Magister Commercii - MCom / The connection between the real economy and the financial sector continues to be a subject of debate amongst scholars. There is a plethora of studies dedicated to unravelling the relationship between economic activity and financial progress. However, a large share of those studies has concentrated on banking and the capital market industries; the studies that have undertaken to decipher the connection between the insurance industry and prosperity in the economy are insufficient. An understanding of the connection between the insurance industry and advancement in the economy is immensely important to effect judicious policy making, which will enhance and boost the economy. The primary goal of this study is to establish if there is a connection between the insurance industry and economic advancement in the South African context.

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 / This paper examines the relationship between board structure and corporate risk taking in the UK financial sector. We show how the board size, board independence and combining the role of CEO and chairperson in boards may affect corporate risk taking in financial firms. Our sample is based on a panel dataset of all publicly listed firms in the UK financial sector, which includes banks, insurance, real estate and financial services companies over a ten year period (2003-2012). After controlling for the effects of endogeneity through the application of the dynamic panel generalized method of moments estimator, the findings of this study suggest that the presence of non-executive directors and powerful CEOs in corporate boards reduces corporate risk taking practices in financial firms. The negative relationship can be explained within the agency theory context, where managers are regarded as more risk averse because of the reputational and employment risk. An increased power concentration is therefore expected to enhance the risk aversion behaviour of directors. The findings however, do not show any significant effect of board size on corporate risk taking in financial firms. As this study covers recommendations of the UK Corporate Governance Code on the role of corporate boards in managing firms’ risk, the empirical evidence could be useful for corporate governance regulation and policy making.

The major Swedish banks have been affected by digitalization in the financial sector, where FinTech has contributed with new technological opportunities. The banks that partner with FinTech companies can develop effective and innovative solutions for both companies and individuals. However, the banks' cooperation with FinTech companies has resulted in various risks, mainly cyber and operational risks. The actors investigated were Handelsbanken, SEB and Swedbank. The purpose of the study is to analyze and investigate the relationship between banks and FinTech companies. With a focus on cooperation and competition as well as whether there are any potential risks that may arise in the relationships.  In order to answer the purpose, semi-structured interviews have been conducted with representatives from the banks as primary data collection. Secondary data have also been used, such as banks' annual reports and scientific articles. The theoretical frame of reference is important in relation to the research questions and the chosen theory of cooperation and competition is crucial for the purpose of the study. The results showed that all banks saw collaborations with Fintech companies as an opportunity to streamline their systems and develop services beyond their own capacity. However, these collaborations were different, where Handelsbanken avoided external collaborations unlike SEB and Swedbank. Finally, the study concluded that all banks experienced increased exposure to risks because of the emergence of FinTech.

The role of the financial sector in helping an economy grow has been the subject of debate for a long time. Recently, however, consensus has been reached, through empirical evidence, showing the importance of financial sector development in achieving economic growth (ADB, 2009). Using the Global Financial Development Database (GFDD) model, the study done here will provide an analysis of financial sector development in Sub-Saharan Africa and its effect on economic growth, using data for 40 countries, in the years from 2000-2014. This analysis was done using a cross-sectional regression analysis of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with data provided from the World Bank. The regression shows significantly positive results between economic growth and firms using banks to finance investments, bank cost to income ratio and bank credit to bank deposits, while significantly negative results are shown in financial system deposits and stock market total value traded. However, seeing as financial sector development is diverse and dynamic, these measurements and the regression done here will not provide a comprehensive picture of the state of financial sector development in SSA.

The purpose of the thesis is to analyse the relation between tax legislation and banking services. The thesis is formed of two parts. The first part (Chapter 1-3) covers aspects of the actual tax legislation in relation with banking services, the second part (Chapter 4-8) addresses trends which may be followed in the future regarding financial sector taxation. The thesis is composed of eight chapters. Chapter One deals with the position of banks as taxpayers of income tax, tax aspects of the banking business, tax provisions and the position of the banks as a payer of tax. The conclusions may be made that only limited pieces of income tax legislation are exclusive for banks. Peculiarities of banking transactions are reflected by accounting rules. Chapter Two focuses on the exemption of financial services from the system of value added tax. Some of financial services which are subject to the VAT are mentioned. Alternatives to the exemption approach are also investigated. Chapter Three is devoted to the system of deposit insurance and contributions of banks to the Deposit Insurance Fund. Future development in this field is also commented. Chapter Four deals with a general approach to the financial sector taxation, its motives, opportunities and related risks. Chapter Five examines the state of...

