Employer branding: Attracting and retaining talent in financial services

This study develops and investigates a framework for better understanding employer branding. More specifically, the overall purpose is to provide a deeper understanding on how employer branding is used to attract and retain talent. An extensive literature review leads to a proposed conceptual framework focusing on two key research questions: How can the relationship between corporate branding, internal branding and employer branding in service industries be described? And, How can the role of corporate values in delivering the brand promise be described? A qualitative, case study approach is used to collect data from a financial services company in Sweden. The data collected and analyzed reveals that the areas of employer, internal and corporate branding are not mutually exclusive, but instead an intertwined collection of branding issues that together form the corporation’s core values. All of this together is what allows the corporation to in turn deliver its brand(s) promise to several stakeholder groups.     

Consent to direct marketing in the financial services sector

The development of communications technology in recent years has led to an expansion in ‘cold calling’, particularly as a means of selling financial services. While encouraging new entrants into the market and thereby increasing consumer choice and competitive prices, this is often viewed as an infringement of personal privacy. This paper attempts to reconcile the complex legal framework that has been put in place to restrict the use of unsolicited direct marketing and to show how, through the use of a carefully drafted data protection notice, the direct marketing of financial services may be conducted lawfully.     

The effect of corporate social responsibility on the branding of financial services

In today's global world, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is increasing public demand for greater transparency from multinational companies. CSR is a new and growing financial risk factor. If it is mismanaged, a firm's corporate reputation can be badly damaged and a direct negative impact on its business and bottom-line may result. Instead of simply campaigning directly against industrial groups and lobbying governments and international organisations to issue new legislation, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are increasingly putting pressure on the financial services groups and insurance companies. This new global tactic may affect a bank's relationship with its clients and shareholders.There are market benefits and competitive advantages for those companies whose business policies integrate CSR. The growth in socially responsible investments and in CSR awareness among City people persuades some bankers that the most successful firms of the future will be those who proactively balance short-term financial goals with long-term sustainable franchise building. To respond to this challenge, corporations will have to convince citizens they can trust both their brands and the people behind them. In this context, one must recognise that finance brands have been clumsily managed. Nowadays, several big consumer brands are used as societal role models, but they are also the targets of anti-globalisation and anti-logo activists. In order to avoid such an outcome — not to mention corporate mortification — the key social marketing strategy must be to communicate proactively the business activity's raison d'être to opinion leaders and the general public. In general, industry does not yet care enough and many companies are reacting only when put under pressure by public opinion. It is time, however, to market the social raison d'être of a business and indeed to contest its current exclusion from ‘civil society’. Consumer and service sectors lead the field. In view of the downturn of the global economy, more than ever before, CSR branding is of paramount importance to the financial sector if bankers do not want to become the easy scapegoats. It is necessary to make it clear that financial services companies are global citizens too.     

The emerging importance of brand energy in the financial services sector

The long-term shift in the developed world from economies based on the trading of tangible goods to the trading of intangible services has precipitated two major shifts in business thinking that have become particularly apparent over the past 20 years. These have been a shift from a focus on generating profit to a focus on creating value and a shift in the notion of the brand from something that exists in the minds of consumers to something that exists in the experiences of different stakeholders. This is no less true of financial services than any other service sector. In the UK, the Operating and Financial Review proposes that all quoted companies introduce a new section in their annual report and accounts from 2005 (now delayed to 2006) to place a greater emphasis on the importance of ‘intangible, largely human assets’. This should not be interpreted by businesses as another imposition by government but as an opportunity to develop a much better understanding of the nature of the intangible assets of the business and how these work to create value. Accountancy is rooted in a tangible way of thinking but is ill-equipped to understand the nature of intangible equity which is where the real drivers of value creation lie. The author posits a new notion of brand energy as a starting point for rethinking how businesses really work to create value in the unceasingly intangible business world. The illustrations given are all from the UK, but the trends in thinking are essentially global and the points made could apply to any country.     

Ex ante CEO severance pay and risk-taking in the financial services sector

We examine 533 CEO severance contracts for financial services firms from 1997 to 2007 and find that ex ante severance pay is positively associated with risk-taking after controlling for the incentive effects provided by equity-based compensation. We report a positive causal relation between the amount of severance pay and risk-taking using popular market-based risk measures as well as the distance-to-default and the Z-score. We also find that severance pay encourages excessive risk-taking using metrics such as tail risk and asset quality. Our results are consistent with the risk-shifting argument and provide support for recent reforms on severance pay in the financial sector.     

