Optimisation of the securities portfolio as a part of the risk management process

Securities of Slovene companies are listed at the Ljubljana Stock Exchange. Market capitalisation at the Ljubljana Stock Exchange has been growing since 1996 due to new listings of equities. On the basis of financial data time series for listed equities, the financial investor can calculate a risk for each individual security with a selected risk measure and can determine an optimal portfolio, subject to selected constraints. In this paper, we shall consequently determine an optimal portfolio of equities for the financial investor, investing his assets only in selected equities listed at the Ljubljana Stock Exchange. Selecting an appropriate risk measure is especially important for a commercial bank in a risk management process. Commercial banks can use internal models in the risk management process and for the purpose of capital charges as well. An optimal portfolio will be calculated, using a non-linear mathematical model

Diaspora Engagement Strategies and Policies

Diasporas have been making contributions to their motherland for a long time (Ionescu, 2006), without waiting for policies to rally them and, if truth be told, very often finding them to be the major obstacles for establishing the partnership. However, diaspora-motherland partnership is closely related to institutional frameworks, socio-economic settings, political milieu as well as issues of perceptions, images, trust and social identification, in both the home and host country, most of which are within the scope of public administration. Moreover, the evolution of policy awareness and a thorough understanding of the diaspora and development nexus are, in some countries, the result of the efforts of public administration. The development of diaspora strategies is essential because it demonstrates how state agencies, policy makers and individual citizens themselves have begun to think beyond national borders and make efforts to build non-territorial forms of organisation, such as Diaspora Virtual University. Promotion of networks, strategic alliances and sustained institutional cooperation between diaspora and the policy makers such as the Ministries for Diaspora, as well as other officials dealing with diaspora and development related issues have become the subject of primary interest in many countries, one of them being Serbia. As a part of the effort to formulate effective and just policies used to respond to the brain drain, the paper analyses and recommends different policy types. Among different models of academic diaspora congregation is, no doubt, the alumni model, which proved to be very useful for both, developed and developing countries. The paper presents the concept as a part of the »brain gain« model and states the principles distilled from the alumni concept experience, which summarize the current wisdom regarding development of a community which will serve as the »intelligence pool« for Diaspora Virtual University. Different types of remittances, as well as pessimistic and optimistic perspectives on remittances, are analyzed in the paper, and recommendations are summarized for current and future policy makers. Recognizing diaspora as a valuable foreign investor a model of partnership through the Serbian Regional Chambers of Commerce is also proposed

Banks in currency board systems and limit on minimum liquidity position in national currency

Banks in countries with currency board arrangements are exposed to the risk of illiquidity in their national currency, which is driven by currency board stability. In line with liquidity risk appetite, banks need to restrict their own risk exposure with a limit on minimum liquidity position in the national currency. This paper presents mathematical derivations of a limit on minimum liquidity position in the national currency, which depends on the business environment and on the currency structure of the balance sheet. Algebraic calculation in this paper is of particular interest to banks, which do business in countries with currency board arrangements

Integrity of the benchmark price for price testing of US municipal bonds

Vanjske institucije koje raspolažu podacima o financijskim tržištima (dobavljači) mogu za istu američku municipalnu obveznicu ponuditi različite cijene zbog razlika u percepciji njihove tržišne vrijednosti među sudionicima na tržištu. Funkcija kontrole procjene uključivat će samo odabrane dobavljače u izračun dogovorne cijene, koja ulazi kao referentna cijena u postupku testiranja cijena. Odabir dobavljača u velikoj je mjeri vođen razmatranjem funkcije kontrole procjene o njihovoj sposobnosti vrednovanja i njihove prisutnosti na tržištu. Empirijska analiza u ovom radu pokazuje da dodatna cjenovna usluga može dati dodatne informacije o tržišnim cijenama do finalne cijene postignute konsenzusom, što može značajno promijeniti referentnu cijenu i konačne rezultate cijenovnog testiranja. Pristup opisan u ovom radu koristan je za financijske institucije s američkim municipalnim obveznicama u trgovinskom portfelju. Doprinos ovog rada o vrednovanju američkih municipalnih obveznica je značajan budući da dosadašnja literatura ne objašnjava alternativni pristup mjerenju dodatnih cjenovnih informacija o referentnoj cijeni.External financial market data institutions (vendors) may provide different prices for the same US municipal bond due to differences among market participants in perception about its market value. The valuation control function will include only selected vendors in the calculation of the consensus price, which enters as a benchmark price in the price testing process. Selection of vendors is largely driven by the valuation control function’s consideration of their valuation capabilities and their market coverage. Empirical analysis in this paper shows that additional pricing service may bring additional pricing information to the final consensus price, which may significantly alter the benchmark price and final price testing results. The approach described in this paper is in interest of any financial institution with US municipal bonds in the trading portfolio. Contribution of this paper to valuation of US municipal bonds is high because remaining literature does not explain alternative approach to measurement of additional pricing information in the benchmark price

