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Compared from other services, the medical services are accessed, required and necessary for any person, meaning a high cost for health care. In Romania, the level of health financing is below the European Union average, which means confronting both health professionals and patients with the lack of resources. Both funding and organization determine the proper functioning of a health system that is reflected on the population's health. This article aims to study the Romanian health system from the financing perspective and the financial management of health institutions, related to the performance level of this sector. In order to have a clear picture, Romania needs to be compared to the rest of the EU Member States in terms of financing, and sector performance. The performance degree the Romanian healthcare system contributes to a large extent to the population's general health, and it is necessary to comply with the European legislation. The degree of funding for this sector is reflected in performance and thus requires a higher GDP percentage allocated to health. The functioning of the health sector as a whole and the funding and management of its resources are a matter of general interest, given that these aspects are reflected in the health status of the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial institutions typically avoid projects that will have a significant adverse effect on cultural heritage because it creates unwelcome risk and can affect their reputation. For bank clients, adverse project effects on cultural heritage can result in reputation risk, impede access to finance and insurance, increase operational costs, and jeopardize on-time and on-budget delivery of projects. To address this risk, financial institutions implement environmental and social policy frameworks that include specific requirements for the consideration of cultural heritage. This article examines the place of cultural heritage in the lending practices of 25 of the world's largest private-sector banks and its relevance for heritage practitioners who may be retained to provide advice, review or undertake fieldwork, and prepare studies in keeping with the private-sector bank policies and external standards described. The article concludes with a recommended best practice for private-sector financial institutions, a call to action for heritage practitioners to advocate for robust safeguards, and a call for support of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals by both heritage practitioners and private-sector financial institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, many Islamic experts believed that capital market transactions should be forbidden because they were similar to gambling practices prohibited by Islam. They argued that gharar (uncertainty) and gaming based on chance, as the constituent elements of gambling, are an integral part of capital market transactions, and such transactions are not allowed in Islam. However, a study of the history of the Sharia board members' views in Iran's capital market shows that, contrary to the dominant Islamic belief, a variety of transactions--including some types of futures contracts--became prevalent in Iran's capital market. Futures contracts are commitments of parties to buy or sell an underlying asset at a predetermined price on a specific future date. The article reviews the evolution of Islamic jurisprudence towards the legitimacy of "single stock futures contracts" (SSFs) as an example of transactions that were once considered gambling, and compare SSFs with "stock index futures contracts" (SIFs)--a transaction with a similar definition and function that is still prohibited. We argue that the differences between these contracts, including the differences in their underlying assets and settlement procedure, are not fundamental enough to justify Sharia board members' distinctive approach to gambling and legitimization issues. We propose that SIFs should be legitimized in Iran's capital market, as the same justifications that were used to legitimize SSFs can partly be applied to SIFs as well. Finally, the paper proposes some additional justifications for SIFs in an effort to cover the distinctive challenges that they create. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A no-deal Brexit preparedness checklist for companies doing business in the EU and/or in the UK, and a timeline for key EU contingency measures have been published alongside the communication. This follows the agreement by the European Parliament and Member States to amend the EU Benchmarks Regulation to introduce EU climate transition benchmarks and EU Paris-aligned benchmarks, and to require environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures for all benchmarks (excluding interest rate and currency benchmarks). ESMA will use the simulation framework as part of its regular risk monitoring to identify risk and assess possible adverse scenarios that might impact the EU fund industry. The work programme sets out the planned implementation of ESMA's new mandates relating to the ESAs review, EMIR 2.2, cross-border funds distribution, the investment firms framework (IFR) and sustainable finance, and its priorities in its supervisory convergence, risk assessment, single rulebook and direct supervision workstreams. [Extracted from the article]

