Conflicts of interest,information provision,and competition in the financial services industry

In some markets sellers have better information than buyers over which products best serve a buyer's needs. Depending on the market structure, this may lead to conflicts of interest in the provision of information by sellers. This paper studies this issue in the market for financial services. The analysis presents a new model of competition between banks, where price competition influences the ensuing incentives for truthful information revelation. We also compare conflicts of interest in two different firm structures, specialized banking and one-stop banking.     

Forecasting risk,informed speculation,and financial innovation

Speculators who prey on hedgers can stifle financial innovation in the sense that new markets can fail. In this paper I analyze whether a profit maximizing exchange nonetheless chooses to open markets for speculative securities and if so, how to circumvent the problem of market failure. I find that the optimal financial innovation takes two forms. The first is a market structure consisting of hedge instruments, traded in low volume at stable asset prices. The second is a market structure consisting of speculative instruments, traded in greater volume at volatile asset prices. These strategies are derived within the same framework where the cost and the quality of the speculators' information set and the hedgers risk aversion ultimately determine which is the optimal one.     

公允价值会计和金融稳定研究——金融危机分析视角

本文基于金融危机的背景下,对公允价值与金融稳定之间关系进行研究。公允价值会计在金融加速器和资产市场混响效应的基础上引入会计加速器,使风险承担更具顺周期效应,这对金融系统的稳定产生了不利影响。本文在坚持公允价值会计的原则下,从金融市场稳定的角度,建立了一个理想信息框架。通过该框架,市场参与者,不仅能从微观层面上获得企业有关财务状况的估计、风险轮廓的估计和计量的不确定性等信息,而且还能从宏观层面上获得风险的相关性、风险传染的可能性及其系统风险等方面的信息。     

论我国金融期货市场环境及法律

本文分析了我国金融期货市场尚未出现的原因 ,论述了建立金融期货市场所依托的环境以及相关的法律制度 ,提出了我国金融期货市场法律制度的制定应符合我国经济发展的需要 ,应充分考虑我国国情的观点。文章认为金融期货交易是我国经济发展的必然要求 ,但应逐步建立市场 ,并且政府对其监管的力度应大于金融现货市场。     

Financial literacy and financial resilience: Evidence from around the world

We measure financial literacy using questions assessing basic knowledge of four fundamental concepts in financial decision making: knowledge of interest rates, interest compounding, inflation, and risk diversification. Worldwide, just one in three adults are financially literate—that is, they know at least three out of the four financial concepts. Women, poor adults, and lower educated respondents are more likely to suffer from gaps in financial knowledge. This is true not only in developing countries but also in countries with well-developed financial markets. Relatively low financial literacy levels exacerbate consumer and financial market risks as increasingly complex financial instruments enter the market. Credit products, many of which carry high interest rates and complex terms and conditions, are becoming more readily available. Yet only around half of adults in major emerging countries who use a credit card or borrow from a financial institution are financially literate. We discuss policies to protect borrowers against risks and encourage account holders to save.     

Competition,concentration and risk taking in Banking sector of MENA countries

This paper tests the relationship between competition and bank stability for 356 banks operating in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) countries during the period 2005–2012. Our results show that for the overall sample, a U-shaped relationship between competition and banks’ risk taking for MENA banks. The negative linear relationship between Z-Score and H-statistics in Gulf countries shows that an increase in competition leads to a reduction in the level of financial stability. In the case of other non-Gulf countries, the increase of competition in uncompetitive markets can lead to an increase in stability. The results confirm the importance of the market structure as an explanatory factor for financial stability, but also indicate that concentration is not associated with uncompetitive markets.     

Convergence of Insurance and Financial Markets: Hybrid and Securitized Risk-Transfer Solutions

One of the most significant economic developments of the past decade has been the convergence of the financial services industry, particularly the capital markets and (re)insurance sectors. Convergence has been driven by the increase in the frequency and severity of catastrophic risk, market inefficiencies created by (re)insurance underwriting cycles, advances in computing and communications technologies, the emergence of enterprise risk management, and other factors. These developments have led to the development of hybrid insurance/financial instruments that blend elements of financial contracts with traditional reinsurance as well as new financial instruments patterned on asset-backed securities, futures, and options that provide direct access to capital markets. This article provides a survey and overview of the hybrid and pure financial markets instruments and provides new information on the pricing and returns on contracts such as industry loss warranties and Cat bonds.     

