Consumer behaviour in the credit card market: a banking case study

This paper analysed the demographic, socio‐economic and banking‐specific determinants that influence the choice of credit cards. A multinomial logit model was run on a recent portfolio of banking customers based in Italy. The model incorporates the type of credit cards as the dependent variable and a set of explanatory variables. The empirical results provided useful insight into the structural characteristics of the card payment system and offered a microeconomics perspective to analyse consumers' behaviour and preferences. Overall, women, older people, residents in the centre of Italy and secondary card owners are more likely to acquire a classic card. Gold cards are preferred by older customers, whereas younger clients have a higher probability to choose a revolving card, which is also preferred by the residents in the North‐east. The analysis on the continuous variables highlighted that Italy can be regarded as a ‘conservative’ market with room for credit card upgrading and expansion into more sophisticated products.     

Foreign direct investment in the banking sector: the case of Italian banks in the '90s

The present paper addresses the issue of the determinants of the growth of multinational banks upon foreign markets at a micro individual level. Theories and approaches suggested so far about globalisation of the banking sector basically relate banks' international growth to the theory of the multinational enterprise. Accordingly, this paper relies on the eclectic paradigm, which views the foreign direct investment decision to be a combination of ownership, internalisation and location advantages. Empirical evidence is provided through an econometric model based on count data techniques, with reference to the Italian case in the decade 1989–1999. Results show that the availability of resources and international experience already gathered by the parent banks have positive effects on their decision to undertake direct investments abroad. Multinational banks are also proved to grow internationally in order to internalise their pre-existing bank–client relationships, and to locate their foreign units where they can exploit positive externalities related to the presence of important international financial centres.     

Underpinning the benefits of green banking: A comparative study between Islamic and conventional banks in Bangladesh

This study aims to compare environmental motives and performance of conventional and Islamic banks in Bangladesh. Green compliance index was developed based on the Bangladesh Bank (the central bank of Bangladesh) guidelines whereas information regarding governance variables is collected from the annual reports of 9 Islamic and 31 conventional banks. Results show Islamic banks are more environmentally friendly compared to their conventional counterparts. Board size is negatively related to green compliance whereas board independence and auditor's type do not have any significant influence on green compliance for both clusters of banks. Compliance with green banking policies enhances the reputation for Islamic banks and accountability and profitability for conventional banks. Results of this study provide useful information for regulatory authorities to formulate policies that are conducive to enhance bank's environmental performance.     

Efficiency in banking services: a comparative analysis of Internet-primary and branching banks in the US

This paper investigates the provision of financial services by banks as a two-stage production process involving three different basic activities. The first stage includes service activities, while the second stage comprises both investment-related and risk management activities. Financial services performance is assessed in terms of service efficiency and investment and risk management efficiency for years 2002–2010. The major empirical findings are that the Internet-primary bank is more efficient than most branching banks in deposit-raising activities, but with regard to investment and risk management activities, there are many brick-and-mortar banks that match the online bank performance.     

Internationalization of multinational banks: a study of foreign direct investment in seven Latin American countries

The article attempts to explore and contrast the different factors that influence the foreign direct investment (FDI) decisions of multinational banks. Employing eclectic theory, an estimation model with panel data from seven Latin American countries is set to test the proposed hypotheses. The results highlight an increase in foreign assets, removal of banking restriction, banking concentration, and capital cost differential in the local banking system as determinants of specific location advantages for attracting banking FDI. Other factors such as cultural proximity and crisis also have a significant impact on banking FDI. Discussions and implications are debated before conclusions are drawn for a future research agenda.     

天津近代技术进步的特点及其与工业发展关系探讨

本文对天津近代技术进步的特点及其对经济增长的影响进行分析,指出天津近代技术进步呈现出阶段性、多元性等特点,并且与工业发展呈现出同步性特征;历史证明.技术进步促进了天津近代经济增长和工业结构调整.     

Investment banking in the gulf: A case study of investcorp in bahrain

Investcorp is a low-profile investment banking company that was originally founded on the tiny island of Bahrain in the Arabian Gulf. Although little known to the general public, the company is a major player in North American and European investment markets. This case study presents a profile of the company, its founder, Nemir Kirdar, and his three “founding friends.” It relates details of the company's successes and explores how these were achieved. As most of the original Management Committee members are preparing to retire, efforts are being made to ensure the continuing prosperity of the company. This requires the risky step of appointing an almost completely new management team. Readers are invited to reflect on the likely success of this strategy and whether Investcorp's focus on North America and Europe remains appropriate in a global marketplace.     

e-banking culture: A comparison of EU 27 countries and Portuguese case in the EU 27 retail banking context

The aim of this research is two-fold. Firstly we conducted a wise comparative analysis of EU 27 countries and secondly we identified distinct e-banking user segments of Portuguese citizens. We used a questionnaire for data collection (n=2358) and Latent Class Models (LCM) for data analysis. LCM revealed three segments in EU 27 (Portugal is in the poorest cluster, concerning the indicators used, with Greece, Spain and Cyprus) and two e-banking user segments in Portuguese citizens: Those who do not risk (49%), and Those who risk (51%). Our findings enable e-banking managers for taking appropriate strategic decisions.     

International entrepreneurial SMEs in the muslim world: The role of religion in the GCC countries

Recent studies examining the internationalisation of SMEs in emerging economies have observed that religion affects international market entry, which suggests that specific cultural aspects, such as religion, have not hitherto received enough attention. Hence, this study examines a theme that has seemingly escaped the research agenda: how does religion affect SMEs’ internationalisation? The study draws empirical evidence from 10 manufacturing SMEs located in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Through an embedded approach to case study research, the study queries the role of religion in the development of intra-Muslim internationalisation and contributes to the scant literature that examines the impact of Islamic values on international business activities. The findings show three dimensions of Islamic entrepreneurship, viz. regional rather than international networking orientation, risk aversion and proactiveness.     

