A Study On The Determinants Of Business Stability In Credit Card Firms: Evidence From Korea

This study empirically analyses several factors that affect financial stability such as the profitability of Korean credit card firms, capital adequacy, loan soundness, and liquidity. In particular, internal and external factors found in previous studies were applied to the analysis in order to investigate whether or not those factors had a significant effect on the business stability of Korean credit card firms. The major research findings are as follows. First, the determinant factors for profitability were found to be the degree of enlargement, foreign credibility, and the level of risk management. Second, the determinant factors for capital adequacy were found to be the degree of enlargement, diversification, foreign credibility, the level of management, and the interest rate. Third, the determinant factors for loan soundness were found to be the degree of enlargement and foreign credibility. Lastly, the determinant factors for liquidity were found to be the degree of diversification, foreign credibility, the level of risk management, the degree of competition, economic conditions, and the interest rate. In conclusion, with the recent reduction in the card affiliates’ fees, the leverage regulation, and the credit card debt suppression policy, financial authorities will likely refer to this study as they carefully examine the various influences on the business stability of domestic credit card firms and come up with relevant countermeasures for the continuous growth of those firms

Pro-Cyclicality Of Small And Medium Enterprise (Sme) Loans According To Financing Type Based On Purpose: Evidence From Korean Banks

An empirical analysis is conducted on the pro-cyclicality of SME loans based on purpose, which has not been examined in previous research. In this study, the purpose of SME loans is divided into four types: total SME loans, long-term loans for investment in equipment, long-term loans for R&D investment, and short-term loans for working capital. The aim of the study is to determine whether pro-cyclicality exists in the four types of loans. In particular, it is expected that because of the high-risk weight considered in estimating credit risk, the number of long-term loans may have decreased in the economic distress experienced since 2006, when the Basel II accord came into effect. At that time, most banks adopted the advanced internal rating approach to calculate borrowers' credit risks. This study is based on the assumption that the risk weight of long-term loans is different from that of short-term loans. The GMM model is adopted to test the pro-cyclicality of long-term and short-term loans. The test results showed signifcant pro-cyclicality in long-term loans for investment in equipment and R&D. Second, there was no pro-cyclicality in short-term loans for purchasing raw materials. Third, the fnancial characteristics affecting the lending behaviour of banks were indicators of proftability and fnancial soundness of credit. Based on the results, effective policies are recommended, such as credit enhancement through credit guarantees, in order to alleviate the effects of pro-cyclicality on long-term loan

A Study On Dividend Determinants For Korea's Information Technology Firms

In this study, we analyse the determinants of dividend policies of information technology (IT) firms listed on the Korean stock market and use a logit regression model to examine Korean IT firms' propensity to pay dividends based on the life-cycle hypothesis. The analysis yields several findings: first, the firms pay relatively small dividends in the growth stage, which increase over time as their businesses mature. Second, profitability shows a positive correlation with propensity to pay dividends. Third, firms that paid out more dividends in the past continue to pay relatively more dividends. Meanwhile, dividend policies do not show a significant correlation with firm size or growth opportunities. In addition, dividend policies have no relation to the catering incentive (investor fads for dividends) or risk. These observations suggest that Korean IT firms' propensity to pay dividends is supported by the life-cycle hypothesis and that the declining dividends from the mid-2000s can be attributed to deteriorating profits

Are bank loans to SMEs procyclical? Evidence from an analysis of the lending behavior of Korean banks

This paper investigates the procyclicality of bank loans to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and to Large Enterprises (LEs) using aggregated and cross-sectional data from major private, foreign, and state-owned banks in Korea in the period from 1999 to 2008. Based on previous studies, it is hypothesized that compared to LEs, banks loans to SMEs may be more vulnerable to external economic shock. Berger and Udell (1994) suggested that bank loans to SMEs are comparatively risky due to their relatively low collateral and heavy dependence on banks for raising funds. In this study, empirical tests are verified by applying the rolling vector error correction Model (VECM), panel generalized least squares model (GLS), and the Clustering Fixed Effect Model. Findings include robust support for the procyclicality of bank loan to SMEs, but not for LEs. The review of short-term dynamics among first differential variables such as loans and GDP provides evidence to support a related hypotheses: the profit-oriented motivation of commercial banks in enhancing relationships with SMEs, the characteristics of governance structure in three types of banks (private, state-owned, and foreign owned banks), and the large-bank barriers assumption

Growth characteristics and productivity of cold-tolerant “Kowinearly” Italian ryegrass in the northern part of South Korea

