Financial Conglomerates Research Articles

A política bancária do regime militar: o projeto de conglomerado (1967-1973)

Este artigo examina a política bancária e financeira conduzida por Delfim Netto de 1967 a 1973, a qual se revestiu de características específicas. São examinadas as pronunciadas tendências à concentração no segmento dos bancos comerciais privados e a sua expansão para outras faixas de operação, formando conglomerados financeiros e, assim, alterando profundamente a estrutura projetada originalmente pela reforma de 1964. Ambos os processos estiveram vinculados à orientação particular da política econômica a partir de 1967, cujo sentido maior encontrou expressão na tentativa de implementar, no governo Médici, um projeto de conglomerado integrando banco e indústria, visando a consolidar um segmento de grandes empresas privadas nacionais. O artigo sistematiza evidência disponível acerca desse projeto estratégico - um capítulo importante da política econômica durante uma fase do regime militar.

A practical approach to blend insurance in the banking network

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to look at the main empirical findings related to the bank‐insurance model and to outline the market practices across the world. The market dynamics underpinning the bancassurance phenomenon are analyzed alongside discussions of the various bancassurance products and bank‐insurance modes of entry.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents a brief survey of the bank‐insurance trend and provides an insight into the underlying dynamics and corporate structures of financial conglomerates.FindingsThere is an uneven success of the bancassurance phenomenon across the world. It is not clear whether re‐regulation is the cause or response to globalization, and vice versa, which in turn both shape the bancassurance arena. A number of incentives for the formation of financial conglomerates are identified. Finally, three modes of entry have been documented to reflect market realities.Originality/valueThe paper will be of value to those interested in financial conglomerates, banking and insurance. It is suitable for academics and practitioners alike.

Integration of Financial Supervision

The emergence of financial conglomerates and multinational financial institutions as well as the development of new financial products have raised concerns as to the ability of separate sectoral supervisors and different national authorities to effectively oversee financial markets. Concentrating on the European situation, this paper addresses these concerns by putting special emphasis on the role of organizational form in the supervisory process of financial institutions. I will first outline the developments that have led to increasing pressures to reform the current supervisory systems in Europe, proceed to discuss both some common and specific aspects of supervision of financial conglomerates and multinationals, and, finally, examine the challenges related to the integration of supervision. Using theoretical framework derived from economic theory, this paper points that multitude of factors (eg, several multitasking-related concerns) are likely to affect the effectiveness of integrated supervision.

Some results on the CTE-based capital allocation rule

Tasche [Tasche, D., 1999. Risk contributions and performance measurement. Working paper, Technische Universität München] introduces a capital allocation principle where the capital allocated to each risk unit can be expressed in terms of its contribution to the conditional tail expectation (CTE) of the aggregate risk. Panjer [Panjer, H.H., 2002. Measurement of risk, solvency requirements and allocation of capital within financial conglomerates. Institute of Insurance and Pension Research, University of Waterloo, Research Report 01–15] derives a closed-form expression for this allocation rule in the multivariate normal case. Landsman and Valdez [Landsman, Z., Valdez, E., 2002. Tail conditional expectations for elliptical distributions. North American Actuarial J. 7 (4)] generalize Panjer’s result to the class of multivariate elliptical distributions. In this paper we provide an alternative and simpler proof for the CTE-based allocation formula in the elliptical case. Furthermore, we derive accurate and easy computable closed-form approximations for this allocation formula for sums that involve normal and lognormal risks.

Dynamics and regulatory system of Indian financial markets

PurposeThis paper aims to trace the evolution of Indian financial market structure and regulation, in the broad dialectic sense and to suggest a consolidated, holistic regulatory model.Design/methodology/approachThe paper sketches the evolution of Indian financial market structure and its regulation in terms of dialectic cycles. The first cycle extending practically over four decades, from the 1950s to the 1980s, was a period of foundation, expansion, and policy introspection. The decade of the 1990s marked the commencement of the second cycle – a period of liberalization and emergence of financial conglomerates. The Indian financial system has since completed one full circle in the dialectic process and is now passing through the last phase (synthesis) of the second cycle. Based on this dialectic approach, a consolidated and holistic regulatory model has been developed and suggested.FindingsThe paper concludes that, from a regulatory perspective, the recent developments in the financial sector have led to an appreciation of the limitations of the present segmental approach to financial regulation and favors adopting a consolidated supervisory approach to financial regulation and supervision, irrespective of its structural design.Originality/valueThis paper will be of value to financial regulators, financial intermediaries and investors across all the countries, developed as well as developing. It will facilitate and guide in the process of regulatory restructuring and strengthening the overall health of the financial markets.

Supervision and Class Action Against Conflicts of Interest in 'Universal Banking': US Experience vis-a-vis Recent Italian Initiatives

The recent wake of financial scandals has prompted also in Italy a heated debate on how to regulate conflicts of interest emerging when banks simultaneously carry out commercial banking, on the one hand, and investment banking, on the other. Following this debate the article focuses its attention on US legal instruments that prevent and sanction abuses from conflicts of interests. Hence, it illustrates the guidelines of the US supervision system after the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (Paragraph 2) and the essential and most debated features of the US class action (Paragraph 3). The analysis carried out is the basis for a number of final remarks on the Italian initiatives concerning: (a) rules establishing organizational constraints in order to prevent conflicts of interest in universal banks; (b) proposed procedural rules which, aggregating lawsuits, aim at facilitating investors' access to justice. The evolution of the US regulatory framework about conflicts of interest in universal banks provides two useful indications. First, with regard to protection of investors through supervision over financial conglomerates, it suggests that in order to have efficient and competitive intermediaries it seems more appropriate to adopt a flexible approach, holding financial intermediaries responsible for the selection and implementation of the governance system that they deem more adequate to their specific structure. Second, with regard to protection of investors through an easy access to judicial redress, the US experience suggests to focus our attention on legal and market instruments that can help mitigate the risk that the collective action become an opportunity for the extraction of private benefits of various agents involved in the representation of investors' interests.

Regulating financial conglomerates

We analyze the risk-taking incentives of a financial conglomerate that combines a bank and a non-bank financial intermediary. The conglomerate's risk-taking incentives depend on the level of market discipline it faces, which in turn is determined by the conglomerate's liability structure. We examine optimal capital regulation for standalone institutions, for integrated conglomerates and holding company conglomerates. We show that, when capital requirements are set optimally, capital arbitrage within holding company conglomerates can raise welfare by increasing market discipline. Because they have a single balance sheet, integrated conglomerates extend the reach of the deposit insurance safety net to their non-bank divisions. We show that the extra risk-taking that this effect causes may wipe out the diversification benefits within integrated conglomerates. We discuss the policy implications of these results.

De Facto versus De Jure Bank–Insurance Ventures in the Greek Market

The present study delves into the bank–insurance phenomenon in Greece. The paper explores the market-based practices surfacing through the bank–insurance interface and delineates the possible theoretical corporate structures. A review of the various financial ventures in the domestic market is provided aiming to unveil corporate patterns both in a cross-venture and time series framework. As a result of this survey, the existence of de jure limits versus de facto boundaries, as expanded by loopholes and avoidance activities, is established. The “traditional” subsidiary model is complemented by a number of multi-ventures as banks make inroads into the insurance business. The latter is associated with the presence of multinational firms and foreign direct investment in the region. The analysis is further extended by examining the drivers, motives and operational issues pertinent to these financial conglomerates.

Firm balance sheets and monetary policy transmission

The functioning of internal capital markets in financial conglomerates facilitates a novel identification strategy of the balance sheet channel of monetary policy. We look at small subsidiary banks that are affiliated with the same holding company but operate in different geographical areas. These banks face the same marginal cost of funds due to internal capital markets, but face different borrowers as they concentrate their lending with small local businesses. Exploring cross-sectional variation in local economic conditions across these subsidiaries, we investigate whether borrower creditworthiness influences the response of bank lending to monetary policy. Our results are consistent with a demand-driven transmission mechanism that works through firm balance sheets and is independent from the bank lending channel.

A Report on the Transatlantic Financial Services Regulatory Dialogue

The Transatlantic Financial Markets Dialogue led by the SEC and the European Commission has achieved some notable successes, particularly with respect to the consolidated supervision of financial conglomerates and the development of a plan to achieve convergence in corporate financial reporting. On both sides of the Atlantic there is a clear ongoing commitment to the Dialogue as a key mechanism for the development of efficient and credible regulatory solutions that guarantee effective investor protection and a high level of business efficiency. This paper reports on a two-day roundtable discussion that took place at Cambridge University, UK, in September 2005 to explore ways in which the academic community can contribute to this transatlantic debate. Lively discussion between the policymakers, regulators, market participants and academics who attended the roundtable yielded a number of thematic concerns, which, the paper suggests, could form the basis of a programme for further work. Finally, the paper announces the establishment of a seminar series, to be based in the UK, on the Transatlantic Financial Services Regulatory Dialogue and invites contributions.