Accounting has a significant importance within any organization. The information generated by the accounting professional works as comparative information for numerous users, such as partners, shareholders, financial institutions, government, among others. The information provided by this professional is then appreciated, given that they generate analytical parameters in the economic and financial management of an institution. Recognizing its fundamental role in companies and entities, the accounting professional has its responsibilities established by the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, Brazilian Civil Code and regulations of the Federal Accounting Council, assuming, in consonance, intentional acts committed by its clients to the detriment of others with the intention of self-favoring. Through bibliographic studies and research, the responsibilities of the accounting professional and the penalties they underwent were identified, analyzing also the ethical conduct they must maintain in the exercise of their functions, as well as to study the methods they can use to guard against future damages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study estimates technical efficiency and total factor productivity change in the Nigerian banking sector for the period 2005–14, which encapsulates the post‐consolidation era and subsequent regime of banking reforms aimed at stabilizing the sector from the effects of financial crisis. The study applies both non‐parametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and parametric Stochastic Frontier Approach (SFA), using the Malmquist Productivity Index, and error component production function respectively, to ascertain if any significant variation in efficiency exists on a sample of 12 banks covering over 80 percent of total bank assets in Nigeria. The theoretical intermediation approach is applied for selection of input and output variables. The input variables considered are total deposits, total equity and operating expenses including staff costs, and output variables are loans and operating income, which accounts for off‐balance‐sheet items such as non‐interest or fee‐based income. Findings reveal that the mean technical efficiency under SFA and total factor productivity change in DEA decreases as bank output moves toward non‐interest or fee‐based income. Although the magnitude differs, both SFA and DEA follow a similar direction for technical efficiency and total factor productivity change. Study implications suggest that policymakers should be concerned about arbitrariness in bank's ability to earn fee‐based income, which portends high cost of banking services in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the rapid development of global financial markets, not only is the development of financial products changeable, but financial institutions also move towards internationalization and enlargement, expecting to achieve the economies of scale to enhance the profits and the international competitiveness. Financial institutions therefore request to open up cross-industry management to gradually change the restrictions to the business control of financial institutions. Secondary Data Analysis is applied in this study to collect data from bank holding companies in Fujian Province. Based on the research analysis and conclusion, suggestions are proposed to seek for survival opportunities in competitive environments and to create advantages for the success of bank holding companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial institutions and banks are the type of organizations whose customer rating is very valuable. In the present paper, two algorithms are proposed and compared that can extract some fuzzy rules from deterministic data. Each fuzzy rule may be used as a class of customers. In the first algorithm, a method is proposed based on both experiment and fuzzy theory. In the second algorithm a heuristic approach is proposed. Additionally, for more explanations a case study in a real bank is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although regulators have made strides in reducing the likelihood that global financial institutions will collapse, too little has been achieved in constructing a framework for managing the financial resolution of these institutions if and when regulation fails. Given a long history of regulatory capture or fatigue, such a system is essential to protect the world's financial infrastructure. Two propositions are central to creation of a workable approach. First, government funds will generally be necessary to permit an orderly resolution, if only to provide temporary liquidity and market confidence, despite official reluctance to concede that reality. Second, no resolution system for global institutions will be workable unless regulators are prepared to give deference and cooperation to one national regulator as the leader of the global effort. From those two propositions, it follows that the jurisdiction prepared to provide the bulk of the necessary funds for resolution must also be given that leadership role. Success or failure of such a system may depend upon advance commitments as to both financial responsibility and regulatory deference, and that commitment is unlikely unless it is multinational. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Banking Authority (EBA) was introduced within the framework of the European System of Financial Supervision in 2011. It represents an important change in the supervisory structure of banks in the European Union. The scope of conferred powers enabling the Authority to promote supervisory convergence has now been the main issue of a Joint Board of Appeal decision. Developing a comprehensive legal interpretation method, the decision adds legal clarity to the powers and tasks allocated to the EBA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the role of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) in consumer protection. Being part of the recently created European System of Financial Supervision, EIOPA and the other European Supervisory Authorities have received a consumer protection mandate in their respective specialist financial markets. The article reviews the experience available from the first three years of existence from three perspectives: how the institutional framework influences EIOPA's activity in this field; what type of focus areas the Authority has chosen to realise its consumer protection goals; and what kind of tools are at its disposal to remedy consumer detriment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sought to provide evidence on the role of deferred tax assets and liabilities as an instrument for the attainment and arbitrage of regulatory capital levels by Brazilian financial institutions in the period from 2004 to 2009. Two hypotheses were developed: the managers of Brazilian financial institutions employ deferred taxes to a) comply with required regulatory capital limits and b) do so in a discretionary manner as a method for regulatory capital arbitrage. The present study collected evidence through the analysis of annual accounting information from Brazilian financial institutions. The hypotheses were tested using multiple linear regression and panel data regression data analysis techniques. The results show that Brazilian financial institutions have used deferred taxes to support or attain the minimum capital levels required by the Basel Accord; however, evidence that the volume of regulatory capital directly influences the volume of deferred taxes was also found, contradicting the international literature, which indicates discretion in the use of deferred taxes as a form of regulatory capital arbitrage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to answer the following question: To what extent do Brazilian industrial companies value Time-Based Management? This study aims to determine whether the companies surveyed formalized goals and articulated actions at the strategic and operational levels of supply, production and customer relations activities. This study also seeks to identify whether the companies that more intensely value time-based management have a higher return on assets relative to other companies. To meet the objectives of the study, a sample of 97 companies were surveyed from among those listed as the largest companies in Exame Magazine's Biggest and Best ['Melhores e Maiores'] book, July 2009. Data were collected using two procedures: a survey instrument completed by corporate managers and a survey of published accounting information. The survey instrument was constructed based on the theoretical framework and was structured as forty-six questions divided into four blocks. An indication of the reliability of the survey instrument was provided by its Cronbach's alpha (89.9%). A literature review was initially performed on the topic, then the survey study was developed with managers from the companies included in the sample and finally the association was tested between the companies' valuation of time-based management and economic performance indicators. A data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics via normality tests: the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Levene's test for the homogeneity of variances, Student's t-test for independent samples, the Mann-Whitney test and the Chi-Square test for tables. A significance level of 5% was adopted for all statistical tests. It was found that the selected sample companies valued time-based management (using 78.58% of practices and indicators related to time-based management), but no association was found between a higher valuation of Time-Based Management and a greater Return on Assets (ROA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Choosing a cost-effective document management approach has become a priority to many organisations, especially in view of the rapidly changing technological environment in which information is being created and managed. A literature survey indicated that document management strategies have the potential to provide some substantial cost-saving benefits if they are used judiciously. Objectives: This study investigated a commercial bank's document management approaches in a bid to ascertain the costs and benefits of each strategy and related issues. Method: A quantitative research approach was employed through a case study which was used to gather data from a sampled population in the bank. Results: The document management approaches used were not coordinated to improve operational efficiency. There were regulations governing documents management. The skills and competences of staff on both document management and cost analysis are limited. That is partly due to limited training opportunities availed to them. That means that economies are not achieved in the management of records. That has a negative impact on the overall efficiency, effectiveness and legal compliance of the banking institution. Conclusion: The financial institutions should create regulations enabling periodical cost-benefit analysis of document management regimes used by the bank at least at quarterly intervals as recommended by the National Archives of Australia. A hybrid approach in managing records is recommended for adoption by the financial institution. There should be on-the-job staff training complimented by attendance at relevant workshops and seminars to improve the staff's understanding of both the cost-benefit analysis concept and document management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses how regulatory reliance affects credit ratings in the U.S. It states that ratings were led to capital markets' indispensable instruments due to many regulations in which they were tied to. It mentions that well-intentioned regulations may become very unfavorable, which could result to future and increasing social and regulatory costs. It also argues on the insufficiency of the reputational concerns in assuring accurate ratings. It suggests the need to get rid of the regulatory reliance and to subject rating agencies for market test in order to improve the quality of ratings and to preserve their function in the capital markets.

