This study provides a view of the decision-making process of Dutch company pension funds. The success of this research was the exceptional granting of access to four cases. Lack of such access could very well be the reason why research of this nature has not been previously achieved. The financial health of pension funds, expressed by the coverage ratio, showed a decline in 2008. Research has shown that there is a relationship between decision-making processes and outcome. Were the processes appropriate to set up and maintain a sufficient coverage ratio? A tailor-made conceptual research model has been developed and used as an analysis aid to research the TO BE situation based on legal requirements and factional documents and the AS IS situation based on empirical data. The model made it feasible to shed light on the implementation of good pension fund governance principles and decision-making process, which is a contribution to the current gap in research. The research showed that there is a relationship between the implementation of pension fund governance principles and appropriate decision-making processes. It also showed that there is a relationship between an appropriate decision-making process and coverage ratio. Both conclusions are not statistically proven due to the lack of the statistical significance, but are qualitative analysed and confirmed in the conducted case studies. It is suggested to use the research model by supervisor or pension funds to establish the mismatch between the implementation of pension fund governance principles and decision-making processes to enhance the quality of decision-making processes and outcome.

This study provides a view of the decision-making process of Dutch company pension funds. The success of this research was the exceptional granting of access to four cases. Lack of such access could very well be the reason why research of this nature has not been previously achieved. The financial health of pension funds, expressed by the coverage ratio, showed a decline in 2008. Research has shown that there is a relationship between decision-making processes and outcome. Were the processes appropriate to set up and maintain a sufficient coverage ratio? A tailor-made conceptual research model has been developed and used as an analysis aid to research the TO BE situation based on legal requirements and factional documents and the AS IS situation based on empirical data. The model made it feasible to shed light on the implementation of good pension fund governance principles and decision-making process, which is a contribution to the current gap in research. The research showed that there is a relationship between the implementation of pension fund governance principles and appropriate decision-making processes. It also showed that there is a relationship between an appropriate decision-making process and coverage ratio. Both conclusions are not statistically proven due to the lack of the statistical significance, but are qualitative analysed and confirmed in the conducted case studies. It is suggested to use the research model by supervisor or pension funds to establish the mismatch between the implementation of pension fund governance principles and decision-making processes to enhance the quality of decision-making processes and outcome.

Diploma thesis has a character of a feasibility study which may serve for implementation of a smaller development project. This project is focused on the creation of student dormitory on university level by reconstructing an administration building. The goal of the thesis is to present a basic structure of implementation of such development project from construction and operation view and in terms of financial evaluation based on requirements of a private investor. Furthermore, the document describes in detail the Slovak accommodation market, reasons for such an investment, aspects of reconstruction, operating plan and financial side of the entire investment. Debt-Service-Coverage-Ratio (DSCR)

The global financial market has been under a lot of stress in the past years. With the financial crisis that started in 2008, in the US and spread around the world, it created awareness that the world’s financial market requires more regulation to withstand such a crisis. Therefore a new recommended framework for the global financial market was developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision; Basel III. Basel III presented a new era with stricter supervision of banks and tighter regulations. As the European Union is one of the world’s most integrated regions, it strives to be the first to implement the Basel III framework. In order to achieve this, the European Union created its own legislative package, the Capital Requirement Directive IV.The research purpose of this dissertation is to examine how divergences in Sweden, Denmark and Germany’s national financial markets will affect their ability to implement the new CRD IV regulations. Based on the research the conclusion is that our Swedish respondent is most prepared in meeting the new regulations of our three respondents; the characteristics of the Swedish financial market seem well fit to meet the new requirements. Both Germany and Denmark seems to be experiencing problems; the characteristics of their financial markets create obstacles when implementing the new regulations. Denmark has difficulties with their mortgage lending market due to their unique mortgage model. Germany will have problems with the leverage ratio and their inflexible three pillar banking system. Germany’s government has been skeptical to the new CRD IV regulations and this might also have affected our German respondent in a negative way. With the implementation of the regulations the European Commission aims to improve the banking sector in the member states, so that they will be able to endure stress periods better and help to prevent another financial crisis. However, the implementation of the new regulations puts a lot of pressure on the banks and how well they can perform during the implementation process. With this research a questionnaire is created that will help understand how three major banks in Sweden, Denmark and Germany will be affected by the new regulations and if the characteristics of their national financial markets will give them advantages or disadvantages when implementing them. The answers also give us a conclusion to which of the new regulations each respondent will have the most difficulty of implementing. Future research is suggested to be done into the Danish mortgage lending market and their unique mortgage model, to see if it can co-exist with the new CRD IV regulations. Also an in-depth research into the German three pillar banking system can be interesting, to find out if they are able to maintain it or if they have to restructure it.