The objective of this research is to evaluate differences in growth characteristics and productivity between Kowinearly and Florida 80 Italian ryegrass varieties in regions with severely cold winters. This research was carried out in Suwon (in central South Korea) and Yonchun (in northern South Korea) during the 2002 2006 growing seasons. Kowinearly is a diploid variety with green leaf colour and a semi prostrate growth habit in autumn and a semi-erect one in spring. There were differences among the varieties in terms of cold tolerance, heading date, and forage yield in Yonchun. The winter field survival of Kowinearly was 85%, while that of Florida 80 was 43%. The dry matter yield of Kowinearly in Yonchun was 9,662 kg/ha, which was 31% more than that of Florida 80. In Suwon, the heading date of Kowinearly was May 7, which was 2 days later than that of Florida 80. In Yonchun, Kowinearly’s heading date was May 12, 1 day earlier than that of Florida 80. These results indicate that Kowinearly has good cold tolerance, and that in spring, it starts growth earlier than Florida 80, because of its higher cold tolerance.Keywords: Italian ryegrass, Kowinearly, cold tolerance, new variety, forage cro

Piceatannol, Natural Polyphenolic Stilbene, Inhibits Adipogenesis via Modulation of Mitotic Clonal Expansion and Insulin Receptor-dependent Insulin Signaling in Early Phase of Differentiation

Piceatannol, a natural stilbene, is an analog and a metabolite of resveratrol. Despite a well documented health benefit of resveratrol in intervention of the development of obesity, the role of piceatannol in the development of adipose tissue and related diseases is unknown. Here, we sought to determine the function of piceatannol in adipogenesis and elucidate the underlying mechanism. We show that piceatannol inhibits adipogenesis of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes in a dose-dependent manner at noncytotoxic concentrations. This anti-adipogenic property of piceatannol was largely limited to the early event of adipogenesis. In the early phase of adipogenesis, piceatannol-treated preadipocytes displayed a delayed cell cycle entry into G2/M phase at 24 h after initiation of adipogenesis. Furthermore, the piceatannol-suppressed mitotic clonal expansion was accompanied by reduced activation of the insulin-signaling pathway. Piceatannol dose-dependently inhibited differentiation mixture-induced phosphorylation of insulin receptor (IR)/insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1)/Akt pathway in the early phase of adipogenesis. Moreover, we showed that piceatannol is an inhibitor of IR kinase activity and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K). Our kinetics study of IR further identified a Km value for ATP of 57.8 μm and a Ki value for piceatannol of 28.9 μm. We also showed that piceatannol directly binds to IR and inhibits IR kinase activity in a mixed noncompetitive manner to ATP, through which piceatannol appears to inhibit adipogenesis. Taken together, our study reveals an anti-adipogenic function of piceatannol and highlights IR and its downstream insulin signaling as novel targets for piceatannol in the early phase of adipogenesis

Efficacy evaluation of combination vaccine of recombinant C-terminal fragments of ApxIA, ApxIIA and ApxIIIA in piglets

The efficacy of the combination vaccine of the individual C-terminal fragments of ApxIA, ApxIIA and ApxIIIA of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (APP) was evaluated in piglets. Twenty piglets were divided equally into 2 groups (n=10). All piglets were intramuscularly primed at 4 week-of-age (0 week post prime inoculation (WPPI)) and were intramuscularly boosted at 6 week-of-age (2 WPPI). Group A piglets were inoculated with sterile PBS and group B piglets were inoculated with the combination vaccine. Concentrations of each of the C-terminal fragment-specific IgG as determined by ELISA were significantly higher in group B than in group A from 2 WPPI until the end of this study. Clinical signs were observed from only 10% of group B piglets after the challenge with the mixture of APP serotypes 1, 2 and 5 at 4 WPPI, while 50% of group A piglets were protected against APP infections. Overall, intramuscular inoculation with the vaccine candidate can efficiently protect piglets against APP infection

Health-related quality of life with KDQOL-36 and its association with self-efficacy and treatment satisfaction in Korean dialysis patients

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to measure the level of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and to reveal the association of self-efficacy and treatment satisfaction with it in Korean dialysis patients. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, AND MEASUREMENTS: The study subjects were 237 patients receiving either hemodialysis (HD) or peritoneal dialysis (PD) from two university hospitals, from February to June in 2010. We investigated HRQOL using the Korean version of Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short Form 36 (KDQOL-36), and self-efficacy and treatment satisfaction by self-administrative questionnaire and their dialysis-related variables by reviewing clinical records. The associations of self-efficacy and treatment satisfaction with HRQOL were assessed using multiple linear regression analysis. RESULTS: The mean HRQOL results were as follows: Physical component score (PCS) was 39.1 ± 8.5, Mental component score (MCS) 44.6 ± 6.8, symptom/problem list was 67.6 ± 17.1, effects of disease score was 58.5 ± 19.6, and burden of disease score was 41.1 ± 28.4. Between PD and HD patients, we could find significant difference only in the symptom/problem list. After removing confounder’s effects by multivariate analysis, respectively, treatment goal self-efficacy and treatment management self-efficacy were significantly related with all 5 domains, except PCS. Treatment satisfaction was significantly related with PCS, MCS, and effects of kidney disease. CONCLUSIONS: Patients’ self-efficacy and treatment satisfaction could influence their HRQOL. Regular and systematic monitoring using KDQOL-36 and interventions to increase self-efficacy and treatment satisfaction should be considered in dialysis care in Korea