More than one billion people still live below the poverty line - most of them in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Financial inclusion is a major issue, as more than three-quarters of the numbers of poor and disadvantaged women and men do not have access to financial products and services, such as bank accounts, affordable and suitable loans, and insurance. The key objective of this book is to provide practical case studies of financial inclusion, rather than focus on academic debates such as the ideological basis of promoting microfinance. Using the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals as an overall framing of the issues, it shows how poor and disadvantaged women and men can be bankable if the right facilitation for maximizing opportunities and addressing constraints are in place. Case studies confirm that achieving inclusive and sustainable access to financial products and services goes beyond simply enabling poor and disadvantaged women and men to have access to credit, or the ability to open a bank account. Examples from Africa, Asia and Latin America demonstrate encouraging progress in making microcredit accessible to millions of poor people. The foremost challenge, however, has been to ensure that they have access to, and usage intensity of, suitable and affordable financial products and services that meet the needs of their livelihoods as well as risks and mitigation strategies. This requires understanding that poor and disadvantaged women and men do not exist in isolation from complex and interdependent functions in the financial system, which includes a number of actors, diversified services, constraints (not just symptoms) and capacities and incentives. Overall, the book provides a rich source of examples of how building inclusive financial systems can empower the world's poor - by increasing income and employment opportunities, securing livelihoods and reducing poverty.

In two volumes these books review and expand the theory that poverty in the world's poorest regions could be alleviated by providing small loans to micro-entrepreneurs. Volume 1 provides detailed analysis of this theory and offers policy recommendations for practitioners in this field. Volume 2 presents empirical evidence drawn from comparative experiences in seven developing countries. The work assesses the success of this policy and provides some startling conclusions. This is essential reading for all those interested in development, poverty-reduction, social welfare and finance.

eBook available with sample pages: HB:0415095441

Over the last decade, the theory that poverty in the world's poorest regions could be alleviated by providing small loans to micro-entrepreneurs has become increasingly popular. This volume examines the effectiveness of this theory when put into practice. The book presents empirical evidence drawn from comparative experiences in seven developing countries and produces some startling conclusions. This work should be essential reading for all those interested in development, poverty-reduction, social welfare and finance. Volume One provides a detailed analysis of this theory and offers policy recommendations for practitioners in the field.

Over the last decade, the theory that poverty in the world's poorest regions could be alleviated by providing small loans to micro-entrepreneurs has become increasingly popular. This volume examines the effectiveness of this theory when put into practice. The book presents empirical evidence drawn from comparative experiences in seven developing countries and produces some startling conclusions. This work should be essential reading for all those interested in development, poverty-reduction, social welfare and finance. Volume One provides a detailed analysis of this theory and offers policy recommendations for practitioners in the field.

First published in 1982, Bond Duration and Immunization is a collection of seminal papers featuring articles from high profile academics such as Frederick McCaulay, John Hicks, and F.M. Redington. This collection also features several articles published in British actuarial journals often unavailable outside of the UK, and a strong collection of articles which contextually offer a significant contribution to the field. This strong collection will appeal to anyone working or researching in the area of bond duration and immunization.

First published in 1992, The New York Stock Exchange is an informative library resource. The book begins with a history of the stock exchange, and offers a series of annotated bibliographies devoted to dictionaries and general guides, directories, bibliographies, general histories, and statistical sources. The book provides important coverage of the stock market crashes of 1929 and 1987 and the appendices offer a useful collection of data, including a directory of serial publications, listings of abstracts and indexes, online databases, and CD-ROM products. This book will be of interest to libraries and to researchers working in the field of economics and business.

Originally published in 1984, The Incredible Eurodollar examines the upheaval and crisis in the world's money system. The book addresses the impact of the vast international debt on the position and volatility of the dollar. The book provides a unique insight into the economics surrounding the Eurodollar, as well as the technicalities of the market. Providing a detailed approach to analysing the Euromarket this volume will be of interest to those working or studying in the fields of business and economics.

Originally published in 1992, Capital Mobilization and Regional Financial Markets, argues that barriers to financial flows within regions may be as important in affecting capital flows as interregional barriers. The book conjectures that regional markets allow efficient mobilization of local funds and develops an analytical framework to motivate an investigation of region financial development in the Pacific Coast states between 1850 and 1920.

European Banking and Financial Law Statutes presents all the key legislation for European banking and financial law in one student-friendly volume. This book is: * up-to-date with the law: based on the official consolidated texts of all relevant European instruments, this book provides a fully current collection of legislation * tailored to course outlines: content has been curated to align with European banking and financial law courses * exam friendly: conforming to regulations, this is an un-annotated text that is suitable for exam use * easy to use: a clear and attractive text design, detailed table of contents and multiple indices provides ease of reference and navigation. Ideal for course and exam use, as well as for reference, this book is a perfect companion resource for student learning and exam success, which is especially tailored for use in combination with the European Banking and Financial Law textbook.

This 14-volume set collects together a series of key titles that provide a wide-ranging analysis of money (A Survey of Primitive Money), banking (Bank Behavior, Regulation and Economic Development) and finance (The Money Market). Other titles expand on these topics, giving both a wider overview and a more detailed snapshot of the subjects covered.

This book, first published in 1921, is intended to serve as an introduction to the study of the historical background of modern industrial and social questions. It deals with the evolution of English industrial conditions from the close of the Napoleonic War to the outbreak of the First World War. Particular attention is paid to social consequences and growth of opinion.

This book, first published in 1904, is an early examination of England's monetary system: what it is, how it was founded, grew and developed. It analyses the role of trade in this development, and works from the assumption that the material well-being of the country and all its inhabitants is largely dependent upon the money market.

The Federal Reserve System has been widely criticised for its response (or lack of response) to the economic and financial problems of 1928-1933. This period was one of frantic speculation followed by the collapse of the stock market, the banking system and the economy at large. How did the Fed let this happen, and was it to blame? This book, first published in 1993, carries out an in-depth statistical analysis of the relevant data supporting the various theories surrounding the Fed's behaviour at the time, and is a key work in understanding the thinking of the period.

This book, first published in 1992, explores the role of the Federal Reserve System in the Great Depression. Several theories of the causes of the Great Depression are discussed. What the Federal Reserve did, how they defended their actions, and how business writers, businessmen and economists viewed these actions are important. Analysis of these opinions sheds light on how aware of the appropriateness of Federal Reserve policy concerned participants of that time period were.

The biggest corporate failure ever in British history occurred in 2008 with very little forewarning. The management of HBOS, a major national bank with a long history of prudence prior to the merger in 2001, were allowed to act incompetently. Auditors and regulators failed to act, ignoring a key senior whistleblower, and the 'competitive' stock market failed to spot management failure in time. This book is the first academic study of this collapse, uncovering some surprising evidence on the power and politics of large financial institutions. It details the processes and degrees to which financial challenge and regulation are undermined by this power. The research exposes a pro-active process of regulatory risk management by these institutions; the ease with which auditors and regulators can be captured; and how politicians and investors can be all too happy to hop on the stock market and management spin ride - with other people's money. The study questions the ideology and politics which supported and encouraged the management hubris, raising profound questions about the 'politics' of the academic disciplines of banking, finance and accounting today, and the theories they underpin. This account of management gone wrong is essential reading for students, researchers and professionals involved in banking, finance, credit infrastructure, economics and management studies.

This book focuses on the importance for China to correct the present imbalance in the relationship between the financial sector and the real economy. The book looks at China's current financial system in terms of "extractive" and "inclusive". It asserts that the financial sector is producing huge "siphonic effects" that distort the overall development of the Chinese economy. Like a giant magnet, the financial sector attracts too many innovation factors, such as talents, capital and entrepreneurship away from the real economy and inhibits the development of the latter. Hence, the book argues that China's financial system must now be thoroughly reformed to become an inclusive financial system, where finance and the rest of the economy can co-exist and develop in support of each other.

