'Banking' trees as loan collateral: financing approaches for small-scale forest producers in Thailand

We study factors affecting micro, small and medium‐sized enterprises (MSMEs) receiving loans and the effect of these loans on MSMEs performance. We study two types of loans – a new type based on cash flows and a traditional‐style loan based on collateral. We use unique surveys of MSMEs from Bulgaria, Georgia, Russia and Ukraine. We find that MSMEs receiving a cash flow or collateral loan in the past are more likely to receive the same type of loan (and larger sized) in the future and that cash flow loans may be the preferred form of credit. Both types of loans are related positively to most performance indicators, enabling the MSMEs for instance to be more profitable and expand production. The cash flow loans also appear to be particularly attractive credit delivery schemes for micro and small enterprises. Finally, the effects of the smallest loans are often negative, suggesting that the minimum loan size is an important policy issue.

Many studies of mortgage lending activity have documented large and persistent racial disparities, including the provision of information to prospective home loan applicants, mortgage loan instrument selection, and the loan application decision process. This chapter seeks to evaluate discrimination in home mortgage originations by examining the performance of mortgage loan portfolios. It provides a description of the data used in the analysis and empirical specifications of the models. The theory predicts that this discrimination changes loan performance at the margin. The study employs a rich Federal Housing Administration (FHA) data set to evaluate the determinants of loan performance as measured by both the likelihood of default and the losses that occur in the event of default. In keeping with program objectives, the FHA program tends to serve relatively high-risk borrowers, and the vast majority of FHA-insured loans entail very high loan-to-value ratios. First-time homebuyers and moderate-income borrowers comprise a large proportion of all FHA borrowers.

Lack of wealth for a down payment is one of the most recognized barriers to home ownership. In response to this barrier, state and federal government have implemented many programs that provide down payment assistance to potential home buyers. Numerous studies have shown that this assistance can increase homeownership rates, but few have measured how receiving assistance may alter borrowing behavior. Using data from a down payment assistance grant in the Midwest, this study compares the loan type and size of grant recipients to other borrowers that report similar income and buy homes in the same census tract. Results indicate grant recipients are more likely to use conventional loans, which are less expensive than other loan types that require a smaller down payment. Estimates also suggest that the grant may reduce loan size for borrowers who are on the margin of using a conventional loan.

Effects of operators’ strategic approach to local content and in-country spending requirements on financial performance of upstream petroleum sector firms, Ghana

This study explores the impact of credit cost management on the financial performance of businesses in Kenya's hospitality sector. Specifically, it examines how interest rates, loan collateral, and loan repayment terms influence the profitability and financial stability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the industry. The study is supported by Loanable funds theory, Credit scorecards theory and Tradeoff theory. Through a desk review of existing literature, the study identifies that high interest rates increase the cost of borrowing, creating financial pressure on businesses, while lower rates support profitability. Loan collateral is found to be a major determinant of access to credit, with businesses that provide sufficient collateral securing loans more easily. Flexible loan repayment terms contribute to better cash flow management and liquidity, improving overall financial performance. The study concludes that effective credit cost management is critical for the success of hospitality businesses and recommends that financial institutions and policymakers collaborate to provide more favorable credit terms, including lower interest rates, reduced collateral requirements, and more flexible repayment options. Increased transparency in loan agreements and government interventions to support SMEs are also essential for fostering financial growth in the sector.

Farmer co-operatives are considered the backbone of agricultural development and the main pillars in facilitating socio and economic development. However, their contribution is small in many countries due to governance problems. This paper investigated the effect of governance on financial performance among Irish potato farmers’ co-operatives (IPFCs). To address the objectives of the paper, data were collected from 32 primary co-operatives that had complied with audited financial reports in Northern and Western Provinces. Questionnaire, focus group discussions and key informant interviews were used to collect primary data. Secondary data from audited financial statements were collected to analyse selected co-operatives’ financial performance in terms of Return On Assets. Pearson correlation and multiple regression were used for data analysis. The results showed that members' participation, accountability, transparency, and leadership are significant factors contributing to the financial performance of IPFCs. However, the relationship between policy compliance on financial performance, co-operative structure and financial performance was not statistically significant. As revealed, most IPFCs experience poor leadership to run their co-operatives smoothly. Based on the findings, Rwanda Co-operative Agency (RCA) and other community development partners should organise ongoing capacity-building training for IPFCs’ leaders, to ensure self-governance and curtail the interference of local authorities within the administration of co-operatives under the pretext of reported mismanagement and poor leadership. This paper generates facts toinform IPFCs, community development partners, and policymakers about the major factors that can affect the financial performance of farmers’ co-operatives. In addition, the paper contributes to the literature by analysing governance practices that affect the financial performance of agricultural co-operatives in developing countries perspective.