Starka utvecklingstrender för tunga vägtransporter är elektrifiering, automation och autonomi. De stora moment- och effektbehoven vid tunga vägtransporter medför stora svårigheter vid elektrifiering av lastbilar. Och autonoma fordon medför stora säkerhets- och tillförlitlighetsutmaningar.  Det här examensarbetet i maskinkonstruktion genomfördes under vårterminen 2020 på KTH och syftar till att ta fram ett koncept för en elektrisk drivlina av typen central drive. Vi har valt att fokusera på att ta fram en uppsättning sensorer som kan möjliggöra autonoma vägtransporter, samt ta fram en modell för ett mekaniskt skydd till en av dessa sensorer.  För att avgöra vilka typer av, hur många, samt vart sensorerna ska placeras, identifieras först de tillstånd som behöver övervakas för autonomi. En kravspecifikation över vad sensorerna måste klara av upprättas, därefter utvärderas fem sensoruppsättningar mot varandra.  En modell av ett skyddshölje och en kraschbåge tas fram för att skydda uppsättningens dyraste komponent. / A big trend in the trucking industry is to move towards electrification, automation and autonomy. The massive torque and power requirements in heavy duty transportation are causing major issues when constructing an electric truck. On the other hand, with autonomus vehicles comes major safety- and reliability challenges.  This report in mechanical design was completed during the spring semester 2020 at KTH. The purpose of the report is to produce a conceptual design of a central drive powertrain to a BEV. Our focus is to decide on a sensor network that enables autonomous transports, our focus also aims to produce a model of a mechanical casing to one of the sensors.  To decide on which type, how many and where to place the sensors, the states which have to be monitored to enable autonomy first needs to be identified. A requirement specification of the sensors is decided upon, then five sensor networks are evaluated next to one another.  A model of a casing and a roll cage is developed to protect the most expensive component of the system.

Submitted by CARLA MARIA GOULART DE MORAES (carlagm) on 2015-04-13T20:17:10Z No. of bitstreams: 1 RomariodeSouzaGollo.pdf: 904266 bytes, checksum: 7217b36a160c23eb37fb87bf0afbf181 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-13T20:17:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RomariodeSouzaGollo.pdf: 904266 bytes, checksum: 7217b36a160c23eb37fb87bf0afbf181 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-03-16 / Nenhuma / Ao longo dos últimos 20 anos, as economias aumentaram de forma acelerada seus estoques de reservas internacionais. As reservas globais, que eram de aproximadamente um trilhão de dólares em 1990, passaram para dois trilhões de dólares em 2000 e em 2010, o volume das reservas mundiais foi de 9,7 trilhões de dólares. Este processo também pode ser observado nos países do MERCOSUL e BRICs, principalmente nos últimos cinco anos, onde o estoque de reservas passou de aproximadamente US$ 1,2 trilhão no fim de 2005, para US$ 4,2 trilhões no fim de 2010. Nesse contexto, o objetivo do estudo é analisar o nível das reservas internacionais desses países, levando em consideração o seu papel para reduzir a probabilidade de ocorrência de crises e para proporcionar credibilidade. O resultado obtido, por meio dos índices de coberturas das reservas internacionais em relação à dívida externa de curto prazo e das importações, indica que volumes maiores de reservas, são relevantes para reduzir o custo e a probabilidade de crises. Ademais, verificou-se que os níveis de reservas acumulados pela maioria dos países emergentes analisados, estão acima do nível considerado ótimo. Por conseguinte, elevados estoques de reservas internacionais implicam em gastos desnecessários de recursos para sua manutenção, ainda que possam ser justificados, parcialmente, pelos benefícios que proporcionam. Para o caso brasileiro, o custo de carregamento das reservas internacionais entre 2004 e 2010 foi de R$ 26,8 bilhões ao ano. / Over the last 20 years, the economies have witnessed a blistering increase in their stock of international reserves. Global reserves, which were approximately one trillion dollars in 1990, went beyond two trillion dollars in 2000 and in 2010 the volume of world reserves was 9.7 trillion dollars. This process could also be observed on the MERCOSUR and BRIC countries, especially during the past five years, when the stock of reserves raised from approximately US$ 1.2 trillion at the end of 2005 to US$ 4.2 trillion at the end of 2010. In this context, the objective of this study is to analyze the level of international reserves in these countries, considering its role to reduce crisis probability and to provide credibility. The result achieved through the international reserves levels of coverage relative to short-term external debt and imports indicates that higher volumes of reserves are important to reduce the cost and the probability of crisis. Moreover, the levels of reserves accumulated by most emerging countries analyzed are above the level considered optimal. Consequently, high stock of international reserves implies unnecessary expenditures of resources for its maintenance, although they may be justified in part by the benefits they provide. For the Brazilian case in particular, the carrying cost of international reserves between 2004 and 2010 was R$ 26.8 billion a year.