The arbitrage-free valuation and hedging of demand deposits and credit card loans

Using a market segmentation argument, this paper uses the interest rate derivative's arbitrage-free methodology to value both demand deposit liabilities and credit card loan balances in markets where deposits/loan rates may be determined under imperfect competition. In this context, these financial instruments are shown to be equivalent to a particular interest rate swap, where the principal depends on the past history of market rates. Solutions are obtained which are independent of any particular model for the evolution of the term structure of interest rates.     

When Does Information Asymmetry Affect the Cost of Capital?

This paper examines when information asymmetry among investors affects the cost of capital in excess of standard risk factors. When equity markets are perfectly competitive, information asymmetry has no separate effect on the cost of capital. When markets are imperfect, information asymmetry can have a separate effect on firms’ cost of capital. Consistent with our prediction, we find that information asymmetry has a positive relation with firms’ cost of capital in excess of standard risk factors when markets are imperfect and no relation when markets approximate perfect competition. Overall, our results show that the degree of market competition is an important conditioning variable to consider when examining the relation between information asymmetry and cost of capital.     

Financial liberalization,market structure and credit penetration

This paper shows that the effects of financial liberalization on the credit market of a small and capital constrained economy depend on the market structure of domestic banks prior to liberalization. Specifically, under perfect competition in the domestic credit market prior to liberalization, liberalization leads to lower domestic interest rates, in turn leading to increased credit penetration. However, when the initial market structure is one of imperfect competition, liberalization can lead to the exclusion of less wealthy entrepreneurs from the credit market. This provides a rationale for the mixed empirical evidence concerning the effects of liberalization on access to credit in developing markets. Moreover, the analysis provides new insights into the consequences of foreign lenders’ entry into developing economies.     

How do UK financial institutions really price their banking products?

This paper has several objectives. The first is to explore the type (or types) of imperfect competition that prevailed in the retail banking sector in the 1990s. A general linearised pricing model is employed to test for the degree to which competition in certain markets deviated from the competitive ideal. The key finding, is that, with the exception of mortgage products, deposit and loan rate setting by UK financial institutions is best described by the Salop–Stiglitz model of monopolistic competition, with bargain and rip-offs. Cournot type behaviour is evident in some cases. Indirectly, the presence of perfect contestability is largely ruled out. Another objective is to compare these findings with the results of a similar study conducted nearly a decade ago, when financial reforms introduced to encourage greater competition were relatively recent. Based on the results of this study, the policy lesson is that financial firms exhibit different types of price setting behaviour depending on the banking product. The policy implication is to require firms to produce comparable information for consumers, thereby helping to contain the loss of consumer surplus in imperfectly competitive markets.     

金融服务进村入社区工程实施情况调研报告——以南京地区为例

我国农村金融发展相对滞后,成为金融体系中最薄弱的环节。农村金融市场是一个不完全竞争市场,逆向选择和道德风险问题严重。构建完善的农村金融体系,有必要采取政府适当介入的方式来改善农村金融市场存在的缺陷、弥补市场的失灵。加大对农村金融政策的扶持力度,加强金融服务意识,结合农村实际情况改善推广、宣传方式,创新涉农金融服务产品。     

Competition Between Low and High Quality Products in the Financial Services Market

The deregulation of the financial services markets has introduced many forms of competition. The game-theory model in this paper examines the interaction of firms who share the market by choosing products of different qualities. Such a model might apply to the competition between full-service and discount brokerage firms. The results show how the firms share the market and how the qualities and prices of the products react to changes in exogenous parameters. The low-quality level is more sensitive to changes in market volatility, and the high-quality level is more sensitive to consumer preferences and the cost of information. Assuming a uniform distribution of investor attitudes towards risk, the high-quality firm sells to 52.5% of the market, and the low-quality firm sells to 26.25%. The profit level of the low-quality firm is about 6% of that of the high-quality firm.     

Complete Versus Incomplete Insurance Contracts under Adverse Selection with Multiple Risks

This article extends the standard adverse-selection model for competitive insurance markets, which assumes a single source of risk, to the case where individuals are subject to multiple risks. We compare the following market situations—the case where insurers can offer comprehensive policies against all sources or risks (complete contracts) and the case where different risks are covered by separate policies (incomplete contracts). In the latter case, we consider whether the insurer of a particular risk has perfect information regarding an individual's coverage against other sources of risks. The analysis emphasizes the informational role of bundling in multidimensional screening. When the market situation allows bundling, it is shown that in equilibrium the low-risk type with respect to a particular source of risk does not necessarily obtain partial coverage against that particular risk.     