MIŠLJENJA UČITELJA I UČENIKA O ČIMBENICIMA KOJI UTJEČU NA OSTVARIVANJE NASTAVE PREDMETA DRŽAVLJANSKI I DOMOVINSKI ODGOJ TE ETIKA U OSNOVNOJ ŠKOLI

In this article, the authors discuss teachers’ and pupils’ perspectives on civic education in Slovenian public schools. More specifi cally, the authors discuss various factors influencing the implementation of the subject, which since 2008/2009 has been referred to as ‘Citizenship and Homeland Education and Ethics’, previously referred to as ‘Civic Education and Ethics’.1 In Slovenian public schools, the subject is taught in the last triad, more specifically, in the seventh and eighth grades, but not in the ninth grade.In primary schools, the objectives of the subject are value-oriented, drawing on human rights, and originating from learners’ pre-existing knowledge, abilities, and interests. Teachers derive their teaching practice from didactical principles and criteria based on the developmental period of the child, the child’s experiences, personal experiences, ideas, pre-existing knowledge, interests and their fundamental needs when choosing content, individual motivation, case studies, actively including each pupil and achieving social, emotional, motivational, aesthetic, and moral ethical goals. The results of the research show that factors such as the curriculum, teaching and learning methods, teaching aids, the organisation of school life and work, the number of hours per subject, and the teacher’s professionalism have an important influence on teachers’ and pupils’ viewpoints regarding the success of the course. Thus, this article examines the view of pedagogical practice and highlights the views of teachers and students on the implementation of this subject.Autori u prilogu prikazuju rezultate istraživanja mišljenja učitelja i učenika o poučavanju nastavnih predmeta sa sadržajima građanskog odgoja u slovenskoj javnoj školi te utjecaj raznih čimbenika koji utječu na ostvarivanje nastave predmeta koji su od školske godine 2008/09 nazvani građanski i domovinski odgoj te etika. Prije toga ti su predmeti nazivani kratko građanski odgoj i etika. Predmeti se u slovenskoj školi poučavaju u zadnjoj trećini trajanja obavezne škole, u sedmom i osmom razredu, ali ne i u devetom. U osnovnoj školi ciljevi predmeta nadovezuju se na vrijednosti koje proizlaze iz ljudskih prava i za njihovo ostvarivanje mora se, kao i kod svih ostalih predmeta, polaziti od učenikovih predznanja, sposobnosti i interesa. Pri organiziranju nastave učitelji polaze od didaktičkih načela i kriterija kao što su razvojna dob djeteta, djetetova iskustva, osobni doživljaji, učenikovo mišljenje, predznanje, interesi i temeljne potrebe učenika pri izboru sadržaja, motivacija, proučavanje slučajeva, aktivno uključivanje svakog učenika te ostvarivanje socijalnih, osjetilnih, motivacijskih, estetskih te moralnih i etičkih ciljeva. Rezultati istraživanja su pokazali da čimbenici kao što su nastavni program, oblici i metode rada, nastavna sredstva, organizacija života i rada u školi, broj nastavnih sati i stručnost učitelja značajno utječu na osobna stajališta učenika i učitelja o uspješnosti izvedbe nastave. Ovaj rad tako prikazuje pogled u pedagošku praksu izvođenja nastave prikazanog nastavnog predmeta i objašnjava razlike u gledanjima učitelja i učenika na ostvarivanje nastave ovih predmeta

