Banks, knowledge and crisis: a case of knowledge and learning failure

Purpose – Regulators such as Turner have identified excessive securitization, high leverage, extensive market trading and a bonus culture, as being major factors in bringing about the bank centred financial crisis of 2007-2009. Whilst it is inevitable that banks adopt procyclical business strategies, not all banks took excessive risks and subsequently had to be rescued by taxpayers. The paper examines the extent to which individual bank outcomes can be attributed to systematic differences in banking knowledge concerning the primary risks and value drivers of their organisations by bank board directors and top management. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews a wide range of theoretical, historical and empirical literatures on banking models and detailed case analyses of failing and non-failing banks. A framework for understanding the role and application of knowledge in banking is developed which suggests how banks, despite their pro-cyclical business strategies, are able to institutionalise learning and actively create new knowledge through time to improve bank organisation, intermediation and risk management. Findings – The paper finds that a lack of basic knowledge of banking risks and value drivers by the boards and senior managers of the failing banks were implicated in the banking crisis. These knowledge problems concerned banks' understanding of their organisation, intermediation and risk management in an active market setting characterised by rapid economic and organisational change. Thus, the failing banks ignored or were unaware of this knowledge and hence experienced acute difficulties with learning the new knowledge needed to address the new problems thrown-up by the financial crisis. Practical implications – The analysis suggests that addressing this knowledge gap via the institutionalisation of banking knowledge ought to constitute an important element of any sustainable solution to the problems currently being experienced by the banking sector. By ensuring greater bank learning, knowledge creation, and knowledge use, governments and regulators could help reduce individual bank risk and the likelihood of future crisis. Originality/value – In contrast to the claims made by some politicians and banking insiders, the analysis indicates that the banking crisis and its severity were neither unpredictable nor unavoidable since some banks, by institutionalising banking knowledge and history of past crises, successfully avoided the pitfalls experienced by the failing banks

Brief of Amici Curiae in Support of Appellant, James Townsend v. Midland Funding, LLC

The Consumer Protection Clinic of the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, filed a Motion to Participate and an Amicus Brief in the case of Townsend v. Midland Funding, LLC. The case presents the question of whether documents created by third party predecessors in interest—usually a bank—may be admitted into evidence when a debt buyer plaintiff does not demonstrate personal knowledge regarding any of the foundational elements which would be required to admit the documents under the business records exception to the hearsay rule. Amici urge the Court to overturn the lower court, and hold that a debt buyer’s documents may not be admitted into evidence without the debt buyer first laying the proper foundation for the business records exception to the hearsay rule. The Clinic was joined by AARP, the National Consumer Law Center, the National Association of Consumer Advocates, and by the Maryland Legal Aid Bureau and Maryland\u27s Public Justice Center. The Brief deals with the problems of data integrity and the lack of competent, reliable evidence in lawsuits filed purchasers of charged off credit card debt, known as debt buyers. The Consumer Protection Clinic and other amici examine due process and professionalism concerns which arise when our courts (primarily Maryland\u27s District Court) do not strictly apply the special evidentiary and procedural rules which exist for small claims actions

Regional/District economic developments

Federal Reserve District, 5th ; Economic indicators

Greek-Turkish relations, Istanbul and british rule in Cyrpus, 1954-59: Some excerpts from the british public archive

