The Determinants of Credit Ratings in the United Kingdom Insurance Industry

This paper examines the determinants of external credit ratings attained by insurance firms in the United Kingdom (UK) and of the likelihood that insurers will have such an assessment. Using panel data relating to A.M. Best‐rated and Standard and Poor's (S&P)‐rated insurers over the period 1993–1997, a trichotomous logit model and an ordered probit model with sample selection are employed to show that the factors which influence the likelihood of having external credit assessments not only vary between the two agencies but also differ from those which determine the ratings themselves. Our results are shown to be of potential interest to participants in the insurance industry and policy‐makers alike.     

美国金融衍生工具市场的发展、运作及监管研究

20世纪70年代以来,以资产证券化为主的金融创新从供给和需求两个角度推动了金融衍生工具市场的发展,该市场对于降低交易成本、削弱信息不对称以及提高资源配置效率发挥了重要的作用,并促使商业银行经营模式的转变和金融体系结构的变迁。但由于监管的疏漏,衍生工具市场对金融稳定带来了巨大威胁。鉴于此,美国金融监管部门加强了对该市场的监管改革,但关于改革的必要性和力度成为学术界和业界争议的焦点。就我国而言,发展衍生工具市场虽然有助于多元化融资渠道的构建,但以审慎原则为基础构建相应的监管体系也是十分必要的。     

结构性金融衍生产品之探讨

结构性金融衍生产品是把固定收益金融产品和金融衍生品进行组合设计出的一种新型金融产品,种类繁多、结构多样。在美洲、欧洲和亚洲都有非常大的市场规模和繁多的产品种类。结构性金融衍生产品增加了资本市场的完备性、深化了市场的风险配置功能、增强了资本的流动性以及提高了金融衍生市场的信用水平。在我国结构性金融衍生产品首先以外币结构性存款的形式出现,自2003年以来得到快速发展。借鉴国际经验,应在鼓励结构性衍生产品发展的同时,着重加速金融衍生品交易所市场的发展。     

Actuarial Surplus Management in United Kingdom Life Insurance Firms

This study uses 1991–99 data gathered from the United Kingdom's life insurance industry to test empirically the notion that the reported annual surplus of a life insurer may be influenced by four firm‐specific characteristics: namely, reinsurance, output mix, organizational form and firm size. Consistent with expectations, the results indicate that the annual reported surplus is positively related to reinsurance and firm size and negatively related to the degree of product diversification. Contrary to our expectations, however, we find no evidence that proprietary (stock) life insurers tend to report higher annual surpluses than mutual life insurers.     

金融衍生工具与银行系统性风险

从巴林银行倒闭到中航油、中石化衍生品交易巨亏,重新审视金融衍生工具与系统性风险的关系成为必然。金融衍生工具运用规模和比例呈急剧上升趋势,其初衷为对冲风险,契合金融服务实体经济功能,但由于其交易规则具有复杂性和不透明性,实施效果亟待检验。本文采用金融衍生工具视角,探索了分类金融衍生工具对银行系统性风险的影响及作用机理。结果表明,金融衍生工具会加剧银行系统性风险,包括外汇类和利率类金融衍生工具。金融衍生工具运用总体效果并不理想,且存在情境依赖,作用发挥呈现异质性。在后金融危机时代以及股市处于熊市时,金融衍生工具均加剧了银行系统性风险,在危机前则降低了银行系统性风险,但当处于牛市时则无显著影响。此外,在市场化进程高、机构持股比例高时,金融衍生工具加剧银行系统性风险的作用更为明显。本文从一个新的视角检验了银行系统性风险的影响因素,为探究其成因提供了新解释,也为未来系统性风险防控提供了新思路。     