In this paper we propose an evaluation of investors' risk profiles such as to meet the minimal requirements that Italian financial institutions must satisfy by law (d. lgs. 164, 2007). Thus we investigate all aspects specific to so-called risk profiles: an investor's knowledge and his financial experience (concerning financial instruments and their use); financial objectives, a personal predisposition to risk /earn and the temporal horizon. The methodology used in financial literature with regard to risk profiles is essentially based on simplistic statistical analyses that often fail to consider possible psychological aspects. In order to account for investor preferences and psychological attitudes, we suggest to use an item response theory model. We first assume a unidimensional model, belonging to the family of Rasch models and then, as an alternative approach, a Generalized Multidimensional Rasch model. In particular, the objective is to assess the value of a questionnaire whose items describe different characteristics of the main latent variable risk profile. Under the assumption of a multidimensional measurement model, given the multivariate position of each investor with respect to identified latent traits we can represent his position with respect to possible investments proposed by a bank and we can identify different situations that respect the investor's risk profile and best characterize typical investor choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the role of Sharpe ratio, a mean-variance portfolio developed by H. M. Markowitz, in the risk-adjusted performance measure in the financial institutions. It mentions that Sharpe ratio, which is the modification of Sortino ratio, provides a risk-reward assessment of a return distribution. It discusses the optimization of Sharpe ratio via conic programming, which plays an important role to solves all optimization model problems.

