Non-price competition in credit card markets through bundling and bank level benefits

The attempts to explain the high and sticky credit card rates have given rise to a vast literature on credit card markets. This paper endeavors to explain the rates in the Turkish market using measures of non-price competition. In this market, issuers compete monopolistically by differentiating their credit card products. The fact that credit cards and all other banking services are perceived as a bundle by consumers allows banks to deploy also bank level characteristics to differentiate their credit cards. Thus, credit card rates are expected to be affected by the features and service quality of banks. Panel data estimations also control for various costs associated with credit card lending. The results show significant and robust effects of the non-price competition variables on credit card rates.Credit Cards, Monopolistic Competition, Product Differentiation, Bundling, Bank Pricing Behavior, Regulation

The Failure of Price Competition In The Turkish Credit Card Market

The failure of competition and the consequent high and sticky interest rates in credit card markets have been the subject of a considerable amount of debate and research lately. This paper presents the first regression testing for the existence of price competition in a credit card market to be estimated free of dynamic panel bias using recent quarterly data from Turkey. The estimation reveals that even though the effect of the cost of funds on credit card rates is statistically significant, it is very weak. The paper thus provides empirical evidence for the failure of price competition in the Turkish credit card market.Credit Cards, Price Competition, System GMM, Banking

Design of an echo canceller for acoustic halls

A major problem in many public address systems of large halls is the poor perception of message due to multiple reflections-echoes-in the hall. The general approach to this problem is to identify the characteristics of the echo path and then generate an echo replica which cancels out the real echo signal. In this thesis, a novel structured FIR equalizer is proposed for the cancellation process. It requires less taps than the existing equalizers and operates directly on the dominant echoes to generate an efficient echo replica. Extensive simulation studies are carried out for evaluating the performance of the proposed acoustic echo canceller. The new approach considerably improves the computational complexity and enables possible implementations on commercial DSP boards

Transformation of the Turkish Financial Sector in the Aftermath of the 2001 Crisis

This paper attempts to delineate the evolution of the Turkish banking sector in the post-crisis era after 2001. The paper summarizes the events in the Turkish banking sector until the 2001 crisis. After that, a section focuses on the major regulatory changes. A detailed account of the consolidation and transformation of Turkish banks following the crisis is presented with reference to various structural indicators of the sector. Efficiency and foreign bank entry are examined in for the post-crisis period as well

The Failure of Price Competition In The Turkish Credit Card Market

The failure of competition and the consequent high and sticky interest rates in credit card markets have been the subject of a considerable amount of debate and research lately. This paper presents the first regression testing for the existence of price competition in a credit card market to be estimated free of dynamic panel bias using recent quarterly data from Turkey. The estimation reveals that even though the effect of the cost of funds on credit card rates is statistically significant, it is very weak. The paper thus provides empirical evidence for the failure of price competition in the Turkish credit card market

The Failure of Price Competition In The Turkish Credit Card Market

The failure of competition and the consequent high and sticky interest rates in credit card markets have been the subject of a considerable amount of debate and research lately. This paper presents the first regression testing for the existence of price competition in a credit card market to be estimated free of dynamic panel bias using recent quarterly data from Turkey. The estimation reveals that even though the effect of the cost of funds on credit card rates is statistically significant, it is very weak. The paper thus provides empirical evidence for the failure of price competition in the Turkish credit card market