The impact of mergers in banking : Evidence from a nationwide sample of federally chartered banks

Spurred by deregulation, cost, and risk factors, commercial bank mergers have accelerated sharply in recent years. Many banks appear to be positioning themselves for the advent of interstate banking through holding company or reciprocal branching arrangements. Yet, the performance effects of mergers among operating U.S. banks (as opposed to holding company acquisitions) have been examined both infrequently and inconclusively. This study focuses upon the characteristics and performance effects of national bank mergers occurring during the 1970–1980 period. Acquiring national banks were found to have lower operating efficiency and productivity than nonmerging banks and their profitability did not increase following the mergers, but credit availability, productivity, loan losses, deposit service charges, and interest-rate risk did rise. Frequency of merger activity did not significantly influence bank profitability or growth, but did augment stockholder risks and increase business and real-estate credit. In the aggregate, national bank mergers appeared to result neither in significant service benefits nor in significant service costs to the public.Spurred by deregulation of the industry, rising cost pressures, and increased operating risk, merger transactions among U.S. banks have soared in recent years. During the 1982–1986 period, for example, banking led all other industries in the number of consummated mergers and consistently was among the ten leading U.S. industries in the estimated market value of merger agreements. Moreover, the recent upsurge in reciprocal interstate banking agreements and proposals for fully legalized interstate banking hold out the prospect for a further acceleration in bank merger transactions in the years ahead. In view of the fact that legislation in more than 30 states now permits some form of interstate banking by merger or de novo entry and a June 1985 ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court has legitimized regional banking compacts, the public and private impact of bank mergers becomes of much greater importance as a research focus.Despite the magnitude of recent bank merger transactions and their implications for the public, the research literature in this area is surprisingly meager and often contradictory. This article is an attempt to focus more sharply on recent research findings, provide additional evidence concerning the effects of mergers on the financial performance of banks, and assess their impact on the public's interest in an adequate supply of financial services.     

Corporate social responsibility of financial organizations in the social economy: a case study on savings banks

The implementation of corporate social responsibility policies in firm management processes is becoming increasingly relevant. In the particular case of the financial sector, the incorporation of these policies often has huge repercussions as their role as intermediaries means that firms depend on them for investment which, in turn, affects the way firms perform. Within the financial sector, those organizations form part of the social economy—credit cooperatives and savings banks—are a very particular case as one of the principles on which they are based is their social nature. In this study, we examine the social responsibility situation in these financial organizations, focusing on the case of savings banks. We provide information that will help us better understand the real state of Spanish savings banks with respect to these two areas of social responsibility: The “Obra Social” (or charitable activities) and the incorporation of social and environmental criteria in their business policies.     

Aid policy of the industrial countries

Time and again, and in the more recent past during the UNCTAD Ill-Conference, the less developed countries (LDCs) have found fault with the industrial countries’ declining contribution towards the economic development of the Third World. The question is now whether the future will bring a change of this tendency which has shown itself for a number of years.     

Corporate brand image in retail banking: development and validation of a scale

Recent changes in deregulation and technology have made banking one of the most competitive sectors in the global economy. Within this background, corporate image management has gained importance as a way of differentiating companies. This paper aims to develop a scale to analyse the corporate image in banking. Derived from a review of the literature, a scale with the most cited dimensions of analysis is developed. This scale is then tested by means of an empirical study of 450 individuals, where dimensionality, reliability and validity requirements are confirmed. Both theoretical and managerial implications are presented.     

Multinational enterprise strategy,foreign direct investment and economic development: the case of the Hungarian banking industry

This paper examines foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Hungarian economy in the period of post-Communist transition since 1989. Hungary took a quite aggressive approach in welcoming foreign investment during this period and as a result had the highest per capita FDI in the region as of 2001. We discuss the impact of FDI in terms of strategic intent, i.e., market serving and resource seeking FDI. The effect of these two kinds of FDI is contrasted by examining the impact of resource seeking FDI in manufacturing sectors and market serving FDI in service industries. In the case of transition economies, we argue that due to the strategic intent, resource seeking FDI can imply a short-term impact on economic development whereas market serving FDI strategically implies a long-term presence with increased benefits for the economic development of a transition economy. Our focus is that of market serving FDI in the Hungarian banking sector, which has brought improved service and products to multinational and Hungarian firms. This has been accompanied by the introduction of innovative financial products to the Hungarian consumer, in particular consumer credit including mortgage financing. However, the latter remains an underserved segment with much growth potential. For public policy in Hungary and other transition economies, we conclude that policymakers should consider the strategic intent of FDI in order to maximize its benefits in their economies.     

Risk spillover of banking across regions: Evidence from the belt and road countries

We present the risk spillover effect of 2178 banks in 63 countries along the Belt and Road from 2006 to 2020 with the VAR-BEKK-GARCH model. We find that Chinese banking has two-way risk contagion with banks in East Asia and Association of Southeast Asian Nations, South Asia, West Asia, and Central Asia. Furthermore, Chinese banking keeps a positive correlation with banks in Thailand, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, and its relationship with Indonesia and Kazakhstan shows seasonal characteristics, whereas with India, there is no obvious spillover effect.     

Trends in the international competitiveness of industrial countries

It has become fashionable in recent times to describe the state of the Western European economies with the word “eurosclerosis”. Is the international competitiveness of these economies really as ailing as this world implies? The following article attempts to answer this question using various methods of measuring international competitiveness.