Breaking down the barriers: Competition,syndicate structure,and underwriting incentives

We argue that the entry of commercial banks into bond underwriting led to the evolution of co-led underwriting arrangements and lowered the screening incentives of underwriters. Lead underwriters in co-led syndicates faced weaker incentives to screen issuer quality. In boom markets, issues underwritten by co-led syndicates were more likely to be involved in financial misrepresentation events. Underwriter incentives in co-led syndicates were particularly weak in industries where commercial banks stole substantial market share. Similar patterns do not hold in bust markets where investors are likely to engage in their own information collection efforts. Our results suggest that competition may have an adverse effect on the incentives of financial intermediaries in market environments where their information production is more valuable to investors.     

Credit markets and financial information

The last decade has seen rapid growth in trading of credit instruments on secondary markets. The ensuing availability of a rich set of credit market data has created a novel environment for testing a variety of financial economic theories. In this discussion, we provide a simple framework for linking asset pricing research using equity and credit market data and offer some suggestions for future archival empirical research aiming to establish relations between financial information and credit markets. Credit instruments are intrinsically linked to equity instruments. The strength of this link varies temporally and cross-sectionally in measurable ways that can, and should be, used to guide future empirical research linking information to credit markets.     

The application of a Planned Economy Country Risk Model to the assessment of market entry into the Chinese banking sector

China pledged on joining the World Trade Organisation to fully liberalise the banking sector by December 2006 and thus exposed its domestic banks to foreign competition. Global banks have since been lured by the opportunities that this sector presents in terms of its market size, buoyant saving rates, rising real per capita income, improved living standards, and an increased need for financial products and services. Nevertheless, foreign banks face a number of risks when entering markets in China where government tightly regulates industrial development. The Planned Economy Risk Model (PERM) is introduced to assess the dimensions of risk in entering such markets. To illustrate its use PERM is then applied for investments in China.     

Financial Markets Trends and Studies of Singapore Futures Markets

In this paper we explore some recent trends in the financial market and also report some studies of the Singapore futures markets. A characterization of trends shows that national securities markets are much closer than before. This means the linkages between securities and their derivatives and amongst themselves have be come much stronger. Secondly, the advent of sophisticated risk products and instruments and the knowledge to use them effectively would become a common theme together with the idea of value enhancements. Thirdly, computerizations and the internet will play an increasingly important role. So will empirical financial research become increasingly microscopic. The discussion will be supported by the experiences of the Singapore futures markets and various empirical research evidences. The paper also provides a detailed study of causality-in-variance test of information transmission between SIMEX and Osaka Stock Exchange on the Nikkei 225 stock index futures trading prior to, during, and immediately after the announcement of the collapse of Barings. The results are indicative of very strong international market linkages and a portent of things to come.     

金融市场发展中的税收立法选择——以税收对金融市场的调控功能为核心

次贷危机的发生引起世界对金融创新风险的广泛关注。为应对这次危机,税收作为财政政策工具,为各国普遍采用。但对适用于金融交易本身的税法规则,各国却未能进行深刻的反思。为促进本国金融市场发展而不断调低对金融交易的税收负担,必须经由比例原则和纳税人权利的审查而获得合理正当化的基础。减轻金融交易的税收负担对促进金融市场健康、稳定、有序发展的作用极为有限,反而在一定程度上削弱了公民权利实现的财政基础。随着金融市场从国民经济的核心演化为投机场所,各国对其课以低税负甚至免税缺乏必要的正当性。因此,对金融市场课税,应当重视的不只是其对金融市场发展的调节功能,而更应当关注税收所固有的财政收入功能,并以此为基础,遵循量能课税原则着手金融交易课税规则的构建。     

宏观经济信息与金融市场关联性——来自混频动态条件相关系数模型的证据

宏观经济信息是金融市场之间相互传递的重要信息内容,有效利用宏观经济信息是否有助于更好地理解金融市场关联性？为此,本文运用混频动态条件相关系数(DCC-MIDAS)模型分析了我国四个重要金融市场之间的动态相关性如何受到纳入的宏观经济信息的影响。结果发现:(1)工业增加值和货币供应量M2负向影响金融市场关联性,经济政策不确定性和通货膨胀水平反之。前三者是影响金融市场关联性较为重要的因素,而通货膨胀的重要性相对较低;(2)宏观经济信息作为市场关联性的长期成分相较基于市场信息的模型可以获得至少1.45%的效率提升。(3)工业增加值和通货膨胀对金融市场关联性的影响较为稳健,货币供应量M2和经济政策不确定性的影响表现出周期性特征。经济上行阶段工业增加值、货币政策信息带来的效率提升更为明显,经济下行阶段政策不确定性相对重要。本文研究结论对于加强金融监管协调和防范金融市场风险共振具有参考价值和指导意义。