Financial literacy and responsible finance in the FinTech era : capabilities and challenges

Panos gratefully acknowledges funding from the PROFIT project. Project PROFIT has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation under grant agreement no. 687895.A growing body of evidence suggests that financial literacy plays an important role in financial well-being, and that differences in financial knowledge acquired early in life can explain a significant part of financial and more general well-being in adult life. Financial technology (FinTech) is revolutionising the financial services industry at an unrivalled pace. Views differ regarding the likely impact that FinTech is likely to have on personal financial planning, well-being and societal welfare. In an era of mounting student debt, increased (digital) financial inclusion, and threats arising from instances of (online) financial fraud, financial education and enlightened financial advising appropriate policy interventions that enhance financial and overall well-being. This special issue engages in this important academic and policy agenda by presenting a set of seven new papers emanating from four parallel streams of literature related to financial literacy and responsible finance.PostprintPeer reviewe

How does credit supply react to a natural disaster? Evidence from the Indian Ocean Tsunami

The supply of credit may increase or decrease following a natural disaster, depending on the extent to which banks can absorb risk, and the economic prospects and demand for finance by affected firms and households. In this paper, we assess the impact of a natural disaster (Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004) on the aggregate supply of credit to provinces throughout Thailand. The results of our investigation suggest that the tsunami has long-lasting negative effects on bank lending, albeit the effects are spread unevenly across geographic areas with most of the reduction in aggregate lending occurring in severely affected provinces. We also find that the presence of bank branches in affected regions mitigates some of the adverse lending effects that follow the tsunami.PostprintPeer reviewe

Regulatory oversight and bank risk

We investigate how a change in regulatory oversight affects bank risk, using the passage of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act of 2018 as a setting. Using a sample of bank holding companies (BHCs) covering the period 2015Q1 through 2020Q1, we find that risk increases for large BHCs affected by a change in regulatory oversight. In addition to increasing bank level risk, affected BHCs increase their respective contribution to the systemic risk. These BHCs also experience higher profitability, increased market valuation and reduced compliance costs.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Proximity to bank headquarters and branch efficiency : evidence from mortgage lending

We use the staggered introduction of new flight routes to identify reductions in travel time between banks’ headquarters and branches to examine their effects on branch outputs and efficiency. Reductions in headquarters-branch travel time increases branch-level mortgage origination volume, and these loans exhibit higher ex-post performance. Further analyses suggest these effects are due to branch employees working harder and more efficiently in seeking new customers, and screening applications. Overall, our results suggest that geographic proximity enables bank headquarters to monitor branches more effectively and mitigate distance-related agency costs.Peer reviewe

Mehrfache Intelligenzen und Umweltintelligenz

Polazeći od teorije višestrukih inteligencija i njenih pedagoških implikacija te ekologije kao egzistencijalnog problema čovjeka, u radu se na osnovi teorijske analize ukazuje na realnu mogućnost postojanja i razvoja ekološke inteligencije kao specifične inteligencije. Na osnovi društvenog značenja i potrebe ekološkog odgoja, obrazovanja i osposobljavanja za preventivno i kurativno ekološko djelovanje, za što je potrebno razvijati specifične kognitivne sposobnosti, te inteligencije kao pretpostavke za racionalno ekološko djelovanje i učenje, obrazlaže se potreba istraživanja postojanja, odnosno razvoja ekološke inteligencije. Nakon razmatranja psihologijskih i ekologijskih teorija, kao argumenti se navode, prema Gardnerovoj Preglednoj karti teorije višestrukih inteligencija, traženi kriteriji i prepoznatljiva obilježja ekološke inteligencije. Na osnovi analize i prikaza navedenih kriterija zaključuje se da ekološka inteligencija ispunjava gotovo u potpunosti sve tražene kriterije. U zaključku se predlaže pokretanje psihologijskih i pedagogijskih istraživanja ekološke inteligencije.Starting with the theory of multiple intelligences and its pedagogical implications, as well as the ecology as an existential concern of humankind, this study, based on a theoretical analysis, suggests an actual possibility of the existence and development of ecological intelligence as a specific intelligence type. The necessity for researching the existence and development of ecological intelligence is explained on the basis of the social significance of and a need for ecological education and training for preventive and curative ecological activity, which requires the development of specific cognitive abilities, as well as on the basis of intelligence as a starting point for rational ecological action and learning. After considering psychological and ecological theories, this study explores, according to Gardner’s Comprehensive Overview of the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, the required criteria and recognisable features of ecological intelligence. Based on the analysis and illustration of these criteria, the author finds that ecological intelligence almost entirely meets the criteria. The study concludes by suggesting an initiative for psychological and pedagogical exploration of ecological intelligence.Ausgehend von der Theorie der mehrfachen Intelligenz und ihrer pädagogischen Implikationen sowie dem Umweltschutz als existentiellem Problem des Menschen, wird in der Arbeit anhand theoretscher Analyse auf die reale Möglichkeit des Vorhandsenseinns und der Entwicklung ökologischer Intelligenz als spezifischer Intelligenzform hingewiesen. Auf Grund gesellschaftlicher Bedeutung und Bedürfnisse nach der Erziehung und Befähigung für das präventive und kurative Umwelthandeln, das die Entwicklung spezifischer kognitiver Föhigkeiten sowie der Intelligenz als Voraussetzung für das rationale Umweltdenken und – handeln erfordert, wird die Notwendigkeit der Erforschung bzw. Entwicklung der Umweltintelligenz erörtert. Nach der Behandlung von psychologischen und ökologischen Theorien werden nach Gardners Übersichtskarte zur Theorie der mehrfachen Intelligenzen als Argumente geforderte Kriterien und erkennbare Merkmale der Umweltintelligenz angeführt. Auf Grund der Analyse und Darstellung der angeführten Kriterien zieht man die Schlussfolgerung, dass die Umweltintelligenz fast vollständig alle geforderten Kriterien erfüllt. Anschließend wird vorgeschlagen, psychologische und pädagogische Erforschungen der Umweltintelligenz ins Leben zu rufen