Firm Size and Growth in the United Kingdom Life Insurance Industry

This study tests whether the organic growth rates of United Kingdom (UK) life insurance firms are independent of size, as predicted by Gibrat's (1931) Law of Proportionate Effects. Using data for 1987–1996 and the three subperiods, 1987–1990, 1990–1993, and 1993–1996, we find that smaller life insurance firms tended to grow faster than larger ones in the 1987–1990 period and that larger life insurers tended to grow faster than smaller ones in the 1990–1993 and 1993–1996 periods. But over the ten‐year period, we find no significant difference between the growth rates of small and large firms, thus supporting Gibrat's Law as a long‐run tendency in the UK life insurance industry. When we examine firm‐specific determinants of asset growth, we find evidence in 1987–1996 and 1987–1990 that more diversified life insurance firms experienced higher growth rates on average than more specialized life insurers. We also find that the growth of life insurance firms was related to input costs during the 1990–1993 and 1993–1996 subperiods.     

我国寿险保费收入与金融资产关联性的实证研究

在金融资产选择理论框架下,从居民投资角度建立了寿险保费收入与部分金融资产间的ECM模型,结果发现:储蓄增长对寿险保费收入短期的贡献大于长期的贡献,加息会在短期内刺激保费增加但长期内却有抑制作用,国债和股票受结构性因素影响未表现出和寿险保费有长期均衡关系.寿险公司应在短期内把部分储蓄转化成保费,在长期内要开发新的营销渠道、加快寿险产品创新、加强保障型产品的开发.     

美国次贷危机中的金融衍生品及其风险传递研究

美国次贷危机愈演愈烈已造成了全球金融危机,究其原因在于其中的金融衍生品运用与监管不当。本文对该危机中的主要金融衍生品一次级按揭贷款、按揭贷款抵押支持债券、资产支持债券型抵押债务权益、信用违约互换等及其风险传递机制进行了深入分析,探讨了其对我国金融创新的启示。     

场外金融衍生产品清算及监管机制的最新演变及其启示

雷曼兄弟宣布申请破产保护成为次贷危机演化为全球金融危机的导火索,暴露出以CDS为代表的场外金融衍生产品市场的巨大风险。本文在回顾上述事件及其相关背景的基础上,着重介绍和探讨了当前有关场外金融衍生产品市场清算机制安排以及监管方面的最新演变及其应该注意的问题,同时提出借鉴国际经验,发展与规范我国场外金融衍生产品市场的相关启示。     

美国寿险上市公司衍生金融工具应用效应的实证研究

衍生金融产品价格并非标的金融资产价格的一元线性函数,因而使用衍生产品最终是否能够起到风险管理之目的虽倾向于正面但尚存争论.国际上现有研究基本都从讨论企业使用衍生品的动机和影响因素出发,间接推测衍生品使用对企业的影响.本文以美国寿险上市公司为研究对象,研究衍生品使用对寿险公司业绩的直接效应,运用Panel data模型实证检验的结果表明衍生品运用之于寿险公司业绩存在明显正面效应,从而为中国衍生产品市场推出之后放开对寿险企业的投资准入提供了正面的实证依据.     

浅析我国衍生金融工具所得性质、数量、时间的认定

衍生金融工具所得课税问题是一个国际难题。本文分别从衍生金融工具所得性质的认定、所得数量的认定、所得时间的认定三个方面展开阐述,分析了国际通行的做法,并联系我国实际对衍生金融工具所得课税进行了探讨。     

从繁复向简单回归:全球金融衍生品市场发展展望

金融危机之后,全球金融衍生品市场经历了下调到反弹的过程。场内市场交易量的放大、买卖价差的收窄,以及OTC市场的未偿付合约名义价值等指标都表明了这一走势。同时,金融衍生品市场也将呈现结构性分化:一是基础性衍生品将成为未来一段时期衍生品发展的主流;二是结构简单、标准化程度高的单一卖方CDS将受欢迎;三是亚太地区金融衍生品市场表现出巨大的潜力。最后,中央交易机制的建立和合约标准化的加强都将成为金融衍生品监管的趋势。     

