Green Banking: Advancement and Opportunities

The objective of this paper is to discuss the contemporary green banking initiatives taken globally and more specifically in Bangladesh. North America and European regional banks were found to be forerunners in adopting green banking practices. Home mortgage, home equity loan, auto loan, credit card, etc, are common products found globally. In Bangladesh, solar home system, solar irrigation pumping station, biogas plant, effluent treatment plant, green credit card, etc. are already in the offering. Recommendations such as building awareness, incorporating green banking consideration in bank lending decisions, developing green reporting and rewarding frameworks were suggested.是枝正啓教授、内田滋教授定年退職記念号In Honour of Prof. Masahiro Koreeda and Prof. Shigeru Uchid

ESTIMATION OF THE WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR PRESERVING PUBLIC PARKS IN NAGASAKI CITY BY USING CONTINGENT VALUATION

The main objective of the study is to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) for conserving public parks in Nagasaki City. In doing so, contingent valuation method is applied. The results of the study showed that the residents of the Nagasaki City are willing to pay in total 920 million yen (5,225 yen per household) for preserving the public parks in the city. The negative relationship between the persons visiting the public parks and the WTP, revealed from the multivariate analysis indicates that, non-use value of public parks in Nagasaki City is also very high. Finally, based on the findings of the study, some policy guidelines were given for development and maintenance of public parks in Nagasaki City, which will in turn enhance its livability

Bank-firm Relationship in Bangladesh:Present State and Some Lessons

The objective of this study is to critically analyze the banking system of Bangladesh with special aim of tracing out the major banking problems of the economy underneath and suggest remedies to solve the problems. In doing so the study revealed that huge loan-default, inadequacy of capital, higher transaction costs, lack of long-term financing and lack of close bank-firm relationship are the key problems of the banking sector of Bangladesh. Among these problems bank-firm relationship has been singled out as the key problem for discussion. Accordingly, it has been observed that bank-firm relationship in Bangladesh is mainly limited to financing aspects. The study concludes that, making bank-firm relationship closer can be beneficial for both the bank and the firm. It can work as remedy towards solving problems such as loan default; information asymmetry and finally interest-spread problem for the banks.Also for the client firms, closer bank-firm relationship can reduce transaction costs, delay in loan decisions, and interest expense of borrowings. Finally, the study suggests that, by following Japanese experience of loan syndication in the pattern of \u27reciprocal delegated monitoring\u27, supply of management resources and stockholding of firms by banks, can also become effective for the banking system of Bangladesh to promote close bank-firm relationship

Benchmarking the State of Corporate Governance in Bangladesh

Now-a-days corporate governance (CG) is considered to be one of the most vital factors for improving the overall business practices in the globalized world and in maximizing value of the shareholders and stakeholders. Bangladesh should not be lagging behind in recognizing the importance of having good governance mechanism. Accordingly, this study aimed at benchmarking the status of corporate governance in Bangladesh, as future policy direction should start with assessment of the present standing. Both primary and secondary survey instruments are applied to attain the aforementioned objective. The results of the study revealed that, core elements for ensuring good governance, such as: regulations, auditing, stakeholder engagement etc. needs development and enforcement. Also some institutional set up should be established to train and educate stakeholders to get familiarized with the corporate governance concepts and practices

Contemporary Strategic Aspects of Relationship Banking in Japan

This paper reviews the background and current status of relationship banking in Japan. First, the composition and share of the banking sector in the total financial market are discussed along with the measures taken in the banking sector after the burst of the bubble economy. Second, relationship banking is defined with its merits and demerits. Third, the nature of relationship banking in Japan is argued. Finally, the effects of relationship banking are examined. The evidence from various theoretical and empirical studies has indicated that relationship banking reduces information asymmetry and risk, mitigates liquidity constraints and contributes as rescues in financial distress. However these benefits are often obtained by the firms at the cost of higher rents through higher lending interest rates

Benchmarking the State of Corporate Governance in Bangladesh

Now-a-days corporate governance (CG) is considered to be one of the most vital factors for improving the overall business practices in the globalized world and in maximizing value of the shareholders and stakeholders. Bangladesh should not be lagging behind in recognizing the importance of having good governance mechanism. Accordingly, this study aimed at benchmarking the status of corporate governance in Bangladesh, as future policy direction should start with assessment of the present standing. Both primary and secondary survey instruments are applied to attain the aforementioned objective. The results of the study revealed that, core elements for ensuring good governance, such as: regulations, auditing, stakeholder engagement etc. needs development and enforcement. Also some institutional set up should be established to train and educate stakeholders to get familiarized with the corporate governance concepts and practices

THE CHOICE OF ELICITATION METHODS IN CVM AND THEIR IMPACT ON WILLINGNESS TO PAY IN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

The choice of the question format constitutes one of the major exercises in contingent valuation method (CVM) studies. However, although various methods are available, none of these are considered to be perfect. This paper aims to examine the effects of varying the elicitation methods on willingness to pay (WTP) of the respondents by summarizing the findings of two environmental assessment case studies conducted on Nagasaki City. Three types of elicitation methods are applied in the case studies: open-ended, single bounded dichotomous-choice and double-bounded dichotomous-choice questions. Results indicate that free riding and lack of base for answering question leads to underestimation of WTP under open-ended format. Whereas, the anchoring effect is presented in dichotomous choice format where the bid level provided raises the probability of accepting it. Based on the drawbacks of both the methods, recommendations are provided for using a new format of question to avoid the demerits

Multiple Banking Practices and its Impact on the Corporate Borrowers : A Case Study of Bangladesh

This paper attempts to verify the existence and impact of multiple banking practices on corporate borrowers of Bangladesh. In doing so we have analyzed multiple borrowing with respect to availability of credit and interest rate charged. As methodology of the study, we have conducted literature survey and empirical analysis. The results of the analysis show that there is widespread practice of multiple borrowing among the corporate borrowers in Bangladesh. Finally, the results of the statistical analysis reveal that such practice enables firms to borrow at comparatively lower interest expense, but to suffer from limited access to credit

Impact of Relationship Banking on the Performance of Corporate Firms : A Comparison between Japan and Bangladesh

This paper aims at summarizing the findings of the empirical analysis regarding the impact of relationship banking on the performance of corporate firms of Japan and Bangladesh. In doing so analysis result of the previous studies are used. The findings of the analysis revealed that relationship banking ensures easy access to credit both to Japanese and Bangladeshi corporate firms which are relatively weak and in financial difficulties

The Financial Institutions for Common People and Socio-economic Development Policies : Lessons from Some Selected Case Studies

In addition to the conventional banking financial institutions, various specialized type of financial institutions, commonly known as non-bank financial institutions are seen in the financial system of different countries, contributing significantly in channeling funds to the productive sectors. On this background, the objective of this study is to introduce some special cases and discuss the lessons learned from their experience. In doing so, we have discussed Postal Savings, Japan and Grameen Bank, Bangladesh. The results of the Grameen Bank case study indicated that, proper supervision and policy guidelines could lower bad loans even without having any collateral against loans. On the other hand, Postal Savings experience of Japan indicated that, wide network of post office might be used to mobilize small funds from rural areas. However, it is of great interest to see the impact of self-fund dependency of Grameen Bank and privatization of Postal Savings in future