The 2015 Chileno Valley glacial lake outburst flood, Patagonia

Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) have become increasingly common over the past century in response to climate change, posing risks for human activities in many mountain regions. In this paper we document and reconstruct the sequence of events and impact of a large GLOF that took place in December 2015 in the Chileno Valley, Patagonia. Hydrograph data suggests that the flood continued for around eight days with an estimated total discharge of 105.6 × 106 m3 of water. The sequence of events was as follows: (1) A large debris flow entered the lake from two steep and largely non-vegetated mountain gullies located northeast of the Chileno Glacier terminus. (2) Water displaced in the lake by the debris flow increased the discharge through the Chileno Lake outflow. (3) Lake and moraine sediments were eroded by the flood. (4) Eroded sediments were redistributed downstream by the GLOF. The post-GLOF channel at the lake outlet widened in some places by >130 m and the surface elevation of the terrain lowered by a maximum of 38.8 ± 1.5 m. Farther downstream, large amounts of entrained sediment were deposited at the head of an alluvial plain and these sediments produced an ~340 m wide fan with an average increase in surface elevation over the pre-GLOF surface of 4.6 ± 1.5 m. We estimate that around 3.5 million m3 of material was eroded from the flood-affected area whilst over 0.5 million m3 of material was deposited in the downstream GLOF fan. The large debris flow that triggered the GLOF was probably a paraglacial response to glacier recession from its Little Ice Age limits. We suggest that GLOFs will continue to occur in these settings in the future as glaciers further recede in response to global warming and produce potentially unstable lakes. Detailed studies of GLOF events are currently limited in Patagonia and the information presented here will therefore help to inform future glacial hazard assessments in this region

The Australian Bank Levy : do shareholders pay?

Since the global financial crisis, the tax treatment of banks has gained interest in academic and public policy arenas. In this paper, we investigate the stock price reaction of a small sample of commercial banks that were affected by the sudden introduction of a bank levy in Australia. The results of an event study analysis suggest that there is a significant decline in the returns of affected banks following the announcement of the bank levy. This suggests that the banks liable to pay the Australian bank levy lose a considerable percentage (5.2%) of their market capitalisation following its announcement.PostprintPeer reviewe

Integration, productivity and technological spillovers : evidence for eurozone banking industries

In the context of the current debate on increased integration of eurozone banking markets following the global financial and sovereign debt crises, this paper evaluates the impact of regulatory reform, starting from the inception of the Single Market in 1992, on bank productivity and assesses the cross-border benefits of integration in terms of technological spillovers. We utilise a parametric meta-frontier Divisia index to estimate productivity change and identify technological gaps. We then assess the extent to which productivity converges within and across banking industries as a result of technological spillovers. Our results suggest that productivity growth has occurred for eurozone countries, driven by technological progress, both at the country and the supra-country level, although the latter slows or in some cases reverses since the onset of the crisis. Technological spillovers do exist, and have led to progression toward the best technology. However, convergence is not complete and significant long run differences in productivity persist. Improvements in technology are increasingly concentrated in fewer banking industries.PostprintPeer reviewe

Audit committee oversight and bank financial reporting quality

This study investigates the impact of audit committee oversight on the financial reporting quality of US bank holding companies. To overcome identification concerns, we use Section 165 h of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which requires publicly traded bank holding companies with assets exceeding $10 billion to have separate audit and risk committees. We utilise a difference‐in‐differences framework where our treatment group comprises bank holding companies that were required to separate audit and risk oversight functions following the introduction of Section 165 h and our control group comprises counterparts that already had separate audit and risk committees prior to the passage of Section 165 h. We estimate the difference in the behavior of treated bank holding companies between the pre‐ and post‐implementation period of Section 165 h with the same difference in the behavior of control group counterparts and find that the separation of audit and risk committees leads to an improvement in financial reporting quality. We attribute the observed improvements in financial reporting quality to the increased focus of audit committees arising from a reduction in the volume and complexity of tasks undertaken following the implementation of Section 165 h

Exploring the Local Milky Way: M Dwarfs as Tracers of Galactic Populations

We have assembled a spectroscopic sample of low-mass dwarfs observed as part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey along one Galactic sightline, designed to investigate the observable properties of the thin and thick disks. This sample of ~7400 K and M stars also has measured ugriz photometry, proper motions, and radial velocities. We have computed UVW space motion distributions, and investigate their structure with respect to vertical distance from the Galactic Plane. We place constraints on the velocity dispersions of the thin and thick disks, using two-component Gaussian fits. We also compare these kinematic distributions to a leading Galactic model. Finally, we investigate other possible observable differences between the thin and thick disks, such as color, active fraction and metallicity.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures, Accepted by A