The Finnish Banking Crisis and Its Handling

The paper gives a brief description of the evolution of the Finnish banking crisis and its handling. In the first section, the salient features of the Finnish banking system are described. We then briefly discuss the liberalization process, macroeconomic and regulatory policies, and the subsequent credit boom and its development into a recession of unprecedented depth. Next, we document the impact on bank profitablity of the drastic changes in macroeconomic conditions. The collapse and rescue of Skopbank are summarized. In section 2 we describe the public safety net, starting with the pre-crisis arrangements. This is followed by an exposition of the new measures taken in 1992, with the emphasis on the establishment of the Government Guarantee Fund, its organization, powers and principles of operation. Section 3 gives an account of the support measures taken by the Goverment Guarantee Fund in the course of 1992 and in early 1993. Section 4 describes the reform of the bank support arrangements in the early months of 1993. Finally, in section 5, we discuss the banks' current economic environment and their prospects in the near future. We also take up some of the major issues of principle relating to the rationalization of the banking sector. The paper includes references to recent articles and discussion papers dealing with important aspects of the current banking crisis. The list of references is by no means exhaustive, and it is designed mainly to help foreign readers to find supplementary material. Therefore only those papers in Finnish or Swedish which have to do directly with the current crisis are included.banking; crisis

The Finnish Banking Crisis and Its Handling (an update of developments through 1993)

The paper is an update through early 1994 of a similarly titled paper (Bank of Finland Discussion Papers 8/93). It gives a brief description of the evolution of the Finnish banking crisis and its handling. In the first section, the salient features of the Finnish banking system are described. We then briefly discuss the liberalization process, macroeconomic and regulatory policies, and the subsequent credit boom and its development into a recession of unprecedented depth. Next, we document the impact on bank profitablity of the drastic changes in macroeconomic conditions. The collapse and rescue of Skopbank are summarized. In section 2 we describe the public safety net, starting with the pre-crisis arrangements. This is followed by an exposition in section 3 of the new measures taken in 1992 and 1993, with the emphasis on the establishment of the Government Guarantee Fund, its organization, powers and principles of operation. Section 4 gives an account of the support measures taken by the Goverment Guarantee Fund in the course of 1992 and the whole of 1993. Finally, in section 5, we discuss the banks' current economic environment and their prospects in the near future, now also brought forward into early 1994. The paper includes references to recent articles and discussion papers dealing with important aspects of the current banking crisis. The list of references is by no means exhaustive, and it is designed mainly to help foreign readers to find supplementary material. Therefore only those papers in Finnish or Swedish which have to do most with the current crisis are included.banking; crisis

Descriptive analysis of Finnish equity, bond and money market returns

This paper gathers the longest available historical monthly return series for the Finnish equity, bond and money markets as well as inflation. The series are analysed to calculate the statistical characteristics of the returns investors would have received in these markets. We also survey existing literature concerning the history of these markets and review the main developments to facilitate future research on the long-term development of the Finnish markets. Using a new total return stock market index for Finland in an approach similar to Mehra and Prescott (2003), we find the equity premium for Finland to be 10.14 per cent from 1913 to 2009.equity market; bond market; money market; risk premium; Finland; Helsinki Stock Exchange; performance

A new value-weighted total return index for the Finnish stock market

This paper presents a new monthly value-weighted, all-share total return index for the Finnish stock market. The index covers the period from the establishment of the Helsinki Stock Exchange in October 1912 to the beginning of 1970, after which the WI index by Berglund et al (1983) and later in December 1990, the Exchange’s own HEX index are available. When combined, these can be used to study the development of the Finnish equity market without a break from the beginning of the stock market until the present day. We also provide a detailed description of the construction methodology and a comparison between our index and those available earlier. The new index replaces the Unitas price index, which has been the only index available for long-term studies from 1928 onwards. The new index also provides an alternative to the book equity weighted Poutvaara (1996) price index for the period 1912–1929.stock market index; Finland; Helsinki Stock Exchange; Nasdaq OMX; OMXH; Unitas

Vrai: The Culture of Knockoff Goods in Morocco Their Social Value, Utility, and Context in Contemporary Rabat

Fashion has long been an aspect of culture through which people identify, and it serves as a marker for class, nationality, and various other social statuses. With the continued democratization of culture via the internet and its various outlets, such as social media, fashion culture and the divide between high couture and mass-produced clothing, as noted by Bourdieu, is becoming less distinct. In the context of Rabat, Morocco, this has partially played out in the consumption of knockoff goods by the youth, a part of a larger individuation[1] process that includes a “westernization”of dress and a slow departure from “traditional” wear. To examine the motivations, other than economic, for purchasing knockoff couture and whether the authenticity of the good matters to the consumer, this study utilizes interviews and observation of consumers, promoters, shopkeepers of real and fake couture. The qualitative research finds evidence to support the idea that the imagery and myth touted on social media are highly influential in purchasing of fake goods. Though class distinctions between those who can afford authentic couture and those who sport knockoffs are still very much apparent, the identification with global trends allows consumers of fake luxury goods to take part in global trends playing out through the individuation and digitalization of Morocco, and specifically Rabat

Judicial Independence and Democratic Accountability in Highest State Courts

Carrington notes that because judges in trial and intermediate courts are accountable to highest courts, it is the latter that are responsible for keeping the faith with democratic traditions

Electronic excitation of transition metal nitrides by light ions with keV energies

We investigated the specific electronic energy deposition by protons and He ions with keV energies in different transition metal nitrides of technological interest. Data were obtained from two different time-of-flight ion scattering setups and show excellent agreement. For protons interacting with light nitrides, i.e. TiN, VN and CrN, very similar stopping cross sections per atom were found, which coincide with literature data of N2 gas for primary energies <= 25 keV. In case of the chemically rather similar nitrides with metal constituents from the 5th and 6th period, i.e. ZrN and HfN, the electronic stopping cross sections were measured to exceed what has been observed for molecular N2 gas. For He ions, electronic energy loss in all nitrides was found to be significantly higher compared to the equivalent data of N2 gas. Additionally, deviations from velocity proportionality of the observed specific electronic energy loss are observed. A comparison with predictions from density functional theory for protons and He ions yields a high apparent efficiency of electronic excitations of the target for the latter projectile. These findings are considered to indicate the contributions of additional mechanisms besides electron hole pair excitations, such as electron capture and loss processes of the projectile or promotion of target electrons in atomic collisions

Macroeconomic Aspects of Systemic Bank Restructuring

Systemic bank problems arise for a large number of causes and in spite of both active banking supervision and market discipline. Once a problem has emerged, swift action is needed to limit further losses, avoid financial destabilization, and regain efficient markets. The restructuring exercise is essentially microeconomic in nature, but has strong links to the development of the whole economy. Particularly important is to improve risk management in banks and support only viable banks with fit and proper governance. Government bank support is ultimately constrained by the need to safeguard government creditworthiness, and bank creditors may therefore have to carry substantial parts of the loss. Monetary policy should aim for a low and stable rate of inflation without sudden changes in interest or exchange rates, but lending of last resort should remain available at government risk. Bank restructuring is complicated by the need to simultaneously restructure important bank customers.banking crisis; bank restructuring; financial stability; government support; macroeconomic policy