Razvoj proračunskog procesa te uvođenje kontrolinga u slovenskim općinama

Rad prikazuje elemente slovenskog Zakona o javnim financijama, koji je važan za definiranje razvoja procesa upravljanja u slovenskim općinama. Usto autor ističe posebnost provedbe poslova koji pripadaju u općinski djelokrug, uzimajući u obzir zakonske odrednice proračunskog planiranja i kontrole, kao i provedbe programa izabranih državnih dužnosnika, objašnjava faktore proračunskog procesa koje je moguće uspješno ostvariti samo uz dobro provođenje funkcije kontrolinga. Razvoj pokazatelja i informacijske potpore proračunskom procesu važni su elementi pri uvođenju funkcije kontrolinga i modernog upravljanja u jedinicama lokalne samouprave, a rad prikazuje jedan od mogućih pristupa razvoju sustava pokazatelja u uvjetima ograničenja baze podataka lokalne samouprave

Total Quality Management in the Implementation of Tasks of The Local Community: The Case of Pre-School Education

The paper presents the challenge of establishing a substantial governance framework of local government provision of tasks and services. The assumption that this end is highly dependent on the implementation of total quality management paradigm has led us to base our work on the Common Assessment Framework model. The research discusses the case of pre-school education. The main research question is how the representatives of the municipality, responsible for pre-school education, understand their role and accountability in the process of the provision of local government genuine services and tasks. As the main methodological result of the research is approved that the questionnaire based on the CAF model can help to discover the main opportunities for improvement of governance of genuine local government tasks. The results of the survey on pre-school education show that local governments are in control of financial matters and that their strategic focus is limited to the investment aspect. The accountability for quality management was approved as a key opportunity for improvement of local government governance

Celovito obvladovanje kakovosti pri izvajanju nalog lokalne skupnosti: primer predšolske vzgoje

V prispevku predstavljamo izziv vzpostavitve trdnega upravljavskega okvira izvajanja nalog lokalne skupnosti. Na osnovi predpostavke, da je vzpostavitev celovitega obvladovanja kakovosti za napredek tega področja ključnega pomena, smo se pri odkrivanju priložnosti za izboljšanje naslonili na skupni ocenjevalni okvir CAF. Raziskava obravnava področje vzgoje in izobraževanja. Osrednje raziskovalno vprašanje je, kako odgovorni v lokalnih skupnostih za predšolsko vzgojo poznajo in razumejo odgovornost občinskih uprav za uspešno izvajanje nalog iz njihovih pristojnosti. Raziskava je v metodološkem smislu pokazala, da je z uporabo ustrezno oblikovanih vprašalnikov upoštevajoč model CAF v lokalnih skupnostih mogoče odkriti ključne priložnosti za izboljšanje upravljanja z nalogami v pristojnosti občine. Rezultati raziskave na področju predšolske vzgoje kažejo, da občinske uprave dobro obvladujejo finančno področje in se pri načrtovanju osredotočajo predvsem na investicijski (prostorski) vidik. Kot ključna priložnost za izboljšanje se je izkazalo obvladovanje kakovosti. Odkrite priložnosti za izboljšanje izkazujejo potrebo po nadaljnji teoretični obdelavi problema, ki bo osnova za praktične usmeritve v obliki dobrih praks in prenos znanja v prakso

MARKET RISK CONTROL IN STABLE PARETIAN MARKETS

In risk management process banks as financial investors should consider properties of yield probability distribution for each asset in the trading subportfolio in order to properly measure and control risk to which they are exposed to. Coherent risk control system for positions in a trading subportfolio requires also limits for loss limitation, what is a burdensome responsibility for a risk management in a market, where yields of assets are not normally distributed. As an investor is assumed to aggregate all his different attitudes towards risk of an investment into his utility function, we assume banks being risk averse as investors with hyperbolic risk averse utility function and calculate the fourth central moment of yield probability distribution for selected assets in Slovenian capital market. Based on calculated kurtosis of yield probability distributions, impact of kurtosis on risk management in a commercial bank shall be revealed in terms of limits setting