Do Depositors Benefit from Bank Mergers? An Examination of the UK Deposit Market

This study examines whether depositors benefit from bank mergers Specifically, do horizontal retail bank mergers influence the availability and interest rates of deposit services? This examination is important, as the effect of mergers on customers is a primary merger assessment criterion in the European Union and the United States. The research question is addressed by considering 57 UK banking mergers over the period 1989–2008. It is reported that different deposit services and deposits of different values face statistically insignificant levels of interest-rate change after mergers. The availability of notice deposit services for low and high levels of investment are reduced after mergers and are largely unchanged for other deposit services. It is concluded that UK depositors benefit little from bank mergers, and different types of depositor face differences in the availability of deposit services after mergers.     

邮储银行发展面临的问题及对策

邮储银行的挂牌、运作近来已成为人们关注的焦点，本文从它所面临的定位、监管、经营风险等问题出发，提出有助于邮储银行发展的相关对策。     

法国邮政银行的发展及其对我国的启示

法国是世界上邮政银行业务发展最为完善的国家之一。作为我国金融体制和邮政体制改革的产物,中国邮政储蓄银行以独立的商业银行的姿态进入中国金融市场,应借鉴法国邮政银行的成熟经验,并结合自身实际进行业务发展和创新,真正成为全能的现代商业银行。     

The Cognitive Consumer Education Knowledge of Prospective Teachers: A National Assessment

A nationwide assessment of the cognitive consumer education knowledge of prospective teachers being trained for all academic disciplines included 84 institutions of higher education and provided usable data on 4,309 respondents. The sample scored less than sixty percent correct on the Test of Consumer Competencies. Prospective teachers were most knowledgeable in the areas of Recreation, Clothing, and The Individual in the Marketplace; they scored lowest in the areas of Taxes, Food, and Savings and Investment. Those majoring in Social Studies, History or Geography, Science, and Home Economics scored highest on the average while those majoring in Physical Education, Art and Music, and Special Education scored lowest. The prospective teachers who had completed a consumer education related course, approximately twelve percent of the total, scored higher than those who had not.     

Bank lending channel in a dual banking system: Why are Islamic banks so responsive?

We examine the interest rate sensitivity of both deposits and credits at Islamic and conventional banks in Turkey. We find that the bank lending channel is especially operative for Islamic banks. Impulse responses for conventional and Islamic banks reveal that Islamic bank depositors’ sensitivity to policy rate changes is substantially larger than that of conventional bank depositors. Next to heavily dependence on deposit funding, we consider that inertia in Islamic bank deposit rates impedes these banks to keep those depositors who consider the opportunity cost of monetary policy rates is unbearable. On the lending side, we obtain similar results, implying that tight monetary policy leads to a larger contraction in Islamic bank credits. This finding is a reflection of the favourable attitude of Islamic banks towards small and medium‐sized enterprise (SME) financing. When similar relationships are analysed for currency and inflation shocks, we again find larger responses for Islamic banks showing the cyclical nature of SME credits.     

Saving Practices of New Canadians from Vietnam and Laos

This study is the first to focus on saving patterns of a growing group of newcomers to Canada—people of Asian origin who arrived as refugees. Data are from personal interviews with 649 Boat People (Chinese Vietnamese, ethnic Vietnamese, and Laotians) who settled in Canada between 1979–81. Saving money was reported by 80 percent, with the usual pattern being to save money left after paying expenses. Main reasons for saving are emergencies and education of children. Nontraditional methods (bank accounts and Registered Retirement Savings Plans) indicate that the newcomers have access to and are using formal financial services. Several variables (i.e., age and marital status) that are usually associated with savings were not significant; but, as in other studies, higher education, satisfaction with income, and employment were associated with having savings. Ethnic differences suggest differing rates of acculturation for this group.     

Household savings and present bias among Chinese couples: A household bargaining approach

Family savings is crucial to long-term wellbeing for all members in a household, particularly in a Chinese context where costs of living increasingly shift from government to individuals. Savings are typically examined as a balance of financial behaviors and spending preferences; however, this study highlights how savings in a family context is also a function of relationship status. Drawing on intra-household bargaining models, we analyze data from the 2014 China Family Panel Studies to examine the extent to which men's and women's relative power in the household explain variation in savings levels across families. Our findings indicate that women's greater bargaining positions (e.g., income and assets) correspond with greater savings for the family. However, such bargaining power constitutes a net negative for family savings when women have both greater relational power and higher spending preferences. We suggest that family savings can and should be understood as an outcome of dynamic bargaining conditions in addition to income factors.     