This book goes beyond traditional financial institutions textbooks, which tend to focus on mathematical models for risk management and the technical aspects of measuring and managing risk. It focuses on the role of financial institutions in promoting social and economic goals for the communities in which they operate for the greater good, while also meeting financial and competitive challenges, and managing risks. Cooperman divides the text into seven easily teachable modules that examine the real issues and challenges that managers of financial institutions face. These include the transformative changes presented by social unrest, climate change and resource challenges, as well as the changes in how financial institutions operate in light of the opportunities that rapid innovations and disruptive technologies offer. The book features: Up-to-date coverage of new regulations affecting financial institutions, such as Dodd Frank and new SEC regulations. Material on project financing and new forms of financing, including crowd funding and new methods of payment for financial institutions. New sustainable finance models and strategies that incorporate environmental, social, and corporate governance considerations. A new chapter on sustainable financial institutions, social activism, the greening of finance, and socially responsible investing. Practical cases focusing on sustainability give readers insight into the socioeconomic risks associated with climate change. Streamlined and accessible, Managing Financial Institutions will appeal to students of financial institutions and markets, risk management, and banking. A companion website, featuring PowerPoint slides, an Instructor's Manual, and additional cases, is also available.

Originally published in 1940, this book traces the development of theories concerning currency and credit from the beginning of the eighteenth century to the middle of the twentieth. It provides a comprehensive account of the political and economic conditions in which the theories and controversies arose, with the result that the work has become a classic in its field.

An easy to read by "state of the art" text containing a comprehensive review and analysis of existing corporate bankruptcy models, and their applications to real life data Covers a broad range of statistical learning models, ranging from relatively linear techniques (e.g. linear discriminant analysis) to state-of the art machine learning methods (e.g. random forests, deep learning). Explains the purpose, strength and limitations of respective models and frameworks, highlighting their major points of similarity and difference and would make this book a useful reference Much of the corporate bankruptcy literature has relied on quite simplistic classification models but this book introduces a wide range of innovative corporate bankruptcy prediction models

Formal financial systems are emerging rapidly in Africa, driven by rising financial literacy and technological innovation, and accelerated by informal savings groups that foster inclusive growth across the continent. While prevalent among the poor, the savings groups phenomenon extends to Africa's growing, yet still fragile, middle class, underpinning economic resilience and providing a tool for community participation as well as cooperative entrepreneurial development. These groups are also becoming important agents for social and economic empowerment, independent of age and gender. Transforming Africa: How Savings Groups Foster Financial Inclusion, Resilience and Economic Development gives voice to the local and international agents of grassroots economic empowerment initiatives that thrive in Africa. Presenting a unique through in-depth empirical research into savings group activities in over a dozen African countries, this book explores savings groups through the lens of financial inclusion, reflecting on formal finance, economic and social outcomes. SG4Africa was launched in April 2018 to explore these dimensions of savings groups and provide novel, empirically-grounded research across different geographies in Africa. Led jointly by the Policy Experimentation; Evaluation Platform and the University of Johannesburg, the SG4Africa consortium includes members from more than a dozen African countries.

Credit rating agencies play a critical role in capital markets, guiding the asset allocation of institutional investors as private capital moves freely around the world in search of the best trade-off between risk and return. However, they have also been strongly criticised for failing to spot the Asian crisis in the early 1990s, the Enron, WorldCom and Parmalat collapses in the early 2000s and finally for their ratings of subprime-related structured finance instruments and their role in the current financial crisis.

This book is a guide to ratings, the ratings industry and the mechanics and economics of obtaining a rating. It sheds light on the role that the agencies play in the international financial markets. It avoids the sensationalist approach often associated with studies of rating scandals and the financial crisis, and instead provides an objective and critical analysis of the business of ratings. The book will be of practical use to any individual who has to deal with ratings and the ratings industry in their day-to-day job.

