Corporate Governance: Lessons From Barings

The collapse of Barings plc at the end of February 1995 brought two official inquiries which reported very promptly. The British report was made public on 18 July, just over four months after the failure. The Singaporean investigation into the workings of the Barings subsidiary was completed at the beginning of September. Revelations about the events and courses of problems are colourful as well as damning. There are issues in corporate governance arising from this experience. However, an analysis of the workings of Barings plc is essential if substantial understanding of what took place and why is to be secured. The British report did not attempt such an analysis. This oversight hampered analyses of the handicaps to effective funds and risk management as well as failure to develop informative and accurate accounts for auditing, credit control and funding purposes. The governance implications are treated exhaustively.     

Learning about Risk: Some Lessons from Insurance

This paper argues that in the fundamental subject of financialrisk analysis, some valuable lessons may be drawn from insurance.The probability of ruin, defined as a first passage time, carriesa dynamic element whose absence in Value at Risk is one liability,among others. Extreme value theory, which has been successfullyapplied to insurance shortly after it was introduced in probability,may offer a coherent framework for analyzing the extreme movessuch as the ones observed in recent foreign exchange and financialcrises. Lastly, we show that the genuine hazards generated byglobal capital markets and illustrated by the events of summer1998, generate a market incompleteness that existing modelsof defaultable bonds do not fully address. In contrast, thelong experience of risk premium analysis in the insurance andreinsurance industry, as well as the existence of historicaldata on natural disasters, render the valuation of catastrophebonds less perilous than that of defaultable bonds.     

Learning about Risk: Some Lessons from Insurance

This paper argues that in the fundamental subject of financial risk analysis, some valuable lessons may be drawn from insurance. The probability of ruin, defined as a first passage time, carries a dynamic element whose absence in Value at Risk is one liability, among others. Extreme value theory, which has been successfully applied to insurance shortly after it was introduced in probability, may offer a coherent framework for analyzing the extreme moves such as the ones observed in recent foreign exchange and financial crises. Lastly, we show that the genuine hazards generated by global capital markets and illustrated by the events of summer 1998, generate a market incompleteness that existing models of defaultable bonds do not fully address. However, the long experience of risk premium analysis in the insurance and reinsurance industry, as well as the existence of historical data on natural disasters, render the valuation of catastrophe bonds less perilous than that of defaultable bonds.     

Capital Allocation: Evidence,Analytical Methods,and Assessment Guidance

Capital allocation is one of top management's primary responsibilities. Although always important, it is critical today because corporate operating returns on invested capital are at an all‐time high, while recent growth and investment have been modest, and corporate balance sheets in the U.S. have substantial cash. Yet few senior executives are sufficiently well‐versed in finance theory and methods to allocate capital as effectively as possible. Further, incentive programs that focus on meeting earnings per share often encourage behavior that is not in the best interests of long‐term shareholders. In this report, the authors begin with the premise that the goal of corporate capital allocation is to build long‐term value per share; and with that view in mind, they examine the main sources and uses of capital by the largest 1,500 U.S. companies during the last 30 years. More specifically, the authors identify the amounts of capital allocated to each of seven important alternatives, including major uses of capital such as M&Amp;A, capital expenditures, R&D, and distributions of capital to investors such as dividends and stock repurchases. And after reviewing the past allocations of capital to each of these alternatives, the authors summarize the academic research on the effects on corporate values of each of these uses of capital. The authors report that U.S. corporations fund most of their investments internally, and that M&Amp;A and capital expenditures have long been, and continue to be, the largest operating uses of capital, though both capital expenditures and growth in assets have fallen in recent years. At the same time, both corporate cash holdings and distributions to shareholders in the form of dividends and stock buybacks are at record levels. But even with such high payouts, R&D spending as a percentage of revenue by U.S. companies has remained high, and actually increased during the past decade. Finally, the authors provide a framework that can be used either internally or by outsiders to evaluate the capital allocation practices and effectiveness of a management team. This framework asks management to assess its past performance, provide realistic projections of future returns on invested capital, and evaluate their own incentive programs—all while renewing their commitment to the five principles of thoughtful capital allocation: (1) zero‐based capital allocation; (2) funding of strategies, not projects; (3) no capital rationing; (4) zero tolerance for bad growth; and (5) continuous monitoring of the value of all assets and business, and willingness to take action if and when such values are larger outside than inside the firm.     

IRS Private Letter Rulings: Initial Evidence on Determinants and Consequences

This study examines the determinants of firms' requests for Private Letter Rulings (PLRs) from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and their impact on firms' cash holdings. Our results show that PLR requests tend to be made by firms with more active tax planning, more acquisitions, higher analyst following, higher leverage, and less in-house tax expertise. We also show that firms with IRS audit red flags are less likely to request a PLR. We use a difference-in-difference approach to assess changes in cash holdings following PLR requests and report a decrease in cash holdings for PLR firms, consistent with the notion that PLRs act to reduce tax uncertainty. Our study provides the first empirical evidence about the determinants of PLR requests and complements prior work on tax uncertainty and cash holdings (Hanlon, Maydew and Saavedra, 2017).     