El 20 de mayo de 2008 se promulgó la Ley N° 29230 “Ley que Impulsa la Inversión Pública Regional y Local con Participación del Sector Privado” el cual regula el mecanismo denominado “Obras por Impuestos”, creado por el Gobierno del Perú con el fin de agilizar e incentivar la ejecución de la inversión pública en el país a través de una alianza entre el sector público y privado. Posterior a ello, se emite el Certificado de Inversión Pública Regional y Local (CIPRL) que será utilizado por la empresa privada única y exclusivamente para su aplicación contra los pagos a cuenta y de regularización del Impuesto a la Renta de tercera categoría. Cabe precisar que el sector financiero representa el 33% del total de empresas que participan del mecanismo de Obras por Impuestos (OxI); por ello, en la presente investigación se abordará el uso del mecanismo y el impacto tributario que genera, sobretodo, en las entidades bancarias como sector representativo, ya que posee la mayor inversión en este mecanismo. Finalmente, se analizará el problema que afrontó uno de los bancos del Perú al tratar de compensar el CIPRL en el pago del impuesto a la renta anual de tercera categoría en el ejercicio 2017. Cabe indicar que este problema no es excluyente, es decir, puede presentarse en cualquier entidad bancaria que esté acogida al mecanismo. En base a ello, se identificará qué aspectos de la legislación en Obras por Impuestos se ven involucrados directamente con la finalidad de proponer mejoras que contribuyan a un mejor entendimiento y aplicación de este mismo. / On May 20, 2008, Law No. 29230 “Law to Promote Regional and Local Public Investment with Private Sector Participation” was promulgated, which regulates the mechanism called “Works for Taxes”, created by the Government of Peru in order to streamline and encourage the execution of public investment in the country through an alliance between the public and private sectors; lately giving the Certificates of Regional and Local Public Investment (CIPRL) which will be used by the private company solely and exclusively for its application against the payments on account and regularization of the Income Tax of the third category. It should be noted that the financial sector represents 33% of the total number of companies that participate in the Works for Taxes mechanism. That’s the reason that in the present investigation, the use of the WxT mechanism and the tax impact generated will be addressed, especially in the banking sector, because of its greater investment with this mechanism. Finally, a case faced by one of the Peruvian banks when trying to compensate the CIPRL in the payment of the third category annual income tax in the year 2017 will be analyzed. It should be noted that this problem is not exclusive, that is, it can be presented in any bank that is covered by the mechanism. Based on this, it will be identified which aspects of the Works for Taxes legislation are directly involved in order to propose improvements that contribute to a better understanding and application of said mechanism. / Tesis

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This paper is focused on new trend in business process automation -- case management; main goal of the paper is proofing of concept for life insurance origination using case management. To fulfill this goal I had to analyze available reports from leading research companies such as Forrester and Gartner. The methodology of achievement the goal of the thesis is complemented with my own practical experiences. This thesis consists from theoretical and practical sections. There are characteristics of case management, general architecture of case management illustrated on IBM Case Manager, market insight of case management and typical case management use cases in theoretical section. Practical section is focused on case management utilization for life insurance origination process. To achieve this, there are defined sample insurance company and process analysis of life insurance origination, analyzed requirements for the proof of concept, its solution architecture and of course the proof of concept is implemented. The last chapter contains evaluation of the proof of concept and includes typical expected case management effects for financial sector. The main contribution of the paper to case management topic is the first complete description of the topic in Czech language and creating proof of concept for case management approach in financial sector.

Microfinance relates to the provision, by specialized microfinance institutions (MFIs), of small-scale financial services - such as credit, savings, and insurance - to the poorer sections of the population. These sections have traditionally been excluded by the financial system. Microfinance is viewed as a system put into place in order to overcome market failures that are created by banks and that are omnipresent in the developing world. In development policy, microfinance has received considerable attention during the last twenty years, and the industry has grown substantially. Interestingly, the sector has been more successful in reaching out to people in some countries than in others. The sector has also developed in an unequal way within countries. The reasons why this happened are not directly apparent. This doctoral dissertation addresses the uneven development of the microfinance sector and aims at identifying factors that explain it. The dissertation consists of three main parts. The first part, which consists of two papers, combines different datasets on the outreach of MFIs to assess in which countries MFIs have developed most. The papers indicate that the microfinance sector is more present in the richer countries of the developing world. It also reaches more clients in countries that receive more international aid. Population density also plays a stimulating role, which partially explains why the sector is still underdeveloped in rural areas. The second part of the dissertation, which exists of one paper, explores in more depth the relationship between traditional financial sector development and microfinance institutions. The paper, co-authored with Bert D’Espallier, shows that MFIs reach more clients and are more profitable in countries where access to the traditional financial system is low. This is in line with the market-failure hypothesis. Along the same line, we find that MFIs serve poorer people in countries with well-developed financial systems. This observation is an important element to take into account in the debate on mission drift of the sector, where it is feared that MFIs drift away from serving the poor. The paper shows that MFIs in countries with well-developed banking sectors have less space to move up market and consequently to drift from the sector’s general mission. The third and final part of the dissertation is a quantitative study on the spread and expansion process of MFIs in one Latin American country, Peru. The roles that district characteristics play in the decision to open an MFI branch are scrutinized. The paper finds that MFIs mainly increase financial access in districts with higher levels of development. Districts where banks are already present also have a higher probability that MFIs will open a branch there. This demonstrates that the two kinds of institutions co-exist in several districts, but most probably serve another clientele. Overall, although strategies differ between different types of Peruvian MFIs, the paper finds that they do not seem to be driven by a pure developmental logic that would push them towards the poorest or totally unbanked regions of the country. On the whole, the main conclusions of the dissertation can be summarized as follows. First, the dissertation demonstrates that the outreach of the microfinance sector is influenced by a number of macro factors. Consequently, country-specific and macro-economic factors should be taken into account when evaluating MFI performance. Second, the dissertation shows that MFIs substitute the traditional banking sector. MFIs thus fulfill an important part of their mission, i.e. they have helped to increase financial access in the developing world. However, the study also suggests that MFIs still fail to serve a significant number of poor people. This leads to a third important observation, namely that MFIs may in fact not strive to serve the poor as such. Rather, it seems that they are currently focusing on the un-served market in general. The observation indicates that there is a need for a more thorough investigation on the issue of whom the unbanked in the developing countries are and whom MFIs actually strive to serve. Finally, since the outreach and performance of MFIs is dependent on the presence of a stimulating macro-environment, it remains a challenge to serve the financially excluded in the more remote areas of the developing countries and the people in the poorest ones.