金融衍生产品对上市公司风险管理影响实证研究

论文选取有色金属矿产行业以及能源交通运输行业229家上市公司作为样本,以上市公司是否使用衍生产品为解释变量,同时引用一系列控制变量,通过实证分析上市公司使用衍生产品是否会有效降低公司风险。实证过程涉及参数检验、非参数检验、相关性分析和回归分析,实证结果显示我国上市公司使用衍生产品会降低公司风险,这与西方主流的财务管理理论相一致而与我国学者以前的研究相反,由此推测我国上市公司运用衍生产品的能力逐渐娴熟。     

信用衍生品市场的国际经验与中国发展——基于金融结构和宏观稳定的分析

信用衍生品是国际资本市场上最具创新性的金融工具之一。发展信用衍生品市场不仅可以转移金融机构的信用风险,同时也可以缓解金融脱媒问题,防止资本市场快速膨胀、扭曲银行和金融体系。然而,信用衍生品也有其另一面。美国金融危机显示信用衍生品与金融结构具有复杂的联系机制,可能冲击宏观稳定。本文提出,我国应深入剖析美国的信用衍生品市场与金融结构关系,跟踪国际市场的改革和发展方向,探索符合国情的信用衍生品市场发展道路。     

论我国银行业衍生金融工具的会计确认

衍生金融工具的会计确认具有明显的特殊性。近年来,由于我国商业银行开展的衍生性金融交易规模不断扩大,因此探究我国银行业衍生金融工具的会计确认问题,具有十分积极的现实意义。     

Reinsurance and Capital Structure: Evidence From the United Kingdom Non‐Life Insurance Industry

Using a data set consisting of statutory returns of U.K. non‐life insurers from 1985 to 2002, I find that insurers with higher leverage tend to purchase more reinsurance, and insurers with higher reinsurance dependence tend to have a higher level of debt. My results are consistent with the expected bankruptcy costs argument, agency costs theory, risk‐bearing hypothesis, and renting capital hypothesis. I also find that the impact of leverage on reinsurance will be weaker for insurers that use more derivatives than those that use less. Moreover, high levels of derivative use increase the leverage gains attributable to reinsurance.     

金融危机下的中国保险业安全

由于国际货币体系的单极、美国金融监管的真空和经济发展的不协调而导致的金融危机正深刻影响着世界各国的经济、金融体系乃至政治格局。在这种大背景下,我国保险业作为经济的"保驾护航"者,也面临着多方位的挑战和不确定因素。只有通过调整结构、加强监管、建立风险预警机制、坚持投资多元化等途径,才能在确保行业自身安全的同时,为我国经济、金融和社会的安全及稳定作出贡献。     

The Determinants of Private Debt Holdings: Evidence From the Life Insurance Industry

Life insurers hold the majority of private debt. Lenders in the private debt market must have the ability to evaluate the credit quality of borrowers and to perform ongoing risk monitoring. The purpose of this study is to examine the determinants of private debt holdings in the life insurance industry. The results suggest that larger insurers, insurers with higher financial quality, mutual insurers, publicly traded insurers, insurers facing stringent regulation, and insurers with greater cash holdings are more prevalent lenders in the private debt market.     

欧美金融衍生品监管改革进展及对我国的启示

2008年金融危机让各国认识到高杠杆金融衍生品的风险以及加强监管的必要性。危机后,欧美地区加强了对金融衍生品的监管,在规范市场方面取得了重要突破,对于金融衍生品市场处于起步阶段的中国具有一定借鉴意义。     

Determinants of risk in the banking sector during the European Financial Crisis

Risk assessment in the banking sector has been a prominent topic in the banking literature and has gained attention especially since the recent financial crises. In particular, the European crisis, which was the first since the formation of the Eurozone, underlined a number of significant problems and increased concerns on the tail or crash risk of banks. In the present study, we seek to examine whether information asymmetry, the importance of banks in the financial system and systemic risk play significant roles in the evolution of stock crashes in the banking sector. Information asymmetry is proxied by opacity, the importance of a bank in a financial network is proxied by network centrality, and systemic risk is proxied by clustering. The research framework considers a number of regulatory, reporting and financial market factors that have also been determined to relate to stock crashes and shows that all of the above factors are related to (idiosyncratic) stock crash risk under specific conditions.