Alternative Retirement Income Arrangements and Lifetime Income Inequality: Lessons From Australia

This paper examines the implications for lifetime income equality of alternative retirement income arrangements, using the Australian scheme as a benchmark. In Australia, the pay-as-you go financed age pension is means-tested and thereby provides a contrast with those countries where part or all of a basic pension is paid to all aged persons. Many governments are considering an increase in the level of means-testing. The results show that the introduction of a universal pension coupled with significant changes and simplifications to the structure of taxation and superannuation have little effect on the redistributive impact of the tax structure in a life cycle framework. The presence of means-testing appears to have no significant effect on life-time inequality. The results suggest that it is possible to eliminate complexities from the system providing retirement benefits without having any deleterious effect on equity. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Learning from a Keynote speaker: Lessons from Merton Miller's PACAP addresses

For 10 of its first 11 years, Professor Merton Miller served as the Keynote speaker for the PACAP conference. This article reviews and synthesizes Professor Miller's remarks. His Keynote Addresses were wide-ranging and covered such topics as index arbitrage, stock market bubbles, portfolio insurance, regulation of financial markets, derivatives, capital controls and others. The connecting theme of Professor Miller's Addresses was his unyielding belief that capital markets, especially when unfettered by regulation, can and do play a critical role in facilitating economic growth and opportunity. He coupled that theme with a call for PACAP and its members to contribute to that growth and, thereby, to the well-being of the people of the Pacific Basin countries.     

Enabling Continuous and Discontinuous Innovation: Learning From the Private Sector

Much of the research on innovation to date has been on the private sector (and, within that, biased towards manufacturing) but the processes involved are equally relevant to the public as well as the private sector. This article looks at how innovation is organized and managed, at the routines needed to accomplish the task and at challenges posed by different types of innovation under 'steady-state' and 'discontinuous' conditions. It argues that there is a strong case for learning across public and private sectors, not just in terms of transferring well-proven lessons (adaptive learning), but also for 'generative learning'—building on shared experimentation and comparison of experiences around discontinuous innovation.     

Learning about Predictability: The Effects of Parameter Uncertainty on Dynamic Asset Allocation

This paper examines the effects of uncertainty about the stock return predictability on optimal dynamic portfolio choice in a continuous time setting for a long-horizon investor. Uncertainty about the predictive relation affects the optimal portfolio choice through dynamic learning, and leads to a state-dependent relation between the optimal portfolio choice and the investment horizon. There is substantial market timing in the optimal hedge demands, which is caused by stochastic covariance between stock return and dynamic learning. The opportunity cost of ignoring predictability or learning is found to be quite substantial.     

Preferred Learning Methods: A Comparison between International and Domestic Accounting Students

Abstract

This study provides a comparison between the preferred learning modes (traditional, interactive, group case-based lectures) of international and domestic students undertaking a new undergraduate accounting topic at an Australian university. A Likert-scale survey questionnaire was used to determine the differences and similarities between the two groups. When the results are analysed using the Hofstede model of societal cultural dimensions, they indicate significant differences between the two groups of students with regard to their preferences for formal versus interactive and group case-based lectures. The paper provides a discussion of the implications of these findings for teaching methods, assessment and curriculum development.     

Use of CCA in the Public Sector: Lessons From Australia's Experience With Public Utilities

The background to the widespread adoption by Australian public trading enterprises of a deprival value variant of current cost accounting reflects successive efforts to establish demanding rate of return targets, or to legitimise price increases, or to monitor the financial performance of PTEs on a national basis. The experience of three public utilities in implementing CCA is reviewed. This experience suggests that CCA valuation of infrastructure (using deprival or optimized deprival values) is unable to deliver financial data to permit valid cross-sectional and longitudinal comparisons of performance. Issues raised during the 1970s and 1980s debates about CCA were either ignored or overlooked.     