The fundamental business model of banks is based on receiving short-term deposits and giving long-term loans which means that active banks are naturally subject to liquidity risk. During the last financial crisis poor liquidity risk management was seen as one of the main causes which has led to an increased focus on the management of liquidity risk and the introduction of the first minimum requirements for liquidity in banks, through Basel III. As the topic of internal pricing in banks and the effects of the introduction of the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) and the net stablefunding ratio (NSFR) is not extensively covered by existing research, the aim of this thesis is to identify and discuss internal pricing and liquidity cost allocation mechanisms used in practice bySwedish banks. The study also aims to investigate the impact of changes in liquidity requirements on internal pricing and liquidity cost-benefit allocation mechanisms in a Swedish setting. The key findings are that firstly, there are large variations regarding the sophistication of banks funds transfer pricing practices and liquidity cost allocation methods. The banks using less sophisticated methods may be exposed to model risk if they themselves are not aware of the implications of this. Two consequences of using simplified approaches may be distorted assessment of profitability and unwanted maturity transformation. Secondly, the findings indicate that the link between risk management and internal pricing in the banks is rather weak. Lastly, the introduction of LCR and NSFR have had a significant impact on the bank's risk management but the effect on internal pricing practices and methods for allocating liquidity costs is very limited. / Den fundamentala affärsmodellen för en bank baseras på mottagandet av kortfristig inlåning och utgivandet av långfristiga lån vilket innebär att banker är utsatta för likviditetsrisk. I sambandmed den senaste finansiella krisen sågs undermålig hantering av likviditetsrisk som en av de centrala orsakerna vilket har lett till ett ökat fokus på likviditetsriskhantering samt införandet av det första minimikraven gällande likviditet på banker genom Basel III. Då internprissättning hos banker samt effekten av att likviditetstäckningsgrad (LCR) och stabil nettofinansieringsgrad(NSFR) införts är ämnen som inte i någon större utsträckning täckts av tidigare forskning är syftet med rapporten att identifiera och diskutera internprissättning och metoder för allokering av likviditetskostnader. Vidare är syftet även att undersöka effekten av ändringar och kommande ändringar av regelverk på internprissättning och allokering av likviditetskostnader hos Svenska banker. De mest centrala slutsatserna är för det första, att det finns stora skillnader i hur avancerade bankernas metoder gällande internprissättning och allokering av likviditetskostnader är. Bankerna som använder mindre avancerade metoder kan vara exponerade mot en modell-risk om de inte är medvetna om följderna av att använda en förenklad modell. Två konsekvenser av att använda en förenklade modeller är att bedömningen av lönsamhet kan bli snedvriden sam tatt det kan uppmuntra till oönskad löptidstransformering. För det andra indikerar resultatet på att kopplingen mellan bankernas riskhantering och internprissättning är relativt svag. Slutligen så indikerar studien att LCR och NSFR har haft en signifikant effekt på bankernas riskhantering men att effekten på internprissättning och allokering av likviditetskostnader är mycket begränsad.