This paper is written for the independent operator considering project financing in his operations. What the operator can expect in making these financial arrangements and how project financing compares to other financing methods is discussed. Within the past decade, large amounts of capital have been needed by the petroleum industry to finance projects worldwide, especially in the North Sea area. In this area project financing has been used by companies having different objectives which include at least one of the following: raising capital, reducing financial exposure, or reducing capital costs1. In project financing the source of repayment is limited to the cash flow stream provided by a particular project. It can be used alone or in conjunction with other types of financing to provide a desired result relative to the corporate balance sheet and to the relative assumption of risks in the project between the borrower and the lender2,3. Historically, financing for the small, independent company active in exploration and production involves oil production loans from commercial banks when the company has proved producing reserves to provide collateral for these loans. When such reserves are not available or the capital requirements outstrip the collateral value for conventional bank financing, the operator will resort to equity financing. Equity financing for the independent operator can include public and private limited partnerships, farmouts, and/or sale of a portion of the independent's interest at a promoted price. These types of equity financing are used by both public and private independent companies. Equity financing provides for spreading the risk and sharing the available capital within the industry, and also provides an important source of capital from outside the industry.

The purpose of this study is: to test whether there are differences in financial performance between Savings and Loans Cooperatives and Sharia Financing (KSPPS) and Conventional Savings and Loans Cooperatives (KSP) by comparing 5 (five) variables, namely: Liquidity, Solvency, Economic Rentability, Asset Growth , and Member Growth. This study uses secondary data with a total of 10 (ten) Cooperatives with details of 5 (five) Savings and Loan Cooperatives and Shari’ah Financing (KSPPS) and Conventional Savings and Loans Cooperatives (KSP) of 5 (five) with observation periods between 2013 - 2017. The statistical analysis method used is the two average differences used to test the difference in performance of the two data groups with 5 (variables) measured. The results showed that the variable Liquidity, Solvabolity, Asset Growth, and Member Growth there was no difference in performance between Savings and Loans Cooperatives and Sharia Financing (KSPPS) with Conventional Savings and Loans Cooperatives (KSP). While the Economic Rentability variable shows a difference, namely KSPSS has better performance than KSP. The limitations of this study are the shorter observation time and the small number of samples. While suggestions can be given for future research is that more research samples can be added, research variables can also be added and the research area can be expanded.

The study used a descriptive research design through conjoint analysis to examine clients' preferences for loan products offered by a multi-purpose cooperative in Compostela, Davao de Oro. A fractional factorial design was applied to identify the optimal combination of loan attributes. The sample included 230 banana workers selected through stratified random sampling, who responded to 19-item plan cards developed from Key Informant Interviews (KII). The results revealed that clients prefer five key loan product attributes: interest on investment, loan collateral, loan terms, online facilities, and transaction notifications. These findings contribute to refining cooperative loan products by reinforcing ethical standards, prioritizing member interests, transparency, and social responsibility. They also guide cooperatives and regulators in designing sustainable, customer-focused loan policies aligned with cooperative values, supporting financial needs and long-term social and environmental well-being.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0106/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Background: This paper looks at how sustainability accounting practices affect the financial performance of companies in Turkana County, Kenya-a geographically vulnerable area being a dry land with a high ecological and operational risk to businesses. As sustainability accounting continues to become an important strategic tool in improving transparency, resource management and long-term resilience, the research aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of environmental reporting, resource efficiency tracking, and sustainability standards compliance with financial performance of business. Methodology: A mixed-methods approach was used, with the survey of 222 businesses being identified by the use of the stratified random sampling technique, but supplemented by the key informant interviews and case studies. The analysis of the quantitative data employed correlation and regression methodology, whereas the qualitative data were analyzed through the thematic analysis to enhance the results interpretation. Results: Correlation results indicate that environmental reporting practices have a moderate and statistically significant positive relationship with financial performance (r = 0.58, p = 0.001). Resource efficiency tracking also shows a positive, though weaker, significant relationship (r = 0.42, p = 0.008), suggesting that firms that track and optimize resource use gain gradual financial benefits. Compliance with sustainability standards further exhibits a significant positive association with financial performance (r = 0.55, p = 0.003), highlighting the value of regulatory and industry alignment. Regression analysis confirms sustainability practice adoption as a strong predictor of business financial performance. A one-unit increase in sustainability adoption leads to a 0.68-unit increase in financial performance (? = 0.68, t = 5.67, p < 0.001), indicating substantial financial benefits associated with integrating sustainability into business operations. Conclusions and Recommendations: The study concludes that sustainability accounting enhances profitability, operational efficiency, and competitiveness. It recommends strengthening environmental reporting systems, promoting resource-efficiency investments, and enhancing regulatory incentives to accelerate sustainability adoption among businesses in Turkana County.