Τα έγγραφα πού δημοσιεύονταν στην εργασία αυτή κατοπτρίζουν τήνάνάπτυξη τής τουρκικής πολιτικής σε σχέση μέ τήν Κύπρο, μεταξύ τού 1954καί των Συμφωνιών τοΰ Φεβρουάριου τού 1959, μέσα άπό το πρίσμα τήςβρετανικής γραφειοκρατίας. Ή επαμφοτερίζουσα, άκόμη καί άδιάφορη στάσητής τουρκικής κυβέρνησης ήταν εμφανείς στά άρχικά στάδια τής διαμάχης.Ή βρετανική τακτική ένθαρρύνσεως τής τουρκικής άνάμειξης κατά τήδιάρκεια των συζητήσεων στά 'Ηνωμένα Έθνη το 1954 ήταν αυτό πού διατά-ραξε τήν ισορροπία.Τό ξέσπασμα τής βίας στήν Κύπρο τον ’Απρίλιο τοΰ 1955 προκάλεσεάναμφίβολα τήν τουρκική άνησυχία δτι ή Βρετανία ήταν έτοιμη νά άποσυρ-θεΐ άπό τήν άποικία της, δπως άλλωστε είχε συμβεί άπό άλλα σημεία τήςαυτοκρατορίας. Μετά ταΰτα, γιά κάποιο χρονικό διάστημα ό κύριος σκοπόςτής “Αγκυρας ήταν απλώς νά θεμελιώσει τό locus standi της σε σχέση μέ τήνΚύπρο καί νά κερδίσει ένα ειδικό καθεστώς κατά τή λήψη τών βρετανικώνάποφάσεων. Οί άνθελληνικοί διωγμοί στήν Κωνσταντινούπολη τον Σεπτέμβριοσχεδιάστηκαν μέ τήν προοπτική αυτών τών στόχων.Στή διάρκεια τών διαπραγματεύσεων πού άκολούθησαν μεταξύ τοΰ Κυβερνήτητής Κύπρου καί τοΰ ’Αρχιεπισκόπου Μακαρίου (’Οκτώβριος 1955-Φεβρουάριος 1956) ή τουρκική κυβέρνηση παρέμεινε στό παρασκήνιο.Τό βρετανικό «σχέδιο» τοΰ ’Ιουνίου τοΰ 1956, στό όποιο γινόταν ειδική(άν καί άκρως επιφυλακτική) άναφορά στήν αύτοδιάθεση τής Κύπρου, ήταναύτό πού προκάλεσε τις φήμες γιά ενδεχόμενη τουρκική στρατιωτική επιχείρηση.’Εκείνη τήν περίοδο οί τουρκικές επιδιώξεις είχαν διογκωθεί μέτήν άναγνώριση τής βρετανικής έξάρτησης άπό τή βοήθεια τής “Αγκυραςτόσο στήν Κύπρο, δσο καί όπουδήποτε άλλοΰ στή Μέση ’Ανατολή. Κατόπιναύτών ή σύγχυση περί τής εγκατάλειψης τής Κύπρου άπό τή βρετανικήκυβέρνηση ήταν μέρος μιας υπολογισμένης προσπάθειας νά περισωθοΰν οίάγγλοτουρκικοί δεσμοί. Άπό τήν άνοιξη τοΰ 1957 ή τουρκική κυβέρνησηέχασε σταδιακά τήν έμπιστοσύνη της στούς Βρετανούς. Ό ριζοσπαστικόςστόχος της έγινε ή άπόκτηση μεριδίου σέ όποιοδήποτε σύστημα άντικαθι-στοΰσε τελικά τήν άποικιοκρατική άρχή.Τό «σχέδιο Μακμίλλαν» πού άποκαλύφθηκε τόν ’Ιούνιο τοΰ 1958 έπιζη-τοΰσε νά ικανοποιήσει τις τουρκικές επιδιώξεις, στή βάση, ώστόσο, τήςσυνέχισης τής βρετανικής κυριαρχίας.Ή επιδείνωση τής διακοινοτικής διαμάχης στήν Κύπρο καί ή έντασηστήν εύρύτερη περιοχή κατά τή διάρκεια τοΰ καλοκαιριοΰ καί τοΰ φθινοπώρουτοΰ 1958 σήμαινε δτι τόσο γιά τήν Τουρκία δσο γιά τήν 'Ελλάδα μια άπευθείας διαπραγμάτευση για τήν ανεξαρτησία τής Κύπρου προσέφερανμια λιγότερο επικίνδυνη λύση από μια όποιαδήποτε εναλλακτική συνέχισητής ανάμειξης τής βρετανικής αρχής.Αύτό ήταν τό κρίσιμο παρασκήνιο των γεγονότων του τέλους του 1958καί των αρχών του 1959, πού θεμελίωσαν τήν ουσιώδη βάση τής μελλοντικήςΔημοκρατίας τής Κύπρου, καί έξαιτίας των όποιων οί Βρετανοί βρέθηκανάντιμέτωποι για πρώτη φορά με ένα ελληνοτουρκικό σχέδιο, στό όποιοδέν είχαν άλλη εναλλακτική δυνατότητα παρά να συναινέσουν. Αύτή ή βάσηήταν, ώστόσο, έμφανώς ιδιόμορφη καί περιλάμβανε πολιτικά καί συνταγματικάστοιχεία τά όποια είχαν προηγουμένως παρουσιαστεί στα βρετανικάσχέδια

