This volume assembles and presents a database on bank regulation in over 150 countries (included also on CD). It offered the first comprehensive cross-country assessment of the impact of bank ...regulation on the operation of banks, and assesses the validity of the Basel Committee's influential approach to bank regulation. The treatment also provides an empirical evaluation of the historic debate about the proper role of government in the economy by studying bank regulation and analyzes the role of politics in determining regulatory approaches to banking. The data also indicate that restrictions on the entry of banks, government ownership of banks, and restrictions on bank activities hurt banking system performance. The authors find that domestic political factors shape both regulations and their effectiveness.
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to discuss and provide new data and measures of bank regulatory and supervisory policies in 180 countries from 1999 to 2011.Design methodology approach - The ...authors' approach is based upon the quantification of hundreds of questions, including information on permissible bank activities, capital requirements, the powers of official supervisory agencies, information disclosure requirements, external governance mechanisms, deposit insurance, barriers to entry, and loan provisioning, to form indices of key bank regulatory and supervisory policies.Findings - It is found that the regulation and supervision of banks varies widely across countries in many different dimensions. Furthermore, there has not been a convergence in bank regulatory regimes over the past decade despite the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression.Research limitations implications - The data are based on survey responses and this requires that the answers be accurate. To better ensure this is the case, several checks were made to ensure greater accuracy in all the answers. Using this database one can perform various statistical analyses in attempt to determine which bank regulatory regimes work best to promote well-functioning banking systems.Originality value - The authors' data and measures are new and unique so as enable policy makers and researchers to examine cross-country comparisons and analyses of changes in banking policies over time.
This paper uses our new database on bank regulation and supervision in 107 countries to assess the relationship between specific regulatory and supervisory practices and banking-sector development, ...efficiency, and fragility. The paper examines: (i) regulatory restrictions on bank activities and the mixing of banking and commerce; (ii) regulations on domestic and foreign bank entry; (iii) regulations on capital adequacy; (iv) deposit insurance system design features; (v) supervisory power, independence, and resources; (vi) loan classification stringency, provisioning standards, and diversification guidelines; (vii) regulations fostering information disclosure and private-sector monitoring of banks; and (viii) government ownership.
The results, albeit tentative, raise a cautionary flag regarding government policies that rely excessively on direct government supervision and regulation of bank activities. The findings instead suggest that policies that rely on guidelines that (1) force accurate information disclosure, (2) empower private-sector corporate control of banks, and (3) foster incentives for private agents to exert corporate control work best to promote bank development, performance and stability.
We provide a cross-country and cross-bank analysis of the financial determinants of the Great Financial Crisis using data on 83 countries from the period 1998 to 2006. First, our cross-country ...results show that the probability of suffering the crisis in 2008 was larger for countries having higher levels of credit deposit ratio whereas it was lower for countries characterized by higher levels of: (i) net interest margin, (ii) concentration in the banking sector, (iii) restrictions to bank activities, (iv) private monitoring. The bank-level analysis reinforces these results and shows that the latter factors are also key determinants across banks, thus explaining the probability of bank crisis. Our findings contribute to extend the analytical toolkit available for macro and micro-prudential regulation.
Guardians of Finance Barth, James R; Caprio, Gerard; Levine, Ross
02/2012, Letnik:
1
eBook, Book
The recent financial crisis was an accident, a "perfect storm" fueled by an unforeseeable confluence of events that unfortunately combined to bring down the global financial systems. Or at least this ...is the story told and retold by a chorus of luminaries that includes Timothy Geithner, Henry Paulson, Robert Rubin, Ben Bernanke, and Alan Greenspan. InGuardians of Finance, economists James Barth, Gerard Caprio, and Ross Levine argue that the financial meltdown of 2007 to 2009 was no accident; it was negligent homicide. They show that senior regulatory officials around the world knew or should have known that their policies were destabilizing the global financial system and yet chose not to act until the crisis had fully emerged.Barth, Caprio, and Levine propose a reform to counter this systemic failure: the establishment of a "Sentinel" to provide an informed, expert, and independent assessment of financial regulation. Its sole power would be to demand information and to evaluate it from the perspective of the public--rather than that of the financial industry, the regulators, or politicians.
This paper presents new and official survey information on bank regulations in 142 countries and makes comparisons with two earlier surveys. The data do not suggest that countries have primarily ...reformed their bank regulations for the better over the last decade. Following Basel guidelines many countries strengthened capital regulations and official supervisory agencies, but existing evidence suggests that these reforms will not improve bank stability or efficiency. While some countries have empowered private monitoring of banks, consistent with the third pillar of Basel II, there are many exceptions and reversals along this dimension.
The sharp realities of financial globalization become clear during crises, when winners and losers emerge. Crises usher in short- and long-term changes to the status quo, and everyone agrees that ...learning from crises is a top priority. The Evidence and Impact of Financial Globalization devotes separate articles to specific crises, the conditions that cause them, and the longstanding arrangements devised to address them. While other books and journal articles treat these subjects in isolation, this volume presents a wide-ranging, consistent, yet varied specificity. Substantial, authoritative, and useful, these articles provide material unavailable elsewhere. * Substantial articles by top scholars sets this volume apart from other information sources * Rapidly developing subjects will interest readers well into the future * Reader demand and lack of competitors underline the high value of these reference works
The intensity of the crisis in financial markets has surprised nearly everyone. The authors search out the root causes of the crisis, distinguishing them from scapegoating explanations that have been ...used in policy circles to divert attention from the underlying breakdown of incentives. Incentive conflicts explain how securitization went wrong, why credit ratings proved so inaccurate, and why it is superficial to blame the crisis on mark-to-market accounting, an unexpected loss of liquidity, trends in globalization, and deregulation in financial markets. The authors' analysis finds disturbing implications of the crisis for Basel II and its implementation. They conclude by drawing out lessons for developing countries and identifying reforms that would improve incentives by increasing transparency and accountability in government and industry alike.
DNA damage is a pre-requisite for the initiation of cancer and agents that reduce this damage are useful in cancer prevention. In this study, we evaluated the ability of whole berries and berry ...phytochemical, ellagic acid to reduce endogenous oxidative DNA damage. Ellagic acid was selected based on >95% inhibition of 8-oxodeoxyguosine (8-oxodG) and other unidentified oxidative DNA adducts induced by 4-hydroxy-17ss-estradiol and CuCl(2) in vitro. Inhibition of the latter occurred at lower concentrations (10 microM) than that for 8-oxodG (100 microM). In the in vivo study, female CD-1 mice (n=6) were fed either a control diet or diet supplemented with ellagic acid (400 ppm) and dehydrated berries (5% w/w) with varying ellagic acid contents - blueberry (low), strawberry (medium) and red raspberry (high), for 3 weeks. Blueberry and strawberry diets showed moderate reductions in endogenous DNA adducts (25%). However, both red raspberry and ellagic acid diets showed a significant