This book explores the causes and effects of the rise of neoliberalism in Eastern Europe in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union. It provides a political economy analysis of the role of central banks, and identifies them as a key actor in the production and dissemination of the neoliberal economic policies.

The text is the first of its kind on financial engineering and risk management in Islamic finance. It sets out detailed guidelines for financial engineering from an Islamic perspective. The text also presents some practical issues concerning futures contracts and how these can be handled from an Islamic perspective. It brings out the different points of view in this respect and reflects the current state of knowledge as well as the challenges that lie ahead for financial engineers. The text explores the prospects of some Islamic contracts having similarity with commodity futures; forward contracts, especially in agriculture; and Islamic permissible contractual arrangements for resource mobilization by the public sector. It also makes an analytical comparison between debt and equity contracts with regard to incentive compatibility and efficiency.

This book focuses on current issues impacting the Islamic banking system globally. The contributions introduce readers to existing research and literature in the field and highlight areas of potential scholarly development within Islamic banking studies. The chapters are a variety of case studies, theoretical reviews, and empirical research within the world of Islamic banking. The contributions analyse new developments within Islamic banks from OIC member countries, Malaysia and the GCC. Particular attention is paid to the formative insolvency case of Arcapita Bank in chapter 6. Other chapters provide detailed discussion of the structures, marketing activities and products of Islamic banks, and contrast them with those of counterpart conventional banks. Through this edited collection, readers are given expert insight into contemporary, critical issues facing the growing sphere of Islamic banking.

The book portrays the scope and dimension of different financial inclusion strategies. It looks at the role and potential of banks involved in financial inclusion. This book focuses on the importance of financial inclusion and in measuring its important determinants. It provides an empirical insight into how the different factors influence financial inclusion of a nation, providing a guideline to the banks and the regulators to select an effective structure of bank branch and efficient composition, to ensure best utilization of their devoted resources in the context of a developing economy.

Sovereign Debt and Credit Rating Bias rejects the notion that credit rating agencies' rigorous and transparent determination of ratings leaves no room for bias, and debunks the myth that the value CRAs place on their reputational capital precludes prolonged biases. To determine the extent of CRAs' biased actions, Tennant and Tracey apply a rigorous methodology to a well-established economic model of the determinants of sovereign debt quality. They present strong evidence of bias against poor countries and demonstrate how biased rating changes could disadvantage such countries and the companies operating therein as they seek access to international capital markets. They discuss plausible explanations for the bias and suggest remedial measures that would help ensure balance in credit rating changes. This book fills an important gap by rigorously examining a long-standing but often ignored concern about the rating practices of credit rating agencies.

Handbook of Commercial Banking is the first book to comprehensively address strategic planning issues in the financial industry. Based on the author's extensive consultancy experience, the book develops a flexible plan to help banking professionals think through the strategic issues of this important financial sector. Beginning with a discussion on the need for a commercial banking strategy and the affects this has on the banks and their competition, the book moves on to outline various issues including; the role of marketing in commercial banking; relationship banking and the branch office network; private and direct banking; pricing financial products and services and credit and market risk. The author has also included a large range of case-studies which are geographically diverse and will provide the reader with a valuable breadth of reference.

Under the rule of the current economic order, social injustice is ever-increasing. Issues such as poverty, inhumane working conditions, inadequate wages, social insecurity and an unhealthy labor market continue to persist. Many states are also unable to produce policies capable of resolving these problems. The characteristics of the capitalist system currently render it unable to provide social justice. In fact, on the contrary, the system reinforces these injustices and prevents economic and social welfare from reaching the masses. Many Muslim scholars have analyzed and, indeed, criticized this system for years. This book argues that an alternative and more equitable theoretical and practical economical order can been developed within the framework of Islamic principles. On the other hand, the experiences of societies under the rule of Muslim governments do not always seem to hold great promise for an alternative understanding of social justice. In addition, the behaviors of Muslim individuals within their economic lives are mostly shaped by the necessities of daily economic conditions rather than by the tenets of Islam that stand with social justice. Until 1990s, studies of Islamic economics made connections between finance and the notion of social justice, but work conducted more recently has neglected this issue. It is therefore evident that the topic of social justice needs to be revisited in a more in-depth manner. Filling an important gap in existing literature, the book uniquely connects social justice and Islamic finance and economics on this topic. Theory, practice and key issues are presented simultaneously throughout this book, which is based on the writings of a number of eminent scholars.

Banking in Transition Economies is a modern analysis of banking in the transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe and includes a detailed examination of banking in the first five years of transition as well as policy recommendations for banking reform in the region. This authoritative book presents an extensive investigation of changes in the structure of the banking industry and the progress of privatization, particularly in Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. Privatization and the restructuring of 'problem banks' are analysed as well as the strategy for re-capitalization and bank failure, and the role of foreign banks in bringing reform to the region. The book offers policy prescriptions for the transition from a passive banking structure to an active financial sector supporting the development of the industrial sector, and for the role of the state after privatization. This book will be of great importance to bankers in Central and Eastern Europe and economists interested in the process of transition, as well as financial and monetary economists.

