Recourse as shadow equity: Evidence from commercial real estate loans

We study the role that recourse plays in the commercial real estate loan contracts of the largest U.S. banks. We find that recourse is valued by lenders as a substitute for conventional equity. At origination, recourse loans have rate spreads that are about 20 basis points lower and loan-to-value ratios that are almost 3 percentage points higher than nonrecourse loans. Dynamically, recourse affects loan modification negotiations by providing additional bargaining power to the lender. Recourse loans were half as likely to receive accommodation during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the modifications that did occur entailed a relatively smaller reduction in payments.     

Hedging in currency futures: A Singapore dollar case study

In recent months the volatility of currency values, especially the changing value of the US Dollar against the Swiss Franc. Deutsche Mark, Japanese Yen and the Singapore Dollar has significantly increased the foreign exchange risk exposure of multinational corporations. This article looks at several different strategies which a corporate treasurer can consider for minimizing his risk exposure. Finally, two different borrowing strategies in the forward market which are based upon local currency (Singapore Dollar) and foreign currency (US Dollar) borrowing are compared. The results show that substantial cost savings can be obtained by selective borrowing.     

Convergence and regulation of multi-screen television: The Singapore experience

This article addresses complicated convergent and regulatory issues arising from cross-platform audiovisual services and analyzes Singapore's multi-screen television experience. A “platform neutrality” multi-screen TV regulatory scheme is proposed to concentrate on content classification in order to respond to the fast-changing audiovisual industry and competition. Under the scheme, different content and license regulations are applied to four types of TV-like services which are categorized by “socio-cultural impact” (i.e., broadcasting and mass market vs. VOD and niche market)” and “content production/aggregation model” (i.e., gatekeeping vs. participatory mechanism). In addition, competition, content regulation, and digital copyright are identified as key issues involved in the fast-growing cross-platform audiovisual media industry. Finally, this study analyzes market development, regulatory issues, and national plans for multi-screen TV services in Singapore and examines them under the proposed regulatory scheme. Market and policy recommendations are discussed.     

The business case of a network that serves both public safety and commercial subscribers

Deploying a single nationwide broadband wireless network to serve all public safety users would have great advantages over the existing fragmented public safety systems. A nationwide system could be created to serve both public safety and commercial subscribers, which would allow a provider to exploit important economies but force it to meet the more costly requirements of public safety. This paper analyzes the viability of a public-private partnership that serves public safety and commercial subscribers from a for-profit provider's perspective. A model is presented that estimates the net present value (NPV) of a wireless network by calculating costs based on the number of cell sites required and revenue based on the projected number of subscribers acquired. The model is applied to both a network that serves only commercial subscribers on 10 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum and a public-private partnership that serves commercial subscribers and public safety personnel on 20 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum. It is found that NPV is greater for the public-private partnership than for the commercial-only network for any population density, which shows that the value of 10 MHz of spectrum exceeds the cost of meeting public safety requirements. Furthermore, the paper demonstrates that NPV/cell increases with population density, so urban areas are profitable and rural areas are unprofitable. The paper demonstrates that a partnership covering 94% of the US population breaks even because the most urban 56% of population subsidizes coverage for the next 38%. If initial deployment is subsidized, a financially sustainable public-private partnership can serve much more than 94%. Additionally, it is shown that allowing urban municipalities to opt-out of the partnership can significantly increase the subsidies required.     

汤玉祥：做本色的宇通

五年后的今天，再次谈及中国客车企业的格局，汤玉祥显露出一种不可阻挡的自信。“怎么把字通从中国名牌变成国际名牌，这就是我们接下来要全力做的事情。”汤玉祥将证明，宇通正走在一条正确的发展道路上。     

企业信用缺失的原因及对策

企业要发展,关键在于企业是否诚信。企业有了诚信,才能提高企业的经济效益和社会效益,而且可以从根本上解决全社会诚信缺失问题。本文从企业信用缺失问题造成的损失及现状出发,具体分析企业经营过程中出现诚信问题的原因,并在此基础上,提出解决企业诚信问题的对策。     

The Internationalization Process of Singapore Government-Linked Companies: A Contextual View

Western management theories on internationalization do not fully explain the evolution of Asian MNCs. In East Asia, state policy has been an important intervening variable in the growth and development of the local MNCs. However, the patterns of firm growth differ from country to country and the strategic frames are embedded in the local political and cultural context. The internationalization strategies adopted by firms in East Asia are best understood if viewed from a contextual perspective.Singapore has been held as model of economic development for developing countries. This paper attempts to capture the dynamics of the internationalization process from a contextual perspective. It describes the evolution of two government-linked companies in Singapore and reviews their internationalization strategy. The cases are set within the framework of Singapore's political economy and its development policy. We identify the themes in the internationalization process of these firms and contrast their experiences with traditional theories.     