The Cultural Phenomenon of Identity Theft and the Domestication of the World Wide Web

Through a critique of the rhetorical configurations of identity theft, this article contributes to the emerging body of theory contending with the social effects of digital information technologies (DIT). It demonstrates how the politics of fear manipulate technosocial matrices in order to derive consent for radical changes such as the domestication of the Web and the instrumentalization of identity. Specifically, this critique attends to these tasks by performing a rhetorical reading of three recent television commercials that were heavily circulated by the international financial conglomerate, Citigroup Incorporated. Based on this reading, which is heavily indebted to Foucaldian theories of power and discipline, a distinction is drawn between identity theft as it is configured in juridico-political discourse and the cultural phenomenon of identity theft, which functions as a technosocial myth.

An Assessment of The Bank for International Settlements

This article reviews the role of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and its adaptability to the changing international financial structure, from the gold standard to floating exchange rates. Today, the BIS has assumed the role of creator of international standards for banks and financial conglomerates through the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Its implied mission is to prevent international financial crises and to mitigate negative externalities when they occur. The overall assessment of the BIS is positive. Its small membership gives it a sense of purpose and minimizes free riding. Given the high degree of financial integration in the world and consequent large spill-overs, the BIS would have to be created if it did not already exist.

Capital Adequacy Regulation and Financial Conglomerates

A topical concern in public-policy debate is that the current capital adequacy regulation designed for stand-alone financial institutions exhibits several weaknesses due to the emergence of large financial institutions combining several activities under common control. This paper addresses these concerns using a theoretical framework derived from the economic literature. I will first describe the possible causes of the emergence of financial conglomerates, proceed to consider the theoretical background for the regulation of financial institutions, especially insurance and banking companies, and, finally, examine the limitations of the current regulatory framework in controlling the risks in financial conglomerates. My conclusions provide little support for the view that the regulatory approach should be modified towards a more consolidated one (i.e., harmonization).

Investment Banks as Insiders and the Market for Corporate Control

We study holdings in M&A targets by financial conglomerates which affiliated investment banks advise the bidders. We show that advisors take positions in the targets before M&A announcements. These stakes are positively related to the probability of observing the bid and to the target premium. We argue that this can be explained in terms of advisors, privy to important information about the deal, investing in the target in the expectation of its price to increase. We document the high profits of this strategy. We also document a positive relationship between the advisory stake and the deal characteristics. The advisory stake is positively related to the likelihood of deal completion and to the termination fees. However, these deals are not wealth-creating: there is a negative relation between the advisory stake and the viability of the deal. These results provide new insights into the conflicts of interest affecting financial intermediaries simultaneously advising on deals and investing in equities.

The Impact of Revenue Diversity on Banking System Stability

The dismantling of legal barriers to the integration of financial services is one of the recent, major developments in the banking industry. This led to an expansion of the variety of financial intermediaries and types of transactions. However, this trend may alter banks' risk-taking incentives and may affect overall banking sector stability. This paper analyzes how banks' divergent strategies toward specialization and diversification of financial activities affect their ability to shelter from adverse economic conditions. To this end, market-based measures of banks' extreme systematic risk are generated, using techniques developed for extreme value analysis. Extreme systematic risk captures the probability of a sharp decline in a bank's stock price conditional on a crash in a market index. Subsequently, the impact of (the correlation between) interest and non-interest income (and its components) on this risk measure is assessed. The estimation results reveal that the heterogeneity in extreme bank risk can partially be attributed to differences in banks' reliance on non-traditional banking activities. All non-interest generating activities increase banks' sensitivity to the market index during times of extreme equity market movements. In addition, smaller banks and well-capitalized banks are better able to withstand large adverse economic conditions. Furthermore, the effects are stronger during times of market turbulence compared to a situation of normal economic conditions. Overall, diversifying financial activities in one umbrella institution does not lead to a reduction of extreme banking risk, which may explain why financial conglomerates trade at a discount.

A financial alliance compromise between executives and supervisory authorities

In this paper, we are looking for the best financial alliance compromise structure between the executives of the banks and insurance companies and the bank and insurance supervisory authorities in Finland. First, we studied alternative alliance structures between banks and insurance companies from the point of view of supervisory authorities. Together with leaders and experts of the supervisory authorities, we introduced eight criteria for the evaluation of the six alternative alliance structures. The evaluation was carried out by an expert panel consisting of the representatives of the supervisory authorities. In our earlier research, the financial conglomerate was preferred by bank and insurance executives to the other alternatives. The alliance models based on plain cross-selling agreements received the highest ranks in the evaluation of supervisory authorities. Under certain conditions, the financial conglomerate might be an acceptable compromise alternative for the supervisory authorities as well.