The financial services provided by the banking sector play a vital role in business activities in Malaysia. Motor vehicle financing is one of the products being offered to the public. Due to the publics’ positive perception or belief in Islamic banking operation, a large number of conventional banks offer the Islamic system of loan. Therefore, the specific objective of this paper is to determine the performance or competitiveness of Islamic car financing compared to conventional car loan, namely, hire purchase, in Malaysia. The constant market share analysis (CMSA) is adapted to decompose the change in loan into two aspects, namely, the competitive effect and the growth effect. The secondary data of car loans from 2011 to 2014 are used in the study. The findings show that Islamic car financing is becoming more competitive and expected to surpass the amount of conventional loans starting year 2018. However the growth effect for Islamic car financing is still lower.

This study identified credit risk factors in the Nigerian banking sector and developed a hybrid deep learning model to improve credit facility engagements. Both secondary and primary datasets were employed. Secondary data were sourced from selected commercial banks and peer-reviewed publications, while primary data were gathered through Key Informant Interviews (KII) with experienced commercial bankers. Categorical features underwent data transformation, and feature importance was assessed using mutual information, which informed the generation of a reformed dataset. A Hybrid Deep Learning classification model was formulated and simulated using varying proportions of the hold-one-out method via Google Colaboratory. Model performance was evaluated based on accuracy, true positive rate, false positive rate, and precision. Six key features were identified as most relevant to credit risk classification: monthly income, annual income, amount invested monthly, outstanding debt, equated monthly installments, and type of loan. The DNN-based model trained on these features achieved a prediction accuracy of 99.9%, significantly reducing redundancy across the original 23 features and cutting processing time. Furthermore, the Hybrid model (combining an AutoEncoder with a Deep Neural Network) outperformed a standalone DNN-based model by 46.8%. The study concluded that selecting relevant features for predictive modelling tasks reduces model complexity, simulation time, and memory usage, collectively contributing to improved performance. These findings offer a practical framework for enhancing credit risk assessment in the Nigerian banking sector through intelligent, efficiency-driven machine learning approaches.

The role of landscape management practices to address natural resource degradation and human vulnerability in Awash River basin, Ethiopia

Analysis of Acacia hybrid timber value chains: A case study of woodchip and furniture production in central Vietnam

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of co-operative characteristics on the financial performance of Irish Potato Farmer Co-operatives (IPFCs) in Northern and Western Provinces, of Rwanda.&#x0D; Design/Methodology/Approach - The study employed a relational research design in cross-sectional research. A purposive sampling technique was used in selecting 32 IPFCs out of 64 observations that complied with audited financial reports for the period 2018 and 2019 were the primary data used for the research. Key Informants Interviews (KIIs), and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were employed for data collection. Panel regression analysis was used as it is suitable to deal with fixed effects (FE) or random effects (RE) error components presented in the model.&#x0D; Findings - The paper results showed that liquidity, leverage, the number of employees, the value of total assets and the value of share capital are significant factors that contribute to financial performance measured in terms of Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE). The paper also revealed a limited financial capacity for most IPFCs in the study area, challenging their growth.&#x0D; Research Limitation: Legal, political factors, technological and cultural factors influencing the performance of farmer co-operatives were not considered in this paper.&#x0D; Practical Implications - The recommendations will mainly assist IPFCs in achieving desired financial performance and provision of expected services to members. IPFCs are recommended to mobilise their members to increase their shareholding, to raise capital for their co-operatives and thus improve performance levels.&#x0D; Social Implication: This paper generates facts to inform stakeholders such as policymakers and non-governmental organizations.&#x0D; Originality/Value - This paper took a holistic perspective to cover all the co-operative-specific characteristics in the performance evaluation.