How do large banking organizations manage their capital ratio?

Large banking organizations in the U.S. hold significantly more equity capital than the minimum required by bank regulators. This capital cushion has built up during a period of unusual profitability for the banking system, leading some observers to argue that the capital merely reflects recent profits. Others contend that the banks deliberately choose target capital levels based on their risk exposures and their counterparties’ sensitivities to default risk. In either case, the existence of “excess” capital makes it difficult to observe how banks manage their capital levels, particularly in response to regulatory changes (such as Basel II). We propose several hypotheses to explain this “excess” capital, and test these hypotheses using annual panel data for large, publicly traded U.S. bank holding companies (BHCs) from 1992 through 2006, and an innovative partial adjustment approach that allows both the target capital ratios and the speed of adjustment toward those targets to vary with firm-specific characteristics. We find evidence to suggest that large BHCs actively managed their capital ratios during our sample period. Our tests suggest that large BHCs choose target capital levels substantially above well-capitalized regulatory minima; that these targets increase with BHC risk but decrease with BHC size; that BHCs adjust toward these targets relatively quickly; and that adjustment speeds are faster for poorly capitalized BHCs, but slower (ceteris paribus) for BHCs under severe regulatory pressure.Banks and banking ; Capital

Optical Emission Spectroscopy Monitoring Method for Additively Manufactured Iron-Nickel and Other Complex Alloy Samples

The method of optical emission spectroscopy has been used with Fe-Ni and other complex alloys to investigate in-situ compositional control for additive manufacturing. Although additive manufacturing of metallic alloys is an emerging technology, compositional control will be a challenge that needs to be addressed for a multitude of industries going forward for next-gen applications. This current scope of work includes analysis of ionized species generated from laser and metal powder interaction that is inherent to the laser engineered net shaping (LENS) process of additive manufacturing. By quantifying the amount of a given element's presence in the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum, this amount can be compared to the actual amount present in the sample via post-processing and elemental dispersive x-ray (EDX) data analysis. For this work a commercially available linear silicon CCD camera captured metallic ion peaks found within the ultraviolet (UV) region to avoid background contamination from blackbody radiation. Although the additive manufacturing environment can prove difficult to measure in-situ due to time dependent phenomena, extreme temperatures, and defect generation, OEM was able to capture multiple data points over a time series that showed a positive correlation between an element's peak intensity and the amount of that element found in the final deposit

The Expanding Role of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals in the Review of Workmen\u27s Compensation Appeals

The November elections of 1976 brought about a major change in the composition of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. Three new justices, a majority of the court, were elected. The consequences of the election have been widely felt throughout the State. In no area has its impact been greater, however, than in the area of workmen\u27s compensation law. The court has shown a great willingness to hear workmen\u27s compensation appeals. In reviewing such appeals, the court has chosen to play an active role in the review of evidence, something generally avoided by prior courts. There has been little reluctance to substitute the majority\u27s assessment of the evidence for the factual findings of the Workmen\u27s Compensation Appeal Board. In substantive law the court has likewise had great impact, and in certain areas has taken action which would normally be considered within the purview of the legislature. Most significantly, the statutory immunity to suit granted to employers by the West Virginia Workmen\u27s Compensation Act, except in cases of intentional injury, has been altered to an extent which will only be finally determined by later cases. Other decisions have: liberalized the continuous exposure requirements of the occupational pneumoconiosis provisions of the Act; removed the requirement of demonstrating aggravation of an existing occupational pneumoconiosis condition with a particular employer in order to be entitled to benefits; extended the protection of a legislatively lengthened statute of limitations to claimants whose occupational pneumoconiosis claims were not yet barred when the new limitation period became effective; permitted concurrent recovery of benefits in separate claims even though the total amount of benefits paid exceeded statutory limits; liberalized requirements for reopening claims; and provided protection for innocent victims of horseplay. This article will assess the new court\u27s role in reviewing both substantive and procedural aspects of workmen\u27s compensation law. The discussion is divided into two broad areas: substantive changes in West Virginia workmen\u27s compensation law; and scope of the court\u27s review