The 1989–92 Credit Crunch for Real Estate: A Retrospective

This study surveys a broad range of information to establish the degree to which real estate lending and construction activity decreased in the 1989–92 period owing to a "credit crunch." It reviews the conditions that led up to the contraction in mortgage lending and construction and then documents the extent to which the evidence is consistent with a credit crunch in lending for residential and nonresidential construction, permanent financing of income properties, and residential mortgage lending. Also, this study weighs the relative importance of the credit crunch and other factors that contributed to the falloff in real estate lending and contrasts the recent period with earlier credit crunch episodes.     

Foreclosure's Wake: The Credit Experiences of Individuals Following Foreclosure

While a substantial literature has examined the causes of mortgage foreclosure, there has been relatively little work on the consequences of foreclosure for the borrowers themselves. Using a large sample of anonymous credit bureau records, observed quarterly from 1999 through 2010, we examine the credit experiences of 330,000 borrowers before and after a foreclosure start. Our analysis documents the substantial declines in credit scores that accompany a foreclosure start and examines the length of time it takes individuals to return their credit scores to predelinquency levels. The results suggest that, particularly for prime borrowers, credit score recovery comes slowly, if at all. The lack of recovery appears to be driven by persistently higher delinquency rates on consumer credit (such as auto and credit card loans) in the years that follow their foreclosure start. Our results also indicate that the experiences of individuals whose mortgages entered foreclosure from 2007 to 2009 have followed a similar path to borrowers foreclosed earlier in the decade, though their postforeclosure‐start delinquency rates have been higher and, consequently, credit score recovery appears to be taking longer.     

The new product development process for commercial financial services

The attention of senior executives in the financial services industry is increasingly being focused on how well the new product development process is working within their institutions. This focus on product development results from the combined pressures of increased competition, a rapidly changing marketplace, new technology, and new and pending legislative changes. All of these factors underscore the need to be able to design, develop, and launch, in a timely fashion, new products that are winners. A strong new product initiative is now considered an essential weapon in both offensive and defensive initiatives.To achieve their goals, executives are increasingly reexamining their organizations' approach to development and launch of new products to determine if the process can be redesigned for faster reaction time, better utilization of limited resources and improved success rates. This article examines the new product development process within the setting of corporate/commercial financial services. Its conclusions provide executives with some broad principles for their own new product processes to help them in their quest for competitive advantage through winning new products.     

Cultural influence on management aspects: The experience of the Chinese in Singapore

A random sample of 306 Singaporean Chinese were interviewed using a structured interview schedule which contained twenty true-to-life situations. The situations were associated with four predetermined value areas: Relational, Temporal, Mannature and Activity. The general value structure of the Chinese in Singapore appears to be as follows: In the Relational area, the values are in the order of collaterality above individualism which in turn is above lineality. In the Temporal area, it is present and/or future above past. Mastery over nature, and harmony with nature subjugation to nature is shown to be the hierarchy in the area of Man-nature. In the Activity area, the value is for doing rather than being. The implications of these value orientations of the Chinese are discussed in relation to organizational behaviour.The research reported here is a part of a broader study into the core value system of the Chinese in Singapore, and the presentation should be seen in that context. The main research was supported by a grant from the National University of Singapore.     

The CAN-SPAM Act: New rules for sending commercial e-mail messages and implications for the sales force

The CAN-SPAM (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing) Act significantly modifies the legal understanding of spam, offers important protections for consumers and, at the same time, holds the company primarily responsible for e-mail sent by salespeople on its behalf. This new law prohibits deceptive headings, using e-mail addresses obtained illegally, requires senders to have a working unsubscribe system, assesses liability, and criminalizes certain types of e-mail actions. Statutory damages are ascribed at up to US$2 million for violations, tripled to US$6 million for intentional violations with unlimited damages for fraud and abuse. Since commercial e-mail messages have become such a vital medium of communication for salespeople, it becomes imperative that sales strategies comply with and benefit from this new regulation. Therefore, this paper serves to clarify the implications of the CAN-SPAM Act for salespeople and sales managers. Specific managerial guidance on how the sales force can comply with this law is provided.     