资本约束对商业银行资产配置行为的影响——基于175家商业银行数据的经验研究

本文使用1998～2009年我国175家商业银行的资产配置数据,研究了资本监管制度对银行资产配置行为的影响。本文发现,现行的资本监管制度对银行资产配置行为具有重要影响,资本监管制度实施之后,银行依据自身资本水平调整资产结构,资本充足银行持有更多的风险资产,贷款比例较高;而资本不足银行则减持风险资产,贷款比例下降。此外,由于不同规模商业银行面临的融资约束不同,资本水平对资产配置行为的影响存在一定的差异,资本对城市及农村商业银行的约束效应更明显。本文的这些发现为监管当局的资本监管政策提供了经验证据,并提出进行差异化监管的政策建议。     

资本计量方法改革、商业银行风险偏好与信贷配置

为提高银行业风险管理水平与信贷配置效率,监管部门于2014年开展了资本管理高级方法的试点工作。本文基于上市银行2010至2016年的微观数据,与银监会公布的行业信贷风险进行匹配,采用双重差分和三重差分法,实证分析前述改革如何影响试点银行的风险偏好和信贷调配。研究发现,在资本管理高级方法实施后:(1)试点银行显著降低了风险加权资产的规模;(2)试点银行风险偏好的变化存在非线性的特征,在调减高风险行业贷款的同时,并未显著增加最安全行业的贷款,而是增加了风险略高行业的贷款,体现出试点银行对风险与收益的权衡;(3)进一步将行业划分为“虚”与“实”,研究发现试点银行减少了房地产业(“虚”)、制造业(“实”)和建筑业(“实”)贷款,显著增加了金融业(“虚”)贷款。本文研究不仅丰富了资本监管方面的文献,也对金融支持供给侧结构性改革具有启示意义。     

Learning about the future: From the learner's perspective

The path for a hopeful future depends on learning, a process that is a complex symphony of human experience. It is a process that demands deep questioning and critique of our world-views. It is a process that requires that we open ourselves to and effectively cope with a myriad of emotions. It is a process that compels us to engage in soul-searching as we explore our human responsibilities and commitments, connect with the meaning and purpose of our very existence and choose paths of action based on those reflections. Learning to care for future generations and the world they will inherit is a unique and holistic process. Our ability to support this form of learning begins with an understanding of the human experience of learning, from the perspective of learners.     

企业外汇风险暴露观测的必要性与方法分析

外汇风险暴露是企业日常经营中可能面临的、可对企业价值产生影响的风险之一.本文从企业外汇风险暴露管理的视角出发,在阐释企业外汇风险暴露相关研究文献的基础上,对我国企业进行外汇风险暴露测度的必要性、方法及技术准备进行了分析,以便为企业进行外汇风险暴露监测与管理提供参考依据.     

Inflation Triggers in Transition Economies: Their Evolution and Specific Features

Analysis of thirty inflation episodes in sixteen European transition economies, using the probit panel model with fixed effects, uncovers inflation triggers that overlap with those obtained in either developing or developed countries or both. However, we found some transition-specific features. Thus, the relative contribution of the triggers evolves as transition progresses, such that the early dominance of the output gap, the fiscal deficit, and elections are subsequently subdued by a rise in food and oil prices, the exchange rate regime, and the current account deficit. The last two triggers could be linked to deep financial integration in Europe and the consequent large flow of capital toward European transition economies in the 2000s, a phenomenon not observed in any other part of the world. In addition, the exchange rate regime as an inflation starter in transitional Europe may be due to its convergence with developed Europe and the resulting real appreciation of currency.     

Catastrophe Bonds and Reinsurance: The Competitive Effect of Information-Insensitive Triggers

We identify a new benefit of index or parametric triggers. Asymmetric information between reinsurers on an insurer's risk affects competition in the reinsurance market: reinsurers are subject to adverse selection, since only high-risk insurers may find it optimal to change reinsurers. The result is high reinsurance premiums and cross-subsidization of high-risk insurers by low-risk insurers. A contract with a parametric or index trigger (such as a catastrophe bond) is insensitive to information asymmetry and therefore alters the equilibrium in the reinsurance market. Provided that basis risk is not too high, the introduction of contracts with parametric or index triggers provides low-risk insurers with an alternative to reinsurance contracts, and therefore leads to less cross-subsidization in the reinsurance market.     

社会保险费率调整的他国镜鉴:从全球趋势到典型国家经验

全球范围内,社会保险费率向下调整成为主流趋势。OECD国家、转轨国家及新兴经济体的平均费率在近十年明显下降,这与劳动生产率增速放缓、制度结构性调整及缴费基数快速上涨有一定关系。德国通过总费率内部结构调整实现了加险种不加负担;美国在费基限额设置上充分体现年龄、个体、职种差异,追求效率亦不失公平;英国的待遇水平与缴费年限严格挂钩,并为社会弱势群体设置缴费抵免优惠,彰显了制度济弱功能;俄罗斯废“税”为“费”,回归“保险”本质;日本的费率调整以财政平衡为目标,实施税制和社会保障“一体化改革”。基于典型国家的费率调整经验,我国的费率改革应坚持长期精算平衡,提升参数公平性,充分考虑特殊弱势群体利益,提高经办管理效率及统筹考虑综合税赋,以参数改革推动制度深层次结构性改革。