Multiple safety net regulators and agency problems in the EU: is Prompt Corrective Action a partial solution?

Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) provides a more efficient mechanism for dealing with problem banks operating in more than one European country. In a PCA framework, a bank’s losses are likely to be substantially reduced. This reduction in the losses to deposit insurance and governments will improve the problem of allocating those losses across the various insurance schemes and make it less likely that any deposit insurer will renege on its obligations in a cross-border banking crisis. This paper explores the institutional changes needed in Europe if PCA is to be effective in resolving the cross-border agency problems that arise in supervising and resolving cross-border banking groups. The paper identifies these changes starting with enhancements in the availability to prudential supervisors of information on banking groups’ financial condition. Next, the paper considers collective decision-making by prudential supervisors with authority to make discretionary decisions within the PCA framework as soon as a bank of a cross-border banking group falls below the minimum capital standard. Finally, the paper analyses the coordination measures that should be implemented if PCA requires the bank to be resolved.banking supervision; European Union; Prompt Corrective Action

Multiple safety net regulators and agency problems in the European Union: Is prompt corrective action partly the solution?

This paper discusses the institutional changes needed in Europe if prompt corrective action (PCA) is to be effective in supervising and resolving cross-border banking groups. The paper identifies these changes starting with enhancements in the availability of information on banking groups’ financial condition to prudential supervisors. Next, the paper considers the collective decision making by prudential supervisors with authority to make discretionary decisions within the PCA framework as soon as a bank in a cross-border banking group falls below the minimum capital standard. Finally, the paper analyzes the coordination measures that should be implemented if PCA requires the bank to be resolved.

The Redshift Distribution of FIRST Radio Sources at 1 mJy

We present spectra for a sample of radio sources from the FIRST survey, and use them to define the form of the redshift distribution of radio sources at mJy levels.We targeted 365 sources and obtained 46 redshifts (13 per cent of the sample). We find that our sample is complete in redshift measurement to R $\sim 18.6$, corresponding to $z\sim 0.2$. Early-type galaxies represent the largest subset (45 per cent) of the sample and have redshifts 0.15\la z \la 0.5 ; late-type galaxies make up 15 per cent of the sample and have redshifts 0.05\la z \la 0.2; starbursting galaxies are a small fraction ($\sim 6$ per cent), and are very nearby (z\la 0.05). Some 9 per cent of the population have Seyfert1/quasar-type spectra, all at z\ga 0.8, and there are 4 per cent are Seyfert2 type galaxies at intermediate redshifts ($z\sim 0.2$). Using our measurements and data from the Phoenix survey, we obtain an estimate for $N(z)$ at $S_{1.4 \rm {GHz}}\ge 1$ mJy and compare this with model predictions. At variance with previous conclusions, we find that the population of starbursting objects makes up \la 5 per cent of the radio population at S $\sim 1$ mJy.Comment: 20 pages, sumbitted to MNRA

Winning Ways or Winning Weighs: Obtaining a SSHRCC Doctoral Fellowship

Over the past decade there has been a dramatic increase in the number of students applying to graduate school and as the cost of education continues to escalate, more students have been applying for external funding such as SSHRCC doctoral fellowships. Over time, guidelines for assessing applications have been established by the various SSHRCC committees in order to decide which applicants will be successful. The present research identifies the qualifications of applicants which are related to obtaining a SSHRCC doctoral fellowship. One hundred fourteen applications were randomly selected for analysis. A variety of information from the application, e.g., thesis proposal, letters of recommendation, schools attended, publications, was coded and subjected to multivariate analysis. The results show that a high degree of unanimity was evident among assessors. Referee appraisals and the rank provided by the department are important in deciding whether a student is recommended for a SSHRCC fellowship. Publications and other academic awards play a lesser but significant role in the decision-making process. The results also suggest that gender and participation in the labour force are potentially important variables in determining an applicant's success in obtaining a fellowship.Au cours de la dernière décennie, le nombre d'étudiants demandant leur admission à des programmes d'études post-universitaires a augmenté considérablement et, comme les frais de scolarité ont également continué à croître, de plus en plus d'étudiants font des demandes de fonds externes comme les bourses doctorales du Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada (CRSHC). Avec le temps, les divers comités du CRSHC ont établi des directives pour évaluer les demandes et choisir les récipiendaires. La présente recherche analyse les qualifications des candidats qui sont reliées à l'obtention d'une bourse doctorale du CRSHC. Cent quatorze demandes ont été choisies au hasard en vue de l'analyse. Une variété de renseignements apparaissant sur les formulaires de demande de bourses, c'est-à-dire la proposition de thèse, les lettres de recommandation, les écoles fréquentées, les publications, ont été codés et soumis à une analyse multivariée. Les résultats ont indiqué qu'il existe un haut niveau d'unanimité chez les évaluateurs. Les résultats montrent que les évaluations des juges et le rang accordé par le département sont des facteurs importants pour décider si un étudiant est recommandé ou non pour une bourse du CRSHC. Les publications et les autres distinctions scolaires jouent un moindre rôle, bien qu'important, dans le processus de prise de décision. Les résultats laissent aussi entendre que le sexe et la participation au marché du travail sont des variables possiblement importantes dans la détermination du succès des candidats à obtenir une bourse

Combined electrophysiological and biosensor approaches to study purinergic regulation of epileptiform activity in cortical tissue

Background: Cortical brain slices offer a readily accessible experimental model of a region of the brain commonly affected by epilepsy. The diversity of recording techniques, seizure-promoting protocols and mutant mouse models provides a rich diversity of avenues of investigation, which is facilitated by the regular arrangement of distinct neuronal populations and afferent fibre pathways, particularly in the hippocampus. New method and results: We have been interested in the regulation of seizure activity in hippocampal and neocortical slices by the purines, adenosine and ATP. Via the use of microelectrode biosensors we have been able to measure the release of these important neuroactive compounds simultaneously with on-going epileptiform activity, even of brief durations. In addition, detailed numerical analysis and computational modelling has produced new insights into the kinetics and spatial distribution of elevations in purine concentration that occur during seizure activity. Comparison and conclusions: Such an approach allows the spatio-temporal characteristics of neurotransmitter/neuromodulator release to be directly correlated with electrophysiological measures of synaptic and seizure activity, and can provide greater insight into the role of purines in epilepsy

A reliable Pade analytical continuation method based on a high accuracy symbolic computation algorithm

We critique a Pade analytic continuation method whereby a rational polynomial function is fit to a set of input points by means of a single matrix inversion. This procedure is accomplished to an extremely high accuracy using a novel symbolic computation algorithm. As an example of this method in action we apply it to the problem of determining the spectral function of a one-particle thermal Green's function known only at a finite number of Matsubara frequencies with two example self energies drawn from the T-matrix theory of the Hubbard model. We present a systematic analysis of the effects of error in the input points on the analytic continuation, and this leads us to propose a procedure to test quantitatively the reliability of the resulting continuation, thus eliminating the black magic label frequently attached to this procedure.Comment: 11 pages, 8 eps figs, revtex format; revised version includes reference to anonymous ftp site containing example codes (MapleVr5.1 worksheets) displaying the implementation of the algorithm, including the padematinv.m library packag