Reviews

""Rating agencies fulfil an important role in the capital markets, but given their power, they are frequently the object of criticism. Some of it is justified but most of it portrays a lack of understanding of their business. In their book The Rating Agencies and their Credit Ratings, Herwig and Patricia Langohr provide an excellent economic background to the role of rating agencies and also a thorough understanding of their business and the problems they face. I recommend this book to all those who have an interest in this somewhat arcane but extremely important area."
"-Robin Monro-Davies, Former CEO, Fitch Ratings.

""At a time of unprecedented public and political scrutiny of the effectiveness and indeed the basic business model of the Credit Rating industry, and heightened concerns regarding the transparency and accountability of the leading agencies, this book provides a commendably comprehensive overview, and should provide invaluable assistance in the ongoing debate."
"-Rupert Atkinson, Managing Director, Head of Credit Advisory Group, Morgan Stanley and member of the SIFMA Rating Agency Task Force

""The Langohrs have provided useful information in a field where one frequently finds only opinions or misconceptions. They supply a firm base from which to understand changes now underway. A well-read copy of this monograph should be close to the desk of every investor, issuer and financial regulator, legislator or commentator.""
-John Grout, Policy and Technical Director, The Association of Corporate Treasurers

This book offers an advanced introduction to the models of credit risk valuation. It concentrates on firm-value and reduced-form approaches and their applications in practice. Additionally, the book includes new models for valuing derivative securities with credit risk, focussing on options and forward contracts subject to counterparty default risk, but also treating options on credit-risky bonds and credit derivatives. The text provides detailed descriptions of the state-of-the-art martingale methods and advanced numerical implementations based on multi-variate trees used to price derivative credit risk. Numerical examples illustrate the effects of credit risk on the prices of financial derivatives.

The issues of developing country debt crises, increased volatility and risk, and the determination of market liquidity are high on the agendas of policy makers, market participants and researchers in the area of financial markets. These issues are also of major importance to regulators and exchange officials. This book contains a collection of eight papers which provide new insights into all three issues, with special emphasis on futures markets, which have received relatively little attention in the analysis of these problems. Issues explored and findings reported in this book, have implications for policy makers in framing recommendations to government, for government officials in shaping the regulatory structure of futures exchanges, for traders on these exchanges, and also for researchers planning future investigations. The book is relevant for post-graduate and advanced under-graduate courses on financial markets in Economics, Finance and Banking.

This book draws together a set of topical writings on the subject of microcredit that will be of relevance to the work of both researchers and practitioners in the field. In drawing on the experiences of authors from countries and regions throughout the globe, including Cambodia, Barbados and the Caribbean, Mexico, Pakistan, India and Africa, the book examines the subject of microcredit from various perspectives. The book explores the contribution of microcredit to various sectors within the developed and developing worlds and seeks to analyze critically the contributory success and failure factors of microcredit in varying international contexts.

By means of evaluating the opportunities and challenges of microcredit, the book provides key lessons about microcredit for international development purposes. More specifically, the authors of the chapters offer a series of insights into microcredit activities as they relate to the real world. For example, in his chapter, David Hulme traces the developing nature of the activities of the highly influential Grameen Bank, that is, from activities focused on subsidised microcredit to more market-based microfinance activities. In their chapter, Johanna Hietalahti and Anja Nygren examine microcredit as a socio-political institution in South Africa and, in doing so, unearth the complex interactions between of rules, logic and power-relations which are relevant to microcredit activities. In another chapter, Asad Ghalib uses the context of Rural Punjab in Pakistan in order to assess the extent to which microcredit-related activities actually reach the poor.

Taken together, the chapters in the book provide readers with an opportunity to consider a host of factors connected to microcredit from a genuinely international perspective.

The American savings and loan industry began in the 1830s to help people of modest financial means buy a home. Despite the long history of the industry there has been limited scholarly work done on its early years. This collection allows an insight into the place of the savings and loans industry within the wider context of American society.