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Purpose: The study aims to develop a holistic model identifying the constructs that impact customer loyalty in retail banking and introduce product type as a moderating variable to the model. Design/methodology/approach: A conceptual model of customer loyalty is introduced and empirically tested with 416 valid samples obtained from Australian retail banking customers. The data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling and multigroup analysis. Findings: This study confirms the moderating effect of high- and low-involvement products on the relationship between customer loyalty and satisfaction, trust, service quality, commitment and perceived value. Surprisingly, the effect of satisfaction on loyalty was much stronger with low-involvement product types and the effect of commitment on loyalty was much stronger with customers who utilise high-involvement products. Research limitations/implications: The study uses a sample population in Australia who utilise one of the top four banks and investigates three product types. Further research could expand the product selection and include customers who use credit unions and other banks not in the top four categories. Originality/value: This study is the first to confirm the moderating effect product type has on the customer loyalty relationship in retail banking in regard to high- and low-involvement product categories. The research provides a deeper understanding of the factors that influence customer loyalty and identifies which types of products influences customer loyalty the most. Additionally, this study highlights the importance of understanding the different needs and priorities of customers using different product types in order to effectively influence their loyalty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From its inception, the Federal Reserve has operated payment systems that let banks move money for their customers. Checks, wire transfers, and electronic consumer payments all happen thanks to the Federal Reserve. Congress by statute specified which banks get access to the Fed’s payment services. For more than a century, the Federal Reserve provided services to all legally eligible banks. But when the Federal Reserve received requests for payments access from a cannabis-focused credit union and a cryptocurrency custody bank (both of whom are legally eligible), it denied them. The Fed also issued sweeping guidelines claiming discretion to conduct risk vetting and deny bank requests. These guidelines apply to all banks and reverberate far beyond cannabis and crypto. This Article examines whether the Federal Reserve’s payments discretion is as great as it now claims—a question that has been raised in five recent cases, but never answered. It concludes the Fed has overstepped. The language and structure of the Federal Reserve Act require that the Federal Reserve provide payment services to all eligible banks. In support of this statutory interpretation, the Article excavates long forgotten legislative history and more than a century of sometimes hidden Federal Reserve payments practices. It shows that although the Federal Reserve has some discretion over the payments it processes and terms under which it offers it payments services, the Fed’s discretion is not so broad that it can deny access to legally eligible banks. If the Fed wants to exclude banks, it should ask Congress to change the law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study looks at whether credit unions, a type of microfinance, increase or decrease poverty in Cameroon from 2004 Q1 to 2021 Q4. Method/design: The fully modified ordinary least square, dynamic ordinary least square, and conical co‐integration is applied. Findings: The findings reveal a long‐term association between credit union measures and poverty levels. The results indicate that the number of credit unions, the number of commercial bank branches, and credit to the private sector negatively relate to poverty levels. This implies that as the number of credit unions increases, the poverty level increases as the credit unions tend to exploit the poor population. Outstanding deposits positively impact poverty levels, which imply that members' deposits alleviate poverty. Research implications: The government should refurbish the existing programs to enhance credit unions' activities to focus more on banking the poor population especially in remote areas. The credit unions should increase deposit mobilization from the public to empower individuals and businesses. The government should regulate the number of credit unions being created to limit exploitation. The government should intervene to ensure that credit unions' policy regarding lending, interest rates, and loan recovery procedures are mutually agreed upon by the parties. Originality/novelty: Limited studies used secondary data focusing on credit unions. The studies give conflicting results: Some studies reveal that microfinance banks positively affect poverty reduction. Some indicate negative effects of microfinance on poverty reduction. Others show that microfinance institutions do not significantly influence poverty reduction. Different opinions exist among depositors and borrowers of credit unions concerning poverty alleviation. Some credit union members hold that credit unions increase poverty, while others argue that credit unions alleviate poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the main limitations of Carroll Pyramid Model is that it does not consider the differences in the dynamics of each business sector; nor has there been an adequate theoretical justification of the relative relevance of each of the four dimensions that compose it. This study explores the Social Responsibility practices reported by Credit Unions from the Carroll's Pyramid for a) establishing what type of information (economic, legal, ethical or discretionary) they are privileging in their Social Balance Sheet reports and b) recognizing to what extent there are differences in the way the model is expressed in this economic sector. To accomplish this, a qualitative research study was conducted through a content analysis of the social balance reports of 20 Colombian Credit Unions. The results show that the Carroll's Pyramid can adopt another type of order in the dimensions that compose it (economic, legal, ethical and discretionary), depending on the economic sector being studied or the type of organization being explored, however, differences found regarding Carroll's model were not radical as the differences found in other research which found a fully inverted pyramid. These findings pose challenges for cooperative organizations regarding compliance with the 2030 agenda and the mandatory annual report of Social Balance Sheet in Colombia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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