In the financial debacle, public and private organizations failed to protect owners and stakeholders from calamity. Given the immense financial bubble, could improved governance have made a difference? Many large complex financial institutions may not be sufficiently governable to avoid unpleasant major surprises. Ponderous processes of enacting laws and regulations, and the substantial influence of powerful stakeholders in those processes, mean that fluid markets are likely to mitigate or even avoid the impact of regulatory improvements that policymakers suggest. Better information must flow to decision makers, but the dynamics of a bubble may impede effective risk management by financial firms and government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an overview of investment bank regulations in the U.S. It offers a summary of the history of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules of brokers and banks based on its capital adequacy and systemic risks as well as discusses alternative means for reforming regulation of investment banks. It analyzes proposals being made towards financial reform that intends to address the crisis faced by the financial sector.

While many factors have contributed to the current financial turmoil, its roots can be traced back to misaligned incentives on the micro-level which resulted in numerous potential conflicts of interest. Examining the situation of investors and the various participants responsible for creating and securitising subprime mortgages, the article focuses on these conflicts of interest and provides suggestions on how to address them. While certain issues require regulatory intervention, many conflicts of interest could be solved by adjusting the incentives for market participants to induce them to voluntarily act as desired. A regulation that adjusts incentives appears to be more appropriate and more effective in the long run than heavy-handed regulatory intervention. A regulation of the financial system which is too restrictive, while hailed in times of crisis, would stifle growth and innovation, and thus ultimately damage the very institution it is meant to protect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the application of Extreme Value Theory (EVT) in order to quantify the loss distribution in operational risk, from internal and external data; frequency and severity distributions were analyzed separately, then they were combined to find the loss distribution, which was divided into two areas: the body -until a threshold- and the tail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the implication of the order to freeze all funds associated to Landsbanki Islands hf by Great Britain's Treasury to the financial markets. It notes that the order presents lessons from the experience of market participants to assure that a future asset freezing order in the financial sector attains its purpose efficiently. It mentions that the general approach of the government created unnecessary problems and augmented risk for the financial markets. Moreover, it explores the Financial Markets Law Committee's (FMLC) recommendation to eliminate the negative consequences of the order. FMLC suggests that future orders need not be as broad as this order and center on a narrower prohibition.

Managing financial institutions in an underdeveloped economic context has become a real challenge nowadays. In order to reach the organization’s planned goals, they have to deal with structural, behavioral and informational problems. From the systemic point of view, this situation gets even worse when the company does not present organizational boundaries and a cohesive identification for their stakeholders. Thus, European countries have some special financial lines in order to help the development of micro credit in Latin communities in an attempt to help the local economy. However, institutions like Caixa dos Andes in Peru present management problems when dealing with this complexity. Based on this, how can the systemic eye help in the diagnosis of soft problems of a Peruvian financial company? This study aims to diagnose soft problems of a Peruvian financial company based on soft variables like identity, communication and autonomy and also intends to identify possible ways to redesign its basic framework. The (VSM––Viable System Model) method from Beer (), applied in this diagnostic study, was used in a practical way as a management tool for organizations’ analysis and planning. By describing the VSM’s five systems, the creation of a systemic vision or a total vision is possible, showing the organization’s complexity from the inside. Some company’s soft problems like double control, inefficient use of physical and human resources, low information flows, slowness, etc. The VSM presented an organizational diagnosis indicating effective solutions that do integrate its five systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By using the Lakonishok et al measure (1992), this work provides empirical evidence of herding behaviour in strategic assets allocated by Spanish funds investing in domestic equities from July 1997 to June 2002. This phenomenon is found with more significance when considering more important strategic variations. This study also finds evidence of significant intertemporal herding in those funds managed by the largest Spanish fund management companies, proving that the size of the management company is a significant mechanism of this phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of labor management practices in the financial services sector provides an interesting insight into how problems associated with agency issues were overcome. Within financial institutions and other white collar occupations, the use of internal labor markets emerged as an effective means of both controlling and motivating employees. However such management techniques were only effective in cases where work tasks could be internalized. The business of some types of organizations necessitated a division of work tasks between those undertaken within the office and those undertaken outside the office. The management and sale of insurance products is a case in point. This paper explores the development of processes implemented to resolve a specific type of labor management issue, namely the control of workers under conditions of uncertainty. Using the example of the Australian Mutual Provident (Australia's largest life insurer), it analyses how and why particular work relations procedures were developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the European Union's explicitly formulated goals is reducing the lags in development and narrowing the gaps in income between its member states and regions. In order to attain these goals, the Union's regional policy employs a system of vertical conditional grants known as the Structural Funds. Various attempts have been made to evaluate the effectiveness of this policy in promoting convergence. This paper adds to the existing literature in focusing the investigation on the role of the member states' federal structure. A short discussion drawing mainly on the theory of fiscal federalism provides the basis for an empirical model. Using a sample of 13 European countries in the period from 1975–1995 we estimate the effect varying decentralization among the member states has on the conditional effectiveness of Structural Funds expenditure. The results suggest that Structural Funds are more effective in promoting growth when the states exhibit a higher degree of decentralization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a notification regarding the "Opinions Concerning the Establishment of China Huarong Asset Management Company, China Great Wall Asset Management Company, and China Dongfang Asset Management Company," forwarded by the Chinese State Council. Nature, missions, and business scope of the companies; Supervision and management; Scope of cession of nonperforming loans.