Telecom microfinance banking versus commercial banking: a battle in the financial services sector

Journal of Financial Services Marketing - The purpose of the study is to compare the growth rate of commercial banks with microfinance banks, under the shadow of financial exclusion, and to provide...     

Country risk and financial integration—A case study of South Africa

This paper examines the importance of economic factors in a time-varying beta model of country risk before and after the occurrence of financial integration for South Africa's stock market. We examine how fundamental economic factors impact the variation of South Africa's country risk over the period 1993-2008. We find that exchange rates and gold prices are significant economic variables that induce significant volatility in South Africa's beta during the pre-financial integration period through June 1998. Post-financial integration, South Africa's beta rises and fundamental economic factors cease to be significant in determining its variation, a result consistent with an integrated financial market.     

中国企业进入南非电力市场的金融支持建议

中国和南非之间不平衡的供电布局为中国电力企业进入南非提供了市场商机,而且,中南之间日益密切的贸易和投资关系也为中国电力企业进入南非创造了良好的投资环境     

投资到南非

中国企业家的又一投资机会 南非今天经济的发展,得益于大量的外资投入.在受到国际社会的严厉制裁之前,由于南非丰富的矿藏、完备的基础设施、先进的金融体制、英国式的法律政治制度及与西方世界的历史和文化联系,加上取之不尽的黑人廉价劳动力,使得南非成为西方资本的投资天堂.二战后至20世纪70年代初,外资在南非的收益率一直在20%～27%之间,高出在非洲其他国家收益的3～4倍,比在世界其他地区多50%～80%.20世纪80年代,由于国际制裁,大量外资撤资,南非经济受到沉重打击.     

CRM in intermediated financial services markets

A division of a major UK insurance company manufactures insurance products for wholesale clients to retail into their banking and building society customer bases. This paper discusses the CRM challenges of leveraging insurance business from existing partnership relationships, including issues of confidentiality between client portfolios, the strategic use of data marts rather than data warehouses and the sharing of information. It describes the issues involved in implementing CRM, such as rolling out customer contact management and call centre systems. The study concludes with an appraisal of lessons learned, which include a better understanding of who the customers are and which of them are profitable, together with the characteristics that contribute to them becoming profitable or unprofitable.     

上市南非

南非曾经是一个神秘的国家.一个政治风云起伏跌宕的国家.但1994年发生历史性巨变后,南非以新的形象出现在世界舞台上,发展经济成为这个国家的主题.     

The development of a modern financial sector in Sweden

Macro economic development must be supported by a stable and efficient financial system. Excessive and inappropriate regulation of the financial system will restrain its functions and may lead to less than optimal resource allocation. But the transition from a highly regulated system must be carefully planned and orchestrated and several mistakes in this regard were made in the Swedish case, eventually leading to a systemic banking crisis. After the crisis, modern forms of regulation and supervision have been introduced leading to a successful and stable financial sector. Experiences from the Swedish case can be applied to many other financial systems, developed as well as emerging.     

英特尔以开放架构推动金融行业创新

近日,在“2009年度中国金融科技发展论坛”上,英特尔（中国）有限公司的至强5500处理器获得“十大金融科技企业用户信赖产品”。英特尔中国行业合作与解决方案部高端企业客户中国大区经理茅利宁结合论坛主题指出,开展IT治理是金融市场不断发展的必然产物．     

Comparison websites in UK retail financial services

Comparison websites have become a fundamental part of UK retail financial services. These websites appeal to both buyers and sellers. They offer buyers the ability to enter their details once and then quickly compare a range of products, usually ordered by price. For sellers, they offer a supply of potential customers who have refined their needs through the comparison process, and are thus more likely to complete a purchase. This paper analyses the role of comparison websites, drawing on case studies from three major providers of UK financial services comparisons. The paper also analyses the criticisms made of comparison websites, draws out implications for practitioners and consumers and outlines areas for future research.     

Transdisciplinarity in urban South Africa

The ideals and assumptions associated with a transdisciplinary approach to environmental issues are investigated through the experience of a three-year research project in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa focused on low-cost housing. Through this work, transdisciplinarity was conceptualised not as a panacea to create an all-encompassing research approach, but as an attempt to move away from paradigm isolation and allow researchers to integrate and develop a synthesis from their separate contributions. The paper discusses aspects of transdisciplinarity including definitions, methodologies, team-building, paradigmatic rigidities, the negotiation of power in the production of knowledge with stakeholders and community partners, and institutional challenges. Trade-offs include loss of data resolution at times, but are offset by deeper understanding of the complexities and constraints of applied environmental and social research in contemporary South Africa.