我国上市公司信用风险评价和度量——基于面板数据Logit模型的实证分析

上市公司的信用风险识别有很多的方法,本文选择构建面板数据的Logit模型进行上市公司的信用风险评价,选择财务指标、市场指标和上市公司的存续时间作为解释变量,实证结果表明,该模型的评价结果具有较高的准确率,有趣的是,上市公司的存续时间和信用风险同向变动.这意味着上市公司的存续时间越长,越需要适当的监管.     

A framework for big data analytics in commercial social networks: A case study on sentiment analysis and fake review detection for marketing decision-making

User-generated content about brands is an important source of big data that can be transformed into valuable information. A huge number of items are reviewed and rated by consumers on a daily basis, and managers have a keen interest in real-time monitoring of this information to improve decision-making. The main challenge is to mine reliable textual consumer opinions, and automatically use them to rate the best products or brands. We propose a framework to automatically analyse these reviews, transforming negative and positive user opinions in a quantitative score. Sentiment analysis was employed to analyse online reviews on Amazon. The Fake Review Detection Framework—FRDF— detects and removes fake reviews using Natural Language Processing technology. The FRDF was tested on reviews of products from high-tech industries. Brands were rated according to consumer sentiment. The findings demonstrate that brand managers and consumers would find this tool useful, in combination with the 5-Star score, for more comprehensive decision-making. For instance, the FRDF ranks the best products by price alongside their respective sentiment value and the 5-Star score.     

Innovation in the Retail Banking Industry: The Diffusion of Credit Scoring

We study technology diffusion in the retail banking industry. Our contribution to the empirical literature is twofold: Firstly, we explore technology diffusion in the financial sector, whose relevance has often been neglected; secondly we focus on credit scoring adoption, a relevant process innovation still under-explored. Estimating a set of duration models, we analyze the patterns of diffusion of this technology among Italian banks. We find that credit scoring is firstly introduced by large banks with broad branch networks, which can fully exploit scale economies. We present robust evidence that banks with large market shares operating in more concentrated markets are early adopters, providing a direct support of the Schumpeterian hypothesis that market power enhances innovation.The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Bank of Italy.     

施工企业信用评价体系分析

全面准确地评价一个企业的信用等级，对于投资而言便于理智地回避风险，引导其进行正确的投资决策；对于企业来说又可以充分利用自己的信用声誉，进一步得到投资的青睐，为企业的发展壮大奠定坚实的基础。施工企业由于缺乏信用管理机制和手段，面临着巨大的信用风险。从施工企业自身的特点，以及银行信贷风险管理和控制的角度出发，本着客观、全面和准确的评价原则，分析研究了施工企业信用等级的评价内容、指标体系和评价方法。     

Political economy of international diversification: The case for partial integration

The literature on international portfolio diversification explored the benefits of international diversification and the pricing of securities in an international context largely from the perspective of an integrated world capital market. Imperfections in the international markets were acknowledged as exogenous variables added to the basically integrated market, and their effects on security prices, consequences of diversification,etc, were then measured. All studies are related, explicitly or implicitly to two extreme situations. One extreme situation is complete segmentation, the other is perfect market integration. This paper begins with a literature review to illustrate the inadequacy of either of the extreme situations described above. A case of partial integration where the barriers are an endogenous part of the model is then presented. Indirect and circumstantial evidence that the international financial markets are partially integrated by design, and not as a result of market failures, is then presented as a preliminary validation of the partial integration model.The authors are thankful for the very valuable comments of Professor Peter Kaus of UCR.     

Uniform accounting system for state-owned enterprises: The case of Taiwan

This article describes the uniform accounting system adopted by government enterprises in Taiwan. Several key elements of the system including the uniform chart of accounts, uniform accounting procedures, and external financial reports are discussed. Some unique accounting practices and special accounts used in the system are also described. The system is compared with the French and Norwegian uniform accounting systems. Similarities and differences among these systems are highlighted. The paper concludes with an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Taiwanese accounting system.The authors are respectively Associate Professor of Accounting at the University of Calgary and Professor and Chairman of the Department of Industrial Management, National Taiwan Institute of Technology. They are grateful to Professors Herbert L. Jensen and Haim Falk for their helpful comments on earlier versions of this paper.