Looks at the opinions concerning the establishment of China Xinda Management Co. in China. Significance of the establishment of asset management companies to the financial system of the company; Nature, missions, and business scope of the company; Supervision and management of the company; Scope of cession of nonperforming loans.

Focuses on the future of capital regulation. Projections on capital regulation; Details on the approaches to risk management.

Defines correlation products and explores the problems they raise for risk management systems in financial institutions in the United States. Diff swap as an example of correlation product; Implications for risk management and supervisory practices.

A conference paper about how the former country of Yugoslavia's distortions in financial arrangements contributed to inflation is presented. How the misallocation of savings and credit, failure to enforce financial discipline at business and bank levels and the impact on accommodation by the monetary authorities influenced inflation are explored. How Yugoslavia's financial arrangements resemble Latin America's experiences are discussed.

El artículo habla del plan para el desarrollo de sistemas del Banco de Ecuador. Los objetivos generales del plan incluyen la estructuración del sistema de información del Banco, el desarrollo armónico y equilibrado de la organización y la organización de la Gerencia de Sistemas.

The ongoing reform of the regulatory regime for the UK financial services industry is wide ranging and substantial. Whilst much of the attention has been grabbed by the introduction of the headline-inducing criminal offence of "reckless management" of a failed financial institution, much of the real impact of the changes will be felt as a result of other provisions. Two such provisions relate to the new power given to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to publish information about enforcement action at a far earlier stage, and the reversed burden of proof for "Senior Managers" under the new regime. It is in the detail of such provisions, however, where the full ramifications, and unintended consequences, of change may have been underestimated. One such consequence may be the impact which these two provisions may have on the attitude and approach of firms to settlement of significant enforcement actions taken against them by the FCA (and by the Prudential Regulatory Authority). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El artículo discute la definición de un banco central. Se menciona la tendencia de considerar el banco central como un regulador del sistema monetario, pero sus funciones se han multiplicado . La regulación y la emisión de papel moneda también contribuyen al rol de la organización. El artículo menciona la necesidad de encontrar una definición flexible que describa los derechos y obligaciones de un banco central.

The article offers the author's views on how Europe will address the early 21st century financial crisis. He discusses the three choices of Europe such as continuing business as usual, return to simple free-trade, and federalization. He says that federalization is the best option as it will make Europe more competitive in global economy. He notes that moving out of the crisis will require policies controlling European Union (EU) financial institutions and sustained anti-cyclical fiscal polices.

El artículo enfoca en el funcionamiento del ámbito financiero después de la crisis financiera de 2008 en Estados Unidos y el mundo. Describe algunas de las causas que generaron la crisis y discurre sobre los cambios en las estrategias y políticas de las entidades financieras en Estados Unidos y en Europa.

Credit operations are fundamental in the banks' activities and provide a significant share of their income. Under an increased demand for credit resources, credit risks are growth. It keeps the importance of the problem of an increase in the efficiency of lending management processes in financial institutions. The aim of the work is the justification and development of new technology and models for the management of bank lending that reduce credit risks and increases lending efficiency. The research materials are statistical data from the Bank of Russia and Rosstat. The methods of system analysis, methods of control theory, methods of statistics, optimization methods and machine learning are used. The positive results of the implementation of the proposed technology and credit management models are of practical importance to ensure the profitability growth of credit organization and contribute to its competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]