The field of credit risk and corporate bankruptcy prediction has gained considerable momentum following the collapse of many large corporations around the world, and more recently through the sub-prime scandal in the United States. This book provides a thorough compendium of the different modelling approaches available in the field, including several new techniques that extend the horizons of future research and practice. Topics covered include probit models (in particular bivariate probit modelling), advanced logistic regression models (in particular mixed logit, nested logit and latent class models), survival analysis models, non-parametric techniques (particularly neural networks and recursive partitioning models), structural models and reduced form (intensity) modelling. Models and techniques are illustrated with empirical examples and are accompanied by a careful explanation of model derivation issues. This practical and empirically-based approach makes the book an ideal resource for all those concerned with credit risk and corporate bankruptcy, including academics, practitioners and regulators.

The Public Sector R&D Enterprise combines a primer on how government R&D programs actually work with a sophisticated methodology for prospectively putting a dollar figure on the value of R&D investments before they are made.

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.

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

Praise for MAVERICK REAL ESTATE FINANCING
"Once you start reading, you won't be able to put the book down. You will feel you are part of the deals that industry leaders have put together. This is a real book about real people and how they address risk and reward."
--Bruce S. Schonbraun, Managing Partner The Schonbraun McCann Group LLP
"Bergsman applies a journalist's logic to the complex world of commercial real estate, making it easier for outsiders to understand. He writes with the authority of a true insider."
--Brannon Boswell, Managing Editor Shopping Centers Today
"Congratulations. Finally, someone has written a book that reflects real estate finance in the twenty-first century. With the growing proliferation of real estate education in university business schools today, this book should be required reading "
--James D. Kuhn, President Newmark Knight Frank
In Maverick Real Estate Financing, Steve Bergsman--author of the widely acclaimed Maverick Real Estate Investing--describes the various financing methods you can use to achieve real estate investment success. Maverick Real Estate Financing also introduces you to an innovative group of real estate professionals who have used these methods to build substantial fortunes.
By listening to some of the world's most successful real estate Mavericks--includingWilliam Sanders, W. P. Carey, and Stephen Ross--you'll discover what sets them apart from the rest of the pack and learn how to apply their proven principles to your own real estate deals.
Each chapter examines a different real estate financing technique and the Maverick who best exemplifies it. Some of the strategies and products discussed include:
* Equity financing
* Public and private REITs
* Agency loans
* UPREITs
* Commingled capital
* Retail site arbitrage
* Conduit loans
* Sale-leasebacks
* Distressed mortgages
* Low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs)

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.

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.

The past 10 years has provided one of the longest sustained periods of economic growth for many western economies. There are signs that this may all be coming to an end. Japan, the UK and the US are but a small proportion of the developed countries that have experienced major economic downturns and associated bad debt crises in the recent past. Throughout the emerging markets and developing countries, companies are being restructured and, along with them, their finances. There is also an increased recognition around the world that rescuing, rather than liquidating, companies with a viable future is to the benefit of all the stakeholders. The demand for specialist loan workout skills has never been greater.

Corporate distress is characterised by chaos, confusion and crisis. Unless the situation is stabilised and effective steps taken to restore confidence, it culminates in the company's failure. The key to a successful loan workout is to identify the problems accurately and address them early. It is critical that the company's underlying business and financial problems are resolved and not merely the symptoms.

This book provides a practical guide to the entire range of issues relating to loan workouts. It is critical that an institution has appropriate systems, processes and resources to deliver successful rescues, and the reader is taken through the most important issues in this area. The book further provides a framework for a methodical, step-by-step approach to loan workouts. Technical issues involved in restructuring debt and equity, particularly in multi-lender loan workouts, are also explored in detail.

Published by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, the 1992 and 2002 ISDA(R) Master Agreements are the main contracts used in the over the counter global derivatives market. "Mastering the ISDA Master Agreements" provides a practical, clear and useful guide to help understand and negotiate these Master Agreements.

This revised and updated edition is an essential handbook for anyone involved in negotiating agreements, from financial institutions through to fund managers, law firms, credit officers, regulators and business students. The new edition includes:

• Increased focus on the 2002 ISDA Master Agreement Schedule
• Expanded sections on hedge fund and loan-linked Schedules
• The introduction of covered bonds
• The effect of the credit crunch, the role of derivatives and how this has affected the market

The ISDA Mater Agreements are complex documents and it can take up to two years to become proficient in negotiating and understanding their key elements. "Mastering the ISDA Master Agreements" provides a detailed overview of the legal, credit and operational issues inherent in the ISDA Master Agreements.

