We kindly inform you that, as long as the subject affiliation of our 300.000+ articles is in progress, you might get unsufficient or no results on your third level or second level search. In this case, please broaden your search criteria.
The subject of this paper deals with a particular insurance in the selected region. The first part is dedicated to the theoretical interpretation of the basic concepts in insurance, specific insurance products to the specifications used in the region. Second part details the specific types of insurance for individual assets selected entity and efficient use of non-life insurance.
More...
Contingent convertible bonds are designed to provide additional capital to banks in times of distress and discourage the risk-taking incentives of the stockholders and, hence, decrease bank credit risk. In this paper, we study bank CDS spreads as a proxy of credit risk during the periods around the announcement of contingent convertible bond issuance. We analyze whether investors see these bonds as signs of possible bank distress or the stabilizing mechanism decreasing the probability of bank default. We use event study methodology where abnormal CDS spreads are identified based on constant mean return model and basic market model. Our data sample consists of 41 banks with 109 current unique issues taken from Bloomberg. Our results indicate that CDS spreads show a systemic reaction to the announcement of contingent convertible instruments and are economically significant for the bond holders that value the decreased default probability and reduced risk incentives of the issuing institution.
More...
A protracted period of low interest rate threatens the stability of the life insurance industry, especially in the countries, where life insurance with comparatively high guaranteed returns disposed in the past represents a major portion of the total portfolio. The aim of this paper is to provide an introduction to evaluation of the effects of the actual low interest rate period on the balance sheet of a representative life insurance company. Firstly the balance sheet of insurance companies is introduced. We show the valuation of the assets and liabilities. Then the Solvency Capital Requirement and risk margin is defined. Finally the solvency situation of insurers is valuated.
More...
Voluntary pension security plans play an important role in every pension system. Demographic changes in European countries cause that the value of pension benefits from the mandatory part of the pension system will be getting lower in the following years. This will have a significant effect on quality of life and consumption of retired people. In order not to increase the group of people at risk of poverty, one needs to increase the number of economically active persons who voluntarily save for their retirement. As part of the voluntary forms of pension security different products, mainly financial ones, are offered (often by banks, insurance companies, investment funds and pension funds). The contributions paid are invested mostly on the capital market (both safe and risky financial assets). However, on the market there are also alternative assets which in the long term can generate higher rates of return than investments in traditional assets. People who save money should consider including in the portfolio alternative assets which would affect also the diversification of the portfolio constituting voluntary pension security plans. Among alternative assets a special attention should be paid to real estate, gold, silver, arts, wine and whisky as well. In those types of assets investors can invest both directly and indirectly. The aim of the article is to assess the role which alternative investments play in voluntary pension security on the Polish market. To achieve that purpose, statistical methods, such as for example correlation coefficient, are used to assess the relationship between characteristics of describing alternative and traditional assets.
More...
Fiscal sustainability is strongly related to the concept of fiscal risks. The indicators used for measuring fiscal sustainability within the European Union until the financial crisis made it possible to assess risk in the long term, but subsequent events have revealed that this is insufficient. Thus, there is a necessity of a multidimensional approach that integrates long-term sustainability assessment with the assessment of more pressing issues and risks in the short- and medium-term. This study outlines the main parameters, specific indicators and indicators for identifying fiscal risks with different time horizons applied by the European Commission. The dynamics of medium-term risks in the EU Member States for the period 2015 -2019 are examined and the main challenges to fiscal sustainability within the European area are outlined in this paper.
More...
Cryptocurrencies are a new phenomenon in the global economy, which are attracting the interest of society, which is increasing their popularity. This new kind of digital market for goods and services is constantly growing and growing. The main objective of this science paper is to analyze how far this phenomenon is perspective for the development of the world economy and what is the effect after the introduction of digital money into the daily life of economic entities. The scientific report will present both the analysis of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment and trade, as well as analyzes of their applicability at supranational level, tracing the effects of the applicability of cryptocurrencies globally.
More...
This paper estimates the average returns, earned by the Bulgarian investment funds from December 31, 2014 to December 31, 2019, i.e., a total of 5 years. The period is divided to 2 sub periods – the first, consisting of 2 years (2015, 2016) and the second, consisting of 3 years (2017, 2018 and 2019). Then it contrasts and compares the returns of the Bulgarian Investment funds based on their investment philosophy, asset manager, fund‟s size and management fees. In addition, realized fund returns are compared to the returns of SOFIX (The Bulgarian Stock Exchange Index) and interest rates of bank de posits.
More...
Interest rates with a value of zero or around zero do not automatically lead to improvement of financial conditions in Bulgaria. Low interest rates on loans are delayed by years compared to Europe and the United States, further reducing competitiveness. The high uncertainty stemming from zero interest rates keeps savings in cash and far from the much needed investment by the economy. Risk-free return is de facto negative and undermines the return realized by financial intermediaries. The capital market in Bulgaria remains far from pre-crisis levels and its unattractiveness is a factor limiting investment activity by both savers and companies
More...
The intersection between the interests, expectations and disappointments of all participants in the investment process stems from their diverse motivation and too volatile perception, which is the basis for causing errors in statistical judgment, for social stereotyping and for predictable deviations from rational decision-making. We investigate the reactions and behavior of retail, “smart money” and politicians in the current market crash within the opposition rational/irrational.
More...
The economic and financial crisis that started in the period 2007-2009 provoked substantial changes in the financial services landscape. The crisis started from the financial sector and caused other crises as debt and confidence crisis. However, after that crisis significant reforms were made in the EU in order to overcome its effects and to prepare the Union, its financial sector and economy for possible future crises. The current crises after the COVID-19 outbreak is a different one. It started as a health crises and moves to an economic crisis with significant economic recession, higher unemployment, increase in social challenges in Europe and emerging of new ones. In these extremely difficult and unpredicted times with loss of businesses and jobs, the attention is to the financial sector that shall stimulate the economy and the follow-up recovery. However, is the financial stability also threatened? Is it possible the health and economic crisis to turn to a financial one again or the financial sector will be part of the solution of the problems and not part of the problem itself? Does the financial sector learned the lessons from the previous crises and is it possible those lessons to help this sector to perform its functions in the current situation? These are some of the questions that the current paper will discuss. It will end with some recommendations and conclusions.
More...
Finance is shaping human relationship from an economic point of view as well as having influences on social structure and politics. In this relation, Fintech, a combination of the words “Finance” and “Technology”, is defined as “a new financial industry that applies technology to improve financial activities" [11] or as those “applications, processes, products, or business models in the financial services industry, composed of one or more complementary financial services and provided as an end-to-end process via the Internet” [10] or as “any innovative ideas that improve financial service processes by proposing technology solutions according to different business situations, while the ideas could also lead to new business models or even new businesses” [8]. As Bill Gates said “Banking is necessary; banks are not” describing what is happening throughout the financial industry: massive disappearing of traditional jobs, consolidation in the banking industries, robots that advice how to manage and save money. These changes have an impact on the social structure, but also have the potential to systematically promote financial literacy and inclusion. For example Grohmann, Klühs and Menkhoff [7] showed across four indicators of financial inclusion (having a bank account, having a debit card, saving in form of a bank account and the use of the debit card within the last year) that financial literacy is a significant precondition for financial inclusion. To what extent can Fintech applications be used to promote financial literacy and thereby inclusion? And what role do FinTech organizations play in supporting social progress? The aim of the article is to provide a systematic overview of Fintech's potential to promote digital and financial inclusion on diverse levels.
More...
Basé sur le fait que l'entreprise est une entité économique, combinant les facteurs de production (travail, capital, matières premières) dans le but de produire des biens et services destinés à être vendus sur un marché solvable, le financement peut être défini comme lui permettant de disposer des ressources qui lui sont nécessaires sur le plan pécuniaire. Ce financement conditionne la survie de l’entreprise. Dans cet article, nous étudirons où et quand financement permet à l'entreprise d'assurer la pérennité de l'entité économique. Donc nous aborderons les possibilités de financement pour une entreprise, puis nous développons des limites de ces fonds. Dans la deuxième partie de l'article nous exposons un ensemble de contraintes de qui doivent tenir compte toutes les entreprises visant le choix des moyens pour financer leurs activités.
More...
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), part of the CARES Act passed by the United States Congress in 2020, was instituted as a response to social distancing restrictions during the COVID pandemic that shut down large parts of the American economy. The purpose of PPP was to provide small businesses (and corporations with 500 employees and less) with easy-access loans to help make essential operating payments such as rent, utilities and payroll. If PPP funds were properly used as promised, then the amount borrowed would be forgiven - meaning the loan would be converted to a grant and the borrowed funds would never have to be repaid. The PPP was rolled out in two phases: April 2020 and January 2021. This paper will address if the program worked as envisioned - what was the PPP’s ultimate effectiveness? Did it really save jobs and businesses from failing? This paper will also research the percentage of fraudulent or criminal PPP loans - was there widespread fraud, abuse and misuse of the easy-access funds?
More...
The chapter focuses on the functioning of the institution of the Tourist Guarantee Fund as a tool of the state tourism policy, an obligatory pillar of security of tour operators and, in practice, an important tool to manage the risk accompanying tour operators’ activity. The theoretical part presents the operation of tour operators and its selected consequences, i.e. the need for risk management. Then, the conditions and mechanism behind the establishment of the Tourist Guarantee Fundare discussed, along with the most important formal framework for its operation and the resulting scope of tasks. The practical part, on the other hand, focuses on identifying key moments in the functioning of the TGF in the years 2016–2020. The considerations are based on rich literature, as well as on the analysis of materials published on one of the recognizable tourism industry portals, associated with one of the leading press titles – Turystyka.rp.pl portal.
More...
This article aims to introduce the concept of the value of human capital from both the historical and economic side. The impact of socio-economic changes primarily concerns people, their contribution, the impact on the quality and manner of their work, and thus on the value of human capital. Observations of changes, the development of technology, but also the strong influence of knowledge and education caused the division of social classes. The value of human capital has become an important factor of the “new economy”, where ultimately the science of accounting adds it to the balance sheet category of intangible assets. The article presents the main methods of calculating the value of human capital and their limitations. In addition, it aims to raise awareness of the contribution of work performed by each employee and its impact on the value of the company.
More...
During the 2007–2013 period, the state offered support to entrepreneurs, aimed at the development of export activities. A significant part of it was co-financed by EU funds in two financial perspectives: 2007–2013 and 2014–2020. In both these periods, entrepreneurs could use regional (voivodeship) and national programmes, and some of them could use the programme for the Eastern Poland microregion. The variety of programmes resulted in diversified access to aid for companies, depending on their size (status) and place of business activities (headquarters). Depending on a specific programme, or even its part, the objectives of the support programmes were defined slightly differently. While all of them were to support exporters, some of them focused on the increase in the number of exporters, and others focused on the diversification of export directions. We can observe the effects of these programmes by studying the current number of companies involved in exports, and the almost constant increase in the value of Polish exports year on year. However, the strong concentration of exports on the European market, in particular the European Union market, remains a big challenge.
More...
The entry of a company whose securities are traded on the alternative market into the main trading floor entails a significant increase of information obligations. Providing information by companies to their business environment is a specific narrative constructed as part of reporting obligations. The purpose of this article to make a comparative analysis of the content and quality of the Board’s report on the activity of a company listed on NewConnect and on the Main Market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The author argues that the entry into the main market results in an increase of the quality of the report and at the same time it is a manifestation of shaping the company’s image within its narrative. Two main methods were used to attain the pursued goal and to prove the thesis: studies of relevant literature, including the analysis of legal regulations, and an empirical study of the reports on the activity of the issuers – the Board’s reports. The analysis of the legal regulations proved that the Board’s report in the case of a company listed on the regulated market must contain more information than the Board’s report concerning a company listed on NewConnect. The empirical study proved that for companies listed on NewConnect, the Board’s reports are characterized by informational minimum, while the entry into the main trading floor determines not only a higher information content of such a report but also an increase in the carefulness of its preparation.
More...
Resilience finance is understood as an advancement of Socially Responsible Investments. In the wake of the COVID-19 economic fallout, unprecedented amounts of governmental rescue and recovery aid were allocated towards social and environmental causes. This paper argues that advances in Socially Responsible Investments are resilience finance pegged to noble causes but also ethics and ideologies. The COVID-19 bailout and recovery packages can potentially provide, if well-designed and properly-used, a unique opportunity to develop fairer and sustainable societies. Finance can imbue responsibility in the post-COVID-19 era in the establishment and fortification of the current Sustainable Development Goals but potentially also in negative screenings and sanction mechanisms in international law infringements. The article argues for a comparative Behavioral Law & Economics approach to understand the most contemporary international finance politics and responsible investment trends around the world.
More...
Detailed presentation of investment intermediation in the Bulgarian economic environment. Narrowing of the research on the specifics of intermediation on foreign exchange markets in Bulgaria. Brief description of innovations, legal restrictions, customer requirements, regulations, reporting and technical support. Explanation of investment security and capital security for the intermediary. Future development of the industry and opportunities for foreign exchange markets.
More...
Aging requires thinking about saving money for the time when people do not work anymore. However, it is a challenge nowadays because of high inflation and a dynamic global economic situation. It is not reasonable to keep all money as cash for the retirement period, and one should think about different forms of investments. In order to diversify risk, it is necessary not only to use traditional investments like stocks or bonds, but also to get acquainted with alternative ones. Typical assets like stocks or bonds can be partially replaced in the portfolio by some types of alternative investments like, for example, precious metals. It is most often gold, which is treated in scientific papers as a risk diversifier, so platinum is studied in this chapter. The research aims to analyze the investment features of platinum. The author tries to answer the question whether platinum can be a risk diversifier for stock investments. Statistics for this unique metal are checked and compared with those for stocks. The hypothesis is that platinum can be applied in risk management for stock portfolios helping to achieve a better relation of risk-return.
More...