The fundamental business model of banks is based on receiving short-term deposits and giving long-term loans which means that active banks are naturally subject to liquidity risk. During the last financial crisis poor liquidity risk management was seen as one of the main causes which has led to an increased focus on the management of liquidity risk and the introduction of the first minimum requirements for liquidity in banks, through Basel III. As the topic of internal pricing in banks and the effects of the introduction of the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) and the net stable funding ratio (NSFR) is not extensively covered by existing research, the aim of this thesis is to identify and discuss internal pricing and liquidity cost allocation mechanisms used in practice by Swedish banks. The study also aims to investigate the impact of changes in liquidity requirements on internal pricing and liquidity cost-benefit allocation mechanisms in a Swedish setting. The key findings are that firstly, there are large variations regarding the sophistication of banks funds transfer pricing practices and liquidity cost allocation methods. The banks using less sophisticated methods may be exposed to model risk if they themselves are not aware of the implications of this. Two consequences of using simplified approaches may be distorted assessment of profitability and unwanted maturity transformation. Secondly, the findings indicate that the link between risk management and internal pricing in the banks is rather weak. Lastly, the introduction of LCR and NSFR have had a significant impact on the bank's risk management but the effect on internal pricing practices and methods for allocating liquidity costs is very limited. / Den fundamentala affärsmodellen för en bank baseras på mottagandet av kortfristig inlåning och utgivandet av långfristiga lån vilket innebär att banker är utsatta för likviditetsrisk. I samband med den senaste finansiella krisen sågs undermålig hantering av likviditetsrisk som en av de centrala orsakerna vilket har lett till ett ökat fokus på likviditetsriskhantering samt införandet av det första minimikraven gällande likviditet på banker genom Basel III. Då internprissättning hos banker samt effekten av att likviditetstäckningsgrad (LCR) och stabil nettofinansieringsgrad (NSFR) införts är ämnen som inte i någon större utsträckning täckts av tidigare forskning är syftet med rapporten att identifiera och diskutera internprissättning och metoder för allokering av likviditetskostnader. Vidare är syftet även att undersöka effekten av ändringar och kommande ändringar av regelverk på internprissättning och allokering av likviditetskostnader hos Svenska banker. De mest centrala slutsatserna är för det första, att det finns stora skillnader i hur avancerade bankernas metoder gällande internprissättning och allokering av likviditetskostnader är. Bankerna som använder mindre avancerade metoder kan vara exponerade mot en modell-risk om de inte är medvetna om följderna av att använda en förenklad modell. Två konsekvenser av att använda en förenklade modeller är att bedömningen av lönsamhet kan bli snedvriden samt att det kan uppmuntra till oönskad löptidstransformering. För det andra indikerar resultatet på att kopplingen mellan bankernas riskhantering och internprissättning är relativt svag. Slutligen så indikerar studien att LCR och NSFR har haft en signifikant effekt på bankernas riskhantering men att effekten på internprissättning och allokering av likviditetskostnader är mycket begränsad.

本文的研究目的為，在一個包含銀行部門的動態隨機一般均衡模型的架構中，探討流動性覆蓋比率限制在利率的信用管道中所扮演的角色以及其對政體經濟的影響為何。在銀行的資產配置決策內生的情形下，加入流動性覆蓋比率的限制，透過放款的勞動成本與抵押品價值來刻畫金融摩擦；本文發現當經濟體系遭受生產與放款的外生衝擊時，流動性覆蓋比率的限制會增強政策利率的信用管道效果，並且相較於無流動性覆蓋比率限制之模型而言，具流動性覆蓋比率限制的模型，其銀行資產配置的變動幅度與金融摩擦的程度皆較大。 / The main purpose of this paper is to explore the role of the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) in the credit channel and how it influences the overall economy in a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model with banking sector. Commercial banks endogenously choose their optimal portfolio of assets under the liquidity coverage ratio restriction. On the other hand, we describe the financial friction through the labor cost of making loans and collateral value. We find that when the economy is exposed to exogenous shocks in production and lending, the liquidity coverage ratio will enhance the effect of credit channel. Compared with the model with no LCR restriction, the degree of change of the bank asset allocation and the financial friction are larger in the model with LCR restriction.