Charter and Party Boat Operators in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico: A Social Structure Perspective

To better address the charter and party boat fishery needs in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, fishery managers must understand the linkages between the industry and other groups and organizations that affect its success. Gulf state charter and party boat operators were interviewed to ascertain the extent of their social network linkages, membership in community organizations, business community relationships, and linkages to information sources. Approximately one-third to one-half of the charter and party boat operators did not belong to local community organizations that could assist their business through tourism promotion or natural resource protection. Despite their limited integration in the community, the vast majority of operators gave and received referrals from other businesses. Of four major information sources, the National Weather Service and the County Marine Extension agents were rated highest and lowest, respectively, in mean importance to charter and party boat operators. Results suggest that business success can be enhanced by strengthening network ties between operators and local businesses, chambers of commerce, and tourism organizations. For this to occur, individual operators and charter/party boat organizations need to become more effective in representing industry interests. Informational linkages between industry and govemment agencies also need improvement

DNA methylation and socioeconomic status in a Mexican-American birth cohort.

Background: Maternal social environmental stressors during pregnancy are associated with adverse birth and child developmental outcomes, and epigenetics has been proposed as a possible mechanism for such relationships. Methods: In a Mexican-American birth cohort of 241 maternal-infant pairs, cord blood samples were measured for repeat element DNA methylation (LINE-1 and Alu). Linear mixed effects regression was used to model associations between indicators of the social environment (low household income and education, neighborhood-level characteristics) and repeat element methylation. Results from a dietary questionnaire were also used to assess the interaction between maternal diet quality and the social environment on markers of repeat element DNA methylation. Results: After adjusting for confounders, living in the most impoverished neighborhoods was associated with higher cord blood LINE-1 methylation (β = 0.78, 95%CI 0.06, 1.50, p = 0.03). No other neighborhood-, household-, or individual-level socioeconomic indicators were significantly associated with repeat element methylation. We observed a statistical trend showing that positive association between neighborhood poverty and LINE-1 methylation was strongest in cord blood of infants whose mothers reported better diet quality during pregnancy (pinteraction = 0.12). Conclusion: Our findings indicate a small yet unexpected positive association between neighborhood-level poverty during pregnancy and methylation of repetitive element DNA in infant cord blood and that this association is possibly modified by diet quality during pregnancy. However, our null findings for other adverse SES indicators do not provide strong evidence for an adverse association between early-life socioeconomic environment and repeat element DNA methylation in infants

Grassland futures in Great Britain – Productivity assessment and scenarios for land use change opportunities

This is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).To optimise trade-offs provided by future changes in grassland use intensity, spatially and temporally explicit estimates of respective grassland productivities are required at the systems level. Here, we benchmark the potential national availability of grassland biomass, identify optimal strategies for its management, and investigate the relative importance of intensification over reversion (prioritising productivity versus environmental ecosystem services). Process-conservative meta-models for different grasslands were used to calculate the baseline dry matter yields (DMY; 1961–1990) at 1 km2 resolution for the whole UK. The effects of climate change, rising atmospheric [CO2] and technological progress on baseline DMYs were used to estimate future grassland productivities (up to 2050) for low and medium CO2 emission scenarios of UKCP09. UK benchmark productivities of 12.5, 8.7 and 2.8 t/ha on temporary, permanent and rough-grazing grassland, respectively, accounted for productivity gains by 2010. By 2050, productivities under medium emission scenario are predicted to increase to 15.5 and 9.8 t/ha on temporary and permanent grassland, respectively, but not on rough grassland. Based on surveyed grassland distributions for Great Britain in 2010 the annual availability of grassland biomass is likely to rise from 64 to 72 million tonnes by 2050. Assuming optimal N application could close existing productivity gaps of ca. 40% a range of management options could deliver additional 21 ∗ 106 tonnes of biomass available for bioenergy. Scenarios of changes in grassland use intensity demonstrated considerable scope for maintaining or further increasing grassland production and sparing some grassland for the provision of environmental ecosystem services.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio