Crisis' Heritage Management - New Business Opportunities Out of the Financial Collapse

This paper intends to present the opportunities emerging for the national economy, out of the financial crisis. In particular the management of those, which arise from the commercial real estate owned property sector, defined by the author as crisis heritage management. On one hand, as real estate property prices are subject of wide fluctuations, the longer possession of such assets can seriously impact the financial condition of the already shattered financial institutions, but on the on other - with the help of professional and proactive management, and the right kind of attitude by all the stakeholders, the heritage left out of the financial collapse, can not only help stabilize the system - bringing liquidity into it, but can also support its healthy corporate governance in the long-term. The properties themselves (business buildings, warehouses, retail-and-office spaces), being an object of optimization of maintenance costs, re-engineering, intensive marketing, as a result of the crisis, can serve as a solid base for number of new and profitable business and investment opportunities, described in the article, as a proof of the healing effect of the financial crisis and the second chance it gives.Comment: Presented at the 2013 Sofia Business School Master Classes in Global Risks Managemen

The Theory of Financial Intermediation

Traditional theories of intermediation are based on transaction costs and asymmetric information. They are designed to account for institutions which take deposits or issue insurance policies and channel funds to firms. However, in recent decades there have been significant changes. Although transaction costs and asymmetric information have declined, intermediation has increased. New markets for financial futures and options are mainly markets for intermediaries rather than individuals or firms. These changes are difficult to reconcile with the traditional theories. We discuss the role of intermediation in this new context stressing risk trading and participation costs.

Factors influencing branchless banking for microfinance in Sudan: Theoretical perspectives and future directions

In Sudan more than 40% live below the poverty line and getting basic financial service poses a challenge to financial institutions. Most of these unserved populations live in far-flung areas that make it difficult for microfinance institutions to reach them. But the enormous growth of mobile technology industry has created new opportunity to expand financial services to this unserved population. Branchless banking is one of the latest technologies that have been employed in different developing countries to expand financial services to the unbanked poor. Despite the potential benefits and relevance of Branchless banking to Sudan, there are still very few studies on Branchless banking in Sudan. To address this gap in the literature, this study aims to investigate the factors that are essential to the development of branchless banking in Sudan using mobile technology. This is a research-in-progress paper, the critical review of the literature so far revealed that there are essential factors for the success of branchless banking in Sudan e.g. the identification of the industry key players and their roles, the enabling regulatory environment, the infrastructure readiness and Sudanese cultural values. The paper will provide regulators and policy makers in Sudan a way forward to expedite the development of suitable Branchless banking for microfinance in Sudan

Credit risk transfer and contagion

Some have argued that recent increases in credit risk transfer are desirable because they improve the diversification of risk. Others have suggested that they may be undesirable if they increase the risk of financial crises. Using a model with banking and insurance sectors, we show that credit risk transfer can be beneficial when banks face uniform demand for liquidity. However, when they face idiosyncratic liquidity risk and hedge this risk in an interbank market, credit risk transfer can be detrimental to welfare. It can lead to contagion between the two sectors and increase the risk of crises. Klassifikation: G21, G2

State regulation of the national currency exchange rate by gold and foreign currency reserve management

Status of the national currency of Ukraine exchange rate has been characterized as unstable in recent years. Herewith, the Government has not implemented decisive measures on its stabilization, as a rule, underestimating the importance of the Hryvnia exchange rate stability for the successful economic growth in terms of socio-economic transformations. It should also be noted that in modern conditions among scientific and methodical approaches to the State exchange rate formation mechanisms some uncertainty regarding basic and additional tools for such regulatory activities allocation is still persist. The problem relevance is exacerbated by the lack of effective policy (coordination between the NBU and the Government actions) regarding the national currency stabilization as an indispensable prerequisite for an effective macroeconomic development. These circumstances determine the importance of factors influencing the national currency exchange rate and its regulation tools research, as well as new organizational and economic mechanisms for the national currency exchange rate in Ukraine stabilization identification. In the emerging market economy conditions formation of the efficient State currency exchange-rate regulation system provides an opportunity not only to stabilize its exchange rate in different socio-economic conditions, but to create the basis for improvement the country economic development as a whole. Given this, the issue of effective tools for the national currency exchange-rate regulation by the state determination is of theoretical, practical and methodological significance. This emphasizes the relevance of further scientific-methodological and practical principles in-depth development for the national currency exchange-rate regulation

Technology payment cards communication with banking institutions in the field of cashless payment

The aim is now used to describe the infrastructure of payment cards, ATMs, now used to describe the infrastructure of payment systems, mainly the payment cards and NFC technology and secure payment throw the internet. In this article, we examine a new technology application which is coming into its own around the world, in association with the revolution in wireless connectivity. Our findings are intended to guide in dealing with the economic aspects of mobile payments, and to help identify some important directions for the research