Finding the most preferred alliance structure between banks and insurance companies

In this paper we have studied alternative alliances between banks and insurance companies. First we defined six different possible structure models for such alliances, and nine criteria used to evaluate the models. The models and the criteria were introduced together with bank and insurance experts. The experts are representatives of the top management of Finnish banks and insurance companies. Searching for the most preferred alliance model is a multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) problem. To solve the problem, we used an expert panel and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Based on the evaluations of the panel, the alternatives Financial Conglomerate and Cross-Selling Agreement, no Overlapping Service Channels are most preferred. Which one is chosen, depends on how risk is emphasized.

Transatlantic Financial Services Regulatory Dialogue

The EU Financial Markets Dialogue led by the SEC and the European Commission has achieved some notable successes, particularly with respect to the consolidated supervision of financial conglomerates and the development of a plan to achieve convergence in corporate financial reporting. On both sides of the Atlantic, there is a clear ongoing commitment to the dialogue as a key mechanism for the development of efficient and credible regulatory solutions that guarantee effective investor protection and a high level of business efficiency. This paper reports on a two-day roundtable discussion that took place at Cambridge University in September 2005 to explore ways in which the academic community can contribute to this transatlantic debate. Lively discussion between the policy-makers, regulators, market participants and academics who attended the roundtable yielded a number of thematic concerns, which, the paper suggests, could form the basis of a programme for further work. Finally, the paper announces the establishment of a seminar series, to be based in the United Kingdom, on the Transatlantic Financial Services Regulatory Dialogue and invites contributions.

Borrowers' Financial Constraints and the Transmission of Monetary Policy: Evidence from Financial Conglomerates

Building on recent evidence concerning the functioning of internal capital markets in financial conglomerates, we conduct a novel test of the balance-sheet channel of monetary policy. Specifically, we investigate how the response of lending to monetary policy differs across small banks that are affiliated with the same bank holding company but operate in different geographical areas. These banks face similar constraints in accessing internal and external sources of funds, but have different pools of borrowers. Because they typically concentrate their lending with small local businesses, we can exploit cross-sectional differences in local economic indicators at the time of a policy shock to study whether the strength of borrowers' balance sheets affects the response of bank lending. We find evidence that the negative response of bank loan growth to a monetary contraction is significantly stronger when borrowers have weaker balance sheets.

Renewed strength of the Japanese economy and Japan–EU relations

The last 15 years, in particular the last decade, has cost Japan its leadership role as a sound and well-managed economy. However in this ‘lost decade’ Japan was not idle, in fact as she did move out of the international limelight she sorted out her problems steadily and assiduously. At the same time she decided to go out and learn once more new lessons for overcoming her problems. It is now the general view that Japan’s economic stagnation has been overcome: the banking system has restructured, creating new, huge and powerful financial conglomerates. The nonperforming loan issue is considered to be under control if not resolved. The industrial structure has and is successfully responding to pressures to shed operations with relatively low productivity (upstream and downstream) and to compete with lower priced imports from foreign competitors such as China and with re-imports from Japanese direct investment abroad that pressed unto her markets. A host of support and development programs have been launched to stop and reverse the economic decline of the badly suffering regions. The economy has restarted to grow. According to Japanese statistics GDP growth was in 2004:3.7%, 2005:2.7% and is growing presently (March 2006) at an annualised rate of 5.4% in real terms. In order to assert the correctness of the assumption in the title of the presentation—is the strength of the Japanese economy renewed?—one has to see whether Japan’s fortunes have sustainably improved and what will be her further likely economic and social development. For this it seems useful to turn to the substance of three major ‘Visions’ published in the last two years in Japan, two that sketch Japan’s future in the world of the 21st century up to 2025 (the Keidanren vision) and 2030 (the 21st Century Vision), respectively, and a report issued in 2004 by the Minister of Economics, Trade and Industry, Nakagawa (Nakagawa Report, with a 2005 update) dealing with future industrial structure adjustments. Japan’s “Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy” (altogether ten persons plus chairman) presided over by the Prime Minister (Koizumi) and comprising Ministers of the economically most relevant ministries, the Governor of the Bank