nature of growth and sustainability; sustainable change within the organisation; and employee commitment emphasising aligned commitment as well as elements constituting the aligned commitment equation. The role of management has been identified as a determining factor that underlies the commitment of employees in an organisation. It is found that organisations should change their definition of “growth” from actual profits to the management of talent within the organisation in order to realise the benefits of sustained commitment. Literature studies into concepts such as shared values and shared vision and how these concepts can be inculcated into organisations through the implementation of effective change management processes is done. Should these concepts be universally accepted throughout the organisation, it will lead to organisational commitment which will eventually evolve into a commitment continuum. The presence of a commitment continuum will inevitably lead to the achievement of sustainable growth and a high performance culture within the organisation. To ensure the process is credible it should at all times adhere to both the spirit and letter of prevailing legislation and regulation as well as accepted norms of good practice. The impact that the concepts such as Knowledge, Information, Empowerment, Performance Strengthening and Shared Values have on the attainment of aligned commitment was examined. Also discussed were the comparisons between the South African and Namibian operations of the financial organisation. This research study was approached from a human perspective and should contribute towards the attainment of a commitment continuum within the organisation, through the aforementioned concept, with specific focus on Shared Values. The study includes both literature and empirical research. The study covers a numbers of disciplines that, when seen together, provides better understanding as how these constructs interact with one another in the attainment of sustained commitment and the presence of a commitment continuum. This, in turn, will lead to improved financial performance on the part of the organisation. The study has practical value in the sense that the newly adapted questionnaire and equation framework should enable organisations to measure the degree to which the influential constructs contributing to aligned commitment, already exist. The results show that a commitment continuum can be established in the financial services sector through aligned organisational commitment, the introduction and development of a shared values system and the establishment and acceptance of a shared vision. Coupled with organisational commitment, this will furthermore lead to growth and sustainability and a high performance culture being attained within the organisation. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This thesis analyses empirical evidence of the state of the HR function and the presence of the strategic role of the HR function in the banking sector of Pakistan. The focus of analysis is on key components of the HR function that influence its role orientation, namely the patterns of devolution of HR responsibilities, the structure of the HR function and the skill-set of HR personnel. The extant literature on HRM and the role of the HR function is for the most part contextualized within Anglo-Saxon countries and as a consequence insufficiently highlights the idiosyncratic and embedded factors which influence the role and strategic direction of the HR function in developing countries. Also, while the literature suggests that different stakeholders are likely to report divergent views regarding the role of the HR function, few studies provide a thorough examination of this issue. To address these gaps in the literature, a qualitative case-study approach was adopted and interviews were conducted with 85 HR, senior and line managers in eight case-study banks. The data analysis largely fails to identify a significant presence of the strategic role of the HR function across the sample banks. It also indicates a generally low level of devolution of HR activities to line management, which has impeded the ability of HR managers to devote more time and resources to strategic initiatives. Even where devolution has occurred, it has not enabled the HR function to enhance its strategic contribution. The evidence also suggests that where organisations implemented structural changes to their HR function ostensibly, to enhance the strategic orientation, this did not result in meaningful outcomes and, moreover, the lack of requisite business acumen among HR personnel appears to have impeded their strategic contribution. In the context of Pakistan, these findings emerged because the HR function was in an early stage of development, the strategic HR role required a skill-set which had just begun to emerge and the underpinned reasons for changes in the structure were to attain better operational efficiency. Further, in the domestic case-study banks, the function faced challenges of an out-dated skill-set of incumbent employees and the ensuing legacy effects. These results suggest that in order to study the presence of a strategic role orientation, a broader analytical framework is required that both incorporates multiple elements within the HR function – especially its structure, extent of devolution of HR activities and skill-set of personnel – and responds to the multiple and conflicting perspectives of different stakeholders in a complex and fast-changing industry environment.

The world has witnessed a series of corporate accounting scandals. Earnings management, as a phenomenon at the core of these scandals, is one of the main challenges confronting the effectiveness of different monitoring mechanisms such as corporate governance. Recently, and more precisely after the financial crises of 2008 2009, Jordan has shown substantial interest in integrating the pillars of corporate governance. Therefore, this research examines the effect of corporate governance mechanisms on earnings management activities among all publicly listed commercial banks on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) during the period 2013-2018. Earnings management was measured by the modified Jones’ model. The characteristics examined are board size, CEO duality, board independence, managerial ownership, institutional ownership, audit committee size, audit committee independence and audit committee activity. In addition, two control variables have been used: firm size and firm performance. The findings of the study reveal that earnings management has a significant positive relationship with both board size and institutional ownership, and a significant negative relationship with total assets.

Thesis (M.M. (Finance & Investment))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Business Administration, 2014. / Unable to load abstract

<p>Many banks provide very similar services and that is why creating and maintaining relationships to clients is a differentiation strategy to get customer to return. Private advising is one service provided by banks where much interaction occurs and relationship is of great importance. The relationship between private advisers and their clients is therefore suitable for research.</p><p>Knowing why a relationship ends is a strategic piece of information to improve the firm’s ability to keep customers in a relationship. The purpose of this paper is to identify the issues that lead to dissolution of a relationship and where they occur in the relationship development process between private advisors and clients.</p><p>A pre-study was first made on Swedbank, through interviews, to obtain a holistic view of the situation. More in-depth interviews followed as well as triangulation through a questionnaire.</p><p>The thesis presents seven issues that can lead to dissolution of the relationship: better offering from competitors, availability, personal factors, unachievable demands, no need for service, lack of certain services, and requirement not fulfilled. These issues have also been related to where in the relationship development process they occur and ranked in order to know how common it is for them to occur.</p> / <p>De flesta banker erbjuder sina kunder väldigt snarlika tjänster och därför har skapandet av relationer blivit en differentierings strategi för att få kunder att komma tillbaka. Privatrådgivning är en tjänst som banker erbjuder där mycket interaktion sker och relationer är oerhört viktiga. På grund av detta så är relationen mellan privatrådgivaren och dess klient passande att undersöka</p><p>Att veta varför en relation avslutas är väldigt viktig strategisk information som kan användas för att förbättra en firmas möjlighet att bevara kunder. Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att identifiera de problem som kan leda till att en relation bryts och även att identifiera vart i relationsbyggnads processen dessa problem uppstår.</p><p>En förstudie genomfördes först för att få en överblickande bild över ämnet. Efter denna så följde även mer djupgående intervjuer samt metodtriangulering med hjälp av ett frågeformulär som skickades ut till Swedbanks privatrådgivare.</p><p>Uppsatsen presenterar sju problem som kan leda till upplösningen av en relation: bättre erbjudanden från konkurrenter, tillgänglighet, personliga faktorer, ouppnåeliga krav, inget behov av tjänst, brist på en viss tjänst samt att kunden inte uppfyller krav. Dessa problem har även relaterats till vart I relationsbyggnads processen de uppstår och rankats i ordning beroende på hur vanligt de är att problemen uppstår.</p>