Tax‐Time Savings among Low‐Income Households in the $aveNYC Program

This article explores savings outcomes for participants in the $aveNYC tax‐time matched savings program compared with a group of New York City tax filers who were not offered the program. $aveNYC was administered at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance sites during the 2008–2010 tax seasons. The program offered taxpayers the opportunity to open a savings account with their tax refund and receive a 50% match on their initial deposit. The study's primary outcome is savings held by respondents 6–11 months after receipt of matching funds. We compare participants in the 2009 program cohort to a comparison group on the following outcomes: level of savings, having nonzero savings, and having enough savings to cover one or two months of expenses at current consumption levels. We find significant differences on savings levels, the presence of any savings, and the likelihood of having savings to meet one month's expenses.     

高储蓄：新视角下的最优化分析及影响因素研究

近年来我国经济保持了高水平的增长，根据有关部门测算，2009年全年GDP增速达到9．2％，人均GDP达到3736美元，同时我国的国内生产总值已跃升为世界第三位．但是，与之形成鲜明对比的是我国的城乡居民储蓄存款总额节节攀升。有资料显示，1995年的国内蓄率为42％，2003年为45％，至2006年达56％。据央行公布的金融统计数据显示，截至2007年底，全国居民储蓄总额为17．6万亿人民币，同比增长了6．8％。有必要用计量回归的实证方法进行分析     

Understanding how consumer education impacts shoppers over time: A longitudinal field study of unit price usage

There remains a lack of empirical evidence for what constitutes effective consumer education around unit pricing in grocery stores, despite researchers continually highlighting the importance of such education. Much of the early work on unit pricing describes self-report estimates of usage, or results of simulated shopping studies which can lack external validity. The current research reports one of the first longitudinal field experiments to examine the impact of consumer education on unit price usage over time, and is based on shoppers' actual grocery spending. Shoppers receiving consumer education displayed progressively higher levels of savings across the first six weeks of the study to a peak of about 17–18%, declining to around 11–13% by the end of the study. Savings were achieved by shoppers from all income levels, and increased with the provision of personalized comparative feedback. The study offers theoretical insights and important practical implications for retailers and policy makers.     

Das europäische Finanzsystem nach dem Zypernprogramm

This article analyses the background of the Cypriot banking crisis and discusses the parameters of the multilateral assistance programme that was agreed to in March 2013. It argues that the existing deposit insurance scheme in Cyprus has been circumvented in order to force large bank creditors to pay for the bailout of retail depositors. The result is a high level of uncertainty in European financial markets, which can only be overcome by a rapid completion of a banking union.     

Rivalry and expense-preference behavior among savings banks: The role of deposit rate ceilings

Past empirical investigation of banks' response to deposit interest rate ceilings is limited. Little, if any, conceptual or empirical recognition exists that the extent of increase in non-price rivalry and expense-preference behavior is apt to have varied among banks in a way systematically related to banks' pre-ceiling behavior.This paper focuses on the pattern of deposit interest rates and non-interest expenditures of Massachusetts mutual savings banks before and after the imposition of deposit interest ceilings. Among key findings, it is noted that savings banks paying higher deposit interest rates prior to the ceilings were the ones which most increased their non-interest expenditures after the ceilings' imposition. Interpretation of this response to deposit ceilings bears important implications for past studies of expense-preference behavior.     

Home Warranties: An Analysis of an Emerging Development in Consumer Protection

Although warranty coverage on consumer products is a universally accepted form of protection, the extension of similar coverage to buyers of new and used homes is a developing practice. Home warranties serve a dual purpose: they reduce a homebuyer's risk of substantial financial loss, and protect the builder, seller or real estate vendor from legal liability should undisclosed material defects occur after a sale. In an effort to examine consumer reactions to home warranties, a mail survey was conducted of recent purchasers residing in four central counties of New York State. It was found that two-thirds of the 571 single-family homeowners who responded were aware of warranties on new housing and 97 percent were in favor of such coverage. Only 22 percent were aware of warranties for resale homes and 56 percent favored such coverage. Unexpected defects costing more than $100 were experienced by 55 percent of the sample. However, only 27 percent of the sample had defects which were warrantable under most current warranty programs.     