Investment Banks, Hedge Funds, and Private Equity, Fourth Edition provides a real-world view of this fast-evolving field, reviewing and analyzing recent innovations and developments. This reference captures the actual work of bankers and professional investors, providing readers with templates for real transactions and insight on how investment banks, hedge funds, and private equity firms provide services to each other while creating opportunities for corporations and investors to raise capital, invest, hedge, finance, acquire, divest, and risk manage. For each type of institution, the business model, organizational structure, products, challenges, regulatory issues, and profit-making opportunities are explained. In addition, specific transactions are analyzed to make clear how advisory services, financings, investments, and trades produce profits or losses, and which types of risks are most commonly taken by each type of institution. Importantly, the linkage of investment banks, hedge funds, and private equity to corporations, governments, and individuals is described, enabling the reader to more clearly understand how these organizations impact them and how their products and services can be best utilized.

Financial reform has been a major concern for China's transitional economy - especially in the realms of banking and insurance - since accession to the WTO in 2001. This book scrutinizes the development and limitations of these industries during the process of institutional transformation, and demonstrates that they are now facing severe challenges as well as opportunities. The relationships between the market structure, behavior and performance of China's banking and insurance industries are analysed. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threat (SWOT) approach is utilized in investigating the impact of WTO accession on Chinese banking and insurance, and strategies for the prevention of future financial crises are prescribed. Exploring the juxtaposition of institutional transformation in China and the financial risk inherent in the old system, the book concludes that with WTO accession and the opening up of financial services to foreign companies, competitiveness will become fiercer, resulting in increased uncertainty, intensifying the level of risk even further. Banking and Insurance in the New China will prove invaluable to multinational enterprise managers, brokers, dealers and investors, business economists, students and academics with a specific interest in the Chinese economy.

A 2009 G20 official document stated that the era of banking secrecy is over but is it? If banking secrecy is the result of market mechanisms, it suggests that worldwide demand and supply are likely to remain for a long time to come. Since the Global Financial Crisis, many countries have fought to combat banking secrecy, yet it permeates both national and international industries, and global efforts to prevent banking secrecy have been ineffective or at worst counterproductive. In this book, the authors show how the growth of criminal activity has systematically generated a demand for banking secrecy. They explore how national politicians and international banks have been motivated to supply banking secrecy through economic and political incentives, and shed light on the economics and politics of banking secrecy. This book takes a multidisciplinary approach to reveal the variety of behaviours and processes involved in making dirty money appear clean, providing an in-depth study of financial transactions which are characterized by a special purpose: hiding the originally illegal sources. This work will be of interest to students and scholars of economics and finance, and those with an interest in banking secrecy, global finance, international banking, and financial regulation.

This fourth edition of Retail Banking is a comprehensive, up-to-date introduction to the principles of banking. Aimed at bank staff and students the text is packed with international examples and case studies and covers all aspects of banking in the modern financial services industry. It clearly explains the regulatory, social, technological and practical environment in which retail banks operate. Topics covered include: banking risks and regulationpayment methods, fund transfers, collecting and paying banksprinciples of the banker-customer relationshipthe balance between liquidity and profitabilityprinciples of lending and key credit risk tools. The text is complemented by online support material and a tutor resource containing dozens of practice tasks for students.

The International Banking System is an indispensable tool for financial and banking experts around the world. It provides original insight as to the regulatory and legal challenges facing central key banks in the monitoring of international banking operations. Through its detailed analysis of core banking operations, The International Banking System provides professionals, as well as students involved in the banking industry (regulators, auditors), the relevant details, approaches, and answers to complex financial issues.

It is abundantly clear that our world is divided into two very different economies. The real one, for the average worker, is based on productivity and results. It behaves according to traditional rules of money and economics. The other doesn't. It is the product of years of loose money, poured by central banks into a system dominated by financial titans. It is powerful enough to send stock markets higher even in the face of a global pandemic and threats of nuclear war. This parting from reality has its roots in an emergency response to the financial crisis of 2008. "Quantitative Easing" injected a vast amount of cash into the economy-especially if you were a major Wall Street bank. What began as a short-term dependency became a habit, then a compulsion, and finally an addiction. Nomi Prins relentlessly exposes a world fractured by policies crafted by the largest financial institutions, led by the Federal Reserve, that have supercharged the financial system while selling out regular citizens and leading to social and political reckonings. She uncovers a newly polarized world of the mega rich versus the never rich, the winners and losers of an unprecedented distortion that can never return to "normal."

This volume includes papers on topics related to efficiency issues in U.S. and European equity and options markets, as well as the productive efficiency of various types of depository financial institutions. In the capital market context, the book highlights the provisions of efficient trading services in the capital markets and the role of market size, concentration, quality, governance and automation of trading. In the banking perspectives, the volume presents topics related to market integration, dynamic models of bank production, regulatory closure rules for banking firms, risk based insurance premiums in banking, and the economics of the research and development in private firms.