The book includes:

• The evolution of ISDA documentation including general and product definitions and confirmations
• A clear and detailed commentary on the individual sections and provisions of the 1992 and 2002 ISDA Master Agreements
• The main legal issues surrounding the Agreement and OTC derivatives from UK and US legal perspectives
• Special Schedule terms including those for building societies, insurance companies, hedge funds and sovereign entities
• Provisions seen in US Schedules which often face non-US negotiators
• The background to the credit crunch, the effect on the OTC derivatives market and some suggestions about possible changes to the market
• Annexes including reproductions of the ISDA Master Agreements and useful information
• Simplified glossaries of terms used in the Agreements

Credit Data and Scoring: The First Triumph of Big Data and Big Algorithms illuminates the often-hidden practice of predicting an individual's economic responsibility. Written by a leading practitioner, it examines the international implications of US leadership in credit scoring and what other countries have learned from it in building their own systems. Through its comprehensive contemporary perspective, the book also explores how algorithms and big data are driving the future of credit scoring. By revealing a new big picture and data comparisons, it delivers useful insights into legal, regulatory and data manipulation.

Featuring contributions from leading international academics and practitioners, Credit Risk: Models, Derivatives, and Management illustrates how a risk management system can be implemented through an understanding of portfolio credit risks, a set of suitable models, and the derivation of reliable empirical results. Divided into six sections, the book * Explores the rapidly developing area of credit derivative products, including iTraxx Futures, iTraxx Default Swaptions, and constant proportion debt obligations * Addresses the relationships between the DJ iTraxx credit default swap (CDS) index and the stock market as well as CDS spreads and macroeconomic factors * Investigates systematic and firm-specific default risk factors, compares CDS pricing results from the CreditGrades industry benchmark to a trinomial tree approach, and applies the Hull-White intensity-based model to the pricing of names from the CDX index * Analyzes aggregate default and recovery rates on corporate bond defaults over a twenty-year period, the responses of hazard rates to changes in a set of economic variables, low-default portfolios, and tests on the accuracy of the Basel II framework * Describes benchmark models of implied credit correlation risk, copula-based default dependence concepts, the fit of various copula models, and a common factor model of systematic credit risk * Studies the pricing of options on single-name CDSs, the pricing of credit derivatives, collateralized debt obligation (CDO) price data, the pricing of CDO tranches, applications of Gaussian and Student's t copula functions, and the pricing of CDOs Using mathematical models and methodologies, this volume provides the essential knowledge to properly manage credit risk and make sound financial decisions.

Adair Turner became chairman of Britain's Financial Services Authority just as the global financial crisis struck in 2008, and he played a leading role in redesigning global financial regulation. In this eye-opening book, he sets the record straight about what really caused the crisis. It didn't happen because banks are too big to fail--our addiction to private debt is to blame. Between Debt and the Devil challenges the belief that we need credit growth to fuel economic growth, and that rising debt is okay as long as inflation remains low. In fact, most credit is not needed for economic growth--but it drives real estate booms and busts and leads to financial crisis and depression. Turner explains why public policy needs to manage the growth and allocation of credit creation, and why debt needs to be taxed as a form of economic pollution. Banks need far more capital, real estate lending must be restricted, and we need to tackle inequality and mitigate the relentless rise of real estate prices. Turner also debunks the big myth about fiat money--the erroneous notion that printing money will lead to harmful inflation. To escape the mess created by past policy errors, we sometimes need to monetize government debt and finance fiscal deficits with central-bank money. Between Debt and the Devil shows why we need to reject the assumptions that private credit is essential to growth and fiat money is inevitably dangerous. Each has its advantages, and each creates risks that public policy must consciously balance.

The credit card industry today is a multi-trillion dollar business that employs hundreds of thousands of people across the globe and impacts literally billions of people every day. Yet there is no comprehensive book or reference material available in the marketplace that provides fact-based perspectives on how to develop and manage a successful card business - despite the significant demand from all those involved in the industry. Developing and Managing a Successful Payment Cards Business offers information, analysis, observations, perspectives and advice on developing and managing a card business. There is comprehensive coverage of all areas including card business strategy, product development, customer acquisition and retention strategies, and product marketing techniques. The book also reviews underlying infrastructure components relating to operations and systems including risk management and transaction processing and suggests improvement techniques. There is detailed discussion on portfolio performance and profitability evaluation, as well as new technology developments and emerging payment systems such as chip cards and mobile payments.

Project sponsors in Europe are facing more and more difficulty when acquiring conventional long-term bank loans for infrastructure projects. The regulatory landscape for debt markets will evolve further with implementation of Basel III requirements. Recently, the Asset Quality Review under the European Central Bank's Comprehensive Assessment process, and related pressures on banks' balance sheets, have constrained bank long-term lending. This has led to much discussion on non-conventional bank funding options for infrastructure deals in the future. This book analyses the project bond financing solution in detail, identifying all the specific features that make it highly suitable for large capital intensive infrastructure projects. The first part of the book assesses the main characteristics and prerequisites of project finance, including public-private partnership, infrastructure project assets and greenfield versus brownfield projects. It then discusses the European infrastructure project finance market in detail, before comparing bank conventional lending versus the project bond solution. In the final part of the book, the author presents the Europe 2020 project bond initiative, and reveals a range of key case studies and their findings.

Credit rating agencies (CRAs) assess the creditworthiness of debt issuers on financial markets. They are private companies and the ratings they issue are judgements about the prospect of repayment of debt by an issuer in time and in full. A rating is not an investment recommendation, but it is an opinion about the creditworthiness of a financial product or an issuing bank, government, supra- or sub-national institution. In recent years CRAs have gained an authority in bond markets that far surpasses their original design. The financial crisis of 2008 thrust the CRAs into the spotlight as their highly rated financial products turned out to be toxic assets. CRAs were blamed not only for their excessively optimistic ratings, but also for their complicity in creating them. This short book introduces and explores the complex world of the credit rating industry: how it works, how it has evolved, the role it played in the financial crisis, and how it is regulated. Giulia Mennillo shows, as constitutive actors of global financial capitalism, CRAs have a social and political relevance that reaches well beyond finance into areas of transport, infrastructure, education and health and their impact is emblematic of the increasing financialization of our world.

Global Credit Review is an annual publication that provides an overview of the most important developments in global credit markets and the regulatory landscape. The third volume provides some critical analysis, reviews the introduction of new regulations and also offers new insights to address the challenges ahead. The carefully selected chapters touch on current topics such as: the measurement of systemic risk, reserve requirements and its role in monetary policy, the application of the Basel II default definition by credit risk assessment systems, and changes in credit portfolio management, amongst others. Recent evolutions of the Risk Management Institute's Credit Research Initiative are also reported, including a comprehensive overview of the technical details on the implementation of the current RMI-CRI corporate default prediction model. With its distinctive focus on topics related to credit markets and credit risk, this is an invaluable publication for finance professionals, policy makers and academics with an interest in credit markets.

Credit can be instrumental in equalizing opportunity and alleviating poverty, yet historically men and women have not had the same access. Partly because of this, women have been excluded from many previous economic histories. This book fills a significant gap in exploring the vexed relationship between the women and credit across time and space.
Providing examples of credit agencies and initiatives in both the developing and developed world, Women and Credit raises important policy issues and makes valuable suggestions for reconfiguring the relationship between women and credit. It also answers questions previously ignored by scholars, yet of vital significance to women's studies and economic history. What contribution did women make to the development of industrial capitalism? How does women's access to credit vary across time and cultures? How has the development of mico-credit initiatives affected women's economic position and what role will such initiatives play in the future?
This book is an invaluable resource for anyone in the fields of Women's studies, economic history, anthropology or development

The end of the Cold War put the planet on a new track, abruptly replacing the familiar world of bipolarity, red phones, and intercontinental ballistic missiles with the strange new world of the Internet, e-commerce, and Palm Pilots. The "New World Order" was defined by a U.S.-led war against Iraq, bloody ethnic strife in Bosnia and Rwanda, and religious turmoil in Central Asia. This evolving global system, however, overlooked the powerful role of credit, which functions as a critical building block for developing greater national and individual wealth. This volume examines the evolution of credit in the Western world and its relationship to power. Spanning several centuries of human endeavor. it focuses on Western Europe and the United States and also considers how the Western system became the global credit system. Six major themes run throughout: (1) the direct relationship between credit and power; (2) different kinds of political power promote different kinds of economic behavior; (3) various societal and cultural groups were often more successful in mingling credit and political power; (4) the Western credit system evolved in tandem with the development of the nation-state; (5) historically, there has been a pattern of financial crises; (6) credit spread from being the privilege of the wealthy and powerful to being available to vast numbers. MacDonald and Gastmann have broken history into five periods, ranging from early pre-modern, defining the earliest references to banking and credit as exemplified by the Code of Hammurabi, circa 1726 BC, through the Roman Empire with its creation of money and growing use of credit in trade, the barbarian invasions of the 11th century which led to a breakdown in credit networks in the West, through the establishment of the Italian city-states, to the modern period which incorporates the rise of credit in the Low Countries in the 1500s and extends through the rise of London and New York as the major international credit hubs. The final period is the global one which began in the early 1990s, reflecting the linkages of almost all points of the map, and the deepening democratization of credit in North America, Europe, and parts of Asia. This highly accessible and well-written volume will engage historians and economists alike.

In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, it became apparent that pricing loans in a way that is profitable for lenders and sensitive to risk is anything but simple. Increasingly, lenders are following the lead of other retailers by segmenting their market and more precisely targeting customers. To do this successfully, lenders must engage analytic approaches, such as machine learning and optimization, in setting prices for each segment. Robert L. Phillips worked with major banks and financial services companies for more than a decade to help them improve their pricing capabilities. This book draws on his experience, as well as the latest academic research, to demonstrate how lenders can apply the proven techniques of price optimization to responsibly improve the profitability of their loans. It is a go-to resource for academics and professionals alike, particularly lenders who are looking for ways to do better business in an increasingly competitive (and regulated) market.

The term 'housing crisis' has, in recent times, been associated with rising foreclosure rates and tottering financial institutions, particularly in the US and Europe. However, in many rapidly urbanizing emerging countries, the housing crisis is about urban poverty, unplanned settlements, overcrowded slums and homelessness. Both these faces of the housing crisis require solutions for housing finance mechanisms and systems that lie at the root of each. A well functioning housing finance system can play an important role in helping to fulfil multiple objectives - promoting social and political stability, enhancing housing market performance, as well as contributing to financial sector stability and development. However, the complex systems within which it is embedded are also vulnerable to risks from multiple sources of market, political, and regulatory failures. This book draws on a wealth of examples from around the world to provide a road map for building more resilient housing finance systems.

It is common to blame the inadequacy of credit risk models for the fact that the financial crisis has caught many market participants by surprise. On closer inspection, though, it often appears that market participants failed to understand or to use the models correctly. The recent events therefore do not invalidate traditional credit risk modeling as described in the first edition of the book. A second edition is timely, however, because the first dealt relatively briefly with instruments featuring prominently in the crisis (CDSs and CDOs). In addition to expanding the coverage of these instruments, the book will focus on modeling aspects which were of particular relevance in the financial crisis (e.g. estimation error) and demonstrate the usefulness of credit risk modelling through case studies.

This book provides practitioners and students with an intuitive, hands-on introduction to modern credit risk modelling. Every chapter starts with an explanation of the methodology and then the authors take the reader step by step through the implementation of the methods in Excel and VBA. They focus specifically on risk management issues and cover default probability estimation (scoring, structural models, and transition matrices), correlation and portfolio analysis, validation, as well as credit default swaps and structured finance.

The book has an accompanying website, http: //loeffler-posch.com/, which has been specially updated for this Second Edition and contains slides and exercises for lecturers.

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.

Victorian Insolvency explores for the first time the financial, legal, and administrative aspects of insolvency in nineteenth-century England. V. Markham Lester gives a detailed statistical analysis covering bankruptcy, imprisonment for debt, and company winding-up during the period, and traces the decline in the level of insolvency towards the end of the century. His thorough scholarship demonstrates just how significant a problem insolvency was for English society in the Victorian era. Dr Lester argues persuasively that random factors may have played as great a role as cyclical fluctuations in bankruptcy levels. Victorian Insolvency also traces the history of insolvency legislation and adds a new and important dimension to the debate on government growth by examining how the English legal system, through its administration of bankruptcy laws, increased the size and complexity of government bureaucracy. By the end of the nineteenth-century, the cost of administering bankrupt estates was one of the largest items of government expenditure. Dr Lester places Victorian management of insolvency in the context of other legal reforms, the relationship between the legal and business communities, and the development of the modern British state.

Find The Home Mortgage That’s Right For You

Finding the right mortgage can be complex, confusing, and frustrating. But that doesn’t mean you have to settle for anything other than the terms you want. This indispensable and newly updated second edition of How to Save Thousands of Dollars on Your Home Mortgage spells out everything mortgage hunters need to know in clear and accessible terms. It covers more loan alternatives than any other book and examines the importance of discount points. It offers complete details on virtually every mortgage option currently available, what advantages each option offers, how to choose the right one for your needs, and how to save money in the process. New information in this edition will help you use the Internet to find a home and get a mortgage, examine automated underwriting models and conforming loan limits, and weigh new shopping strategies. Easy-to-read charts and graphs, helpful sample forms, and numerous examples will help you understand:

• First-time buyers programs
• APR, buy-downs, reverse mortgages, accelerated payoffs, and zero point loans
• Refinancing strategies
• Closing costs, lender fees, and other expenses
• How to dispute credit report errors and fix credit problems
• How to use the Internet for loan analysis