构建农村信用社存款保险制度分析与思考

存款保险制度可以增强农村信用社的抗风险能力,有效维护存款人的利益,强化金融监管,维护农村金融体系的稳定。因此,建立农村信用社存款保险制度是我国农村经济金融发展的客观需要,建立存款保险制度需要统筹考虑各种影响因素。     

Increasing Inflationary Pressure

China＇s CPI rose to 8.7 percent in February after hitting 7.1 percent in January,creating a 12-year high, the National Bureau of Statistics said.The figure exceeded market expectations,as the Bank of China,the country＇s second- largest lender,     

A meta-analysis of the impact of price presentation on perceived savings

Pricing is one of the most crucial determinants of sales. Besides the actual price, how the price offering is presented to consumers also affects consumer evaluation of the product offering. Many studies focus on “price framing,” i.e., how the offer is communicated to the consumer —is the offered price given along with a reference price, is the reference price plausible, is a price deal communicated in dollar or percentage terms. Other studies focus on “situational effects,” e.g., is the evaluation for a national brand or a private brand, is it within a discount store or a specialty store. In this article, a meta-analysis of 20 published articles in marketing examines the effects of price frames and situations on perceived savings. The results reveal many features that significantly influence perceived savings. For instance, while both the percent of deal and the amount of deal positively influence perceived deal savings, deal percent has more impact. Further, the presence of a regular price as an external reference price enhances the offer value of large plausible deal and implausible deals, but not of small plausible deals. Thus, high value deals should announce the regular price, but not low value deals. Overall, the results have several useful insights for designing promotions.     

Financial openness,disclosure and bank risk-taking in MENA countries

In this paper, we analyze the risk-taking behavior of banks in emerging economies in a context of international capital mobility. Our paper highlights a new channel through which depositors can exercise pressure to control risk-taking. Depositors can reallocate their savings away from their home country to the more protective system of a developed economy. We recover a classical result according to which increased competition resulting from more international financial openness induces banks to take excessive risks. We find however that sufficiently high financial openness is necessary for a positive link between financial transparency and safe risk management. Finally, we test the relationship between disclosure, financial openness and bank risk-taking for a panel of 258 banks from the MENA region and Turkey.     

对我国建立存款保险制度的思考

建立存款保险制度有利于保持存款人信心,增加银行制度的稳定性,减少政府对国有商业银行的干预。为了维护存款人的利益,摆脱政府的隐性担保,保护我国金融体系运行的安全稳定,我国银行应建立存款保险制度。并高度注意道德风险、金融监管、基本制度保障等问题,以保证存款保险制度的有效性。     

Red price? Red flag! Eye-tracking reveals how one red price can hurt a retailer

Retailers present prices in red color to signal savings. Past research has shown that presenting all prices in red increases perceived savings from the store. However, in practice, retailers often present just one price in red in promotion materials with multiple prices. Will consumers perceive higher savings from the store even if only one price is presented in red? This research examines this prevalent retail practice using a theoretical lens. The theoretical framework predicts that two unique learned associations with red color (red: Savings and red: Stop) play a key role in shaping consumers' perception of savings from stores that highlight only one price in red. This research proposes and empirically demonstrates that consumers perceive lower savings from stores that present only one price in red. The theoretical framework is validated using a multi-method approach that combines the strengths of behavioral and physiological (eye-tracking) methods. Findings from this research suggest that presenting only one price in red lowers perceived savings from the store, which may hurt sales.     

Prices of Unpackaged and Packaged Foods

Prices of packaged and unpackaged items sold in the same retail out-let were compared in 19 northern California supermarkets. The magnitude of potential price savings depended upon the size and type of product purchased. Savings would most likely accrue to the purchaser of small rather than large quantities of unpackaged products. The future of unpackaged foods is linked to technical developments in sealed dispensers that limit customer access to the product.