This book explores current financing options for small and medium size enterprises (SMEs), with particular insight into the European market. The authors position SME funding within a risk-averse lending environment with high regulatory costs on business loans, which has arisen from the recent financial crisis and new European bank capital regulations. Chapters in the book demonstrate how and why SMEs may be forced to leave the market and posit that shadow banking and other alternative funding options are viable channels for raising funds. A new and innovative SME credit risk model is also presented. This book will appeal to all who share an interest in sustainable solutions to issues in SME financing.

Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world. Taking into account also its endowment and potential economic resources, the Islamic banking industry in Indonesia was expected to take on an important role in facilitating more financial resources and to contribute to the internationalization of the Islamic mode of financing particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. However, the reality is far from the expectation. This book aims to clarify the causes and fundamental constraints leading to the extraordinarily low level of Indonesia's Islamic financial deepening. The authors draw on the traditions of Institutional Economics which are concerned with the rules or mechanisms of creating the 'incentive' and 'threat' for economic players because the rules (institutions) would matter as the determinant for economic development and economic efficiency. This book offers a fairly new analytical lens by hypothesizing that Islamic banks must earn additional profit- the authors coined as 'Islamic bank rent' - to maintain their franchise value as prudent Shari'ah-compliant lenders when compared to conventional banks. The authors argued that insufficient provision of the Islamic bank rent opportunity may have caused the Indonesia's Islamic banks the opportunity to learn and improve their skill and capacity for the credit risk management. The book also offers evidence in support of implementing economic and affirmative policy necessary for incubating and developing the Islamic banking industry in Indonesia and making Indonesia an international Islamic financial hub in the Asia-Pacific region. This book will be a useful resource for policy makers and researchers interested in Islamic banking in Indonesia.

Despite the huge expansion in consumer credit in the last 25 years there are very few texts describing the operation of consumer credit markets. Consumer Credit Fundamentals is the first book to provide a broad cross-disciplinary introduction to the subject. It covers the history of credit, the types of consumer credit available, how credit is granted and managed, the legal framework within which commercial lenders must operate, as well as consumer and ethical issues. A complete, well-rounded and practical introduction to consumer credit.

Although an emerging technology, blockchain is here to stay. Since its inception, imaginative thinkers have identified new ways for this powerful technology to bring innovative solutions to problems in the business world. Considered by many as an extreme and disruptive change, how can business leaders overcome resistance to the implementation of blockchain solutions and maximize its potential? The Emerald Handbook of Blockchain for Business equips academics, practitioners, and students with a broad understanding of the cutting-edge developments and applications of emerging blockchain technology. Covering the basic concepts while also showcasing practical applications in intricate real-world situations, this handbook bridges the gap between theory and practice, providing a useful balance of detailed and user-friendly coverage. Facilitating readers with a working knowledge of how blockchain functions and integrates within the business world, this handbook is essential reading for academics looking for a springboard for further research and practitioners needing a go-to resource for navigating the implementation of this fast-moving new technology.

This book examines US-Swiss relations in the context of Swiss banking secrecy and Holocaust related claims from World War II until the end of the 1990s. During World War II, Switzerland had been purchasing Reichsbank's gold and safeguarded the assets of the victims of Nazi Germany. This deeply impacted US-Swiss relations in the 1990s, and fueled a major conflict over dormant accounts and heirless assets of Holocaust victims. The US pressured Switzerland for Holocaust restitution using economic sanctions and a negative PR campaign. This culminated in a billion-dollar settlement, a reevaluation of wartime history by the Swiss, and a blow to Switzerland's international image. This book analyzes US policy towards Switzerland as a case of projection of US economic, as opposed to military power.

Macroprudential policies, tools and supervision have become important since the last financial crisis. This book addresses general and methodological issues and provides a framework for the analysis of macroprudential policies and supervision in insurance. It focuses on policy related issues and global level aspects of macroprudential in insurance.

This book presents an analysis of the role of UK building societies, their strengths and weaknesses, and their contribution to the industry, at a time where public confidence in banking is low. Chapters present the results of an empirical analysis of the comparative performance of UK building societies, since the large-scale demutualisation process ended in the year 2000. The authors highlight the substantial impact of the financial crisis on the sector, with 2008 and 2009 being particularly difficult years. The book discusses banks and building societies in the context of the improving economy and show that both groups have recovered some profitability, although not at the pre-crisis level. The reader will discover that building societies in particular have recovered well from the financial turmoil and they appear less risky than banks on a variety of measures.

This book brings under a magnifying glass a little explored, but significant topic - the communications changes of the National Bank of Romania after 2008. Given the similarities and differences between central banks' mechanisms and practices adopted, its applicability and impact for other actors are incontestable. The research incorporates valuable details on how the National Bank of Romania's communication changed during the Great Recession of 2008, as well as insightful data about the way in which different categories of public and media perceived this change. The timeliness and significance of this research are noticeable as the central banks already entered a new era of communication challenges triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic and recently by the Russia - Ukraine war. Lessons from the past can contribute to what researchers name the second revolution in communication, focusing on opening the central banks to the public and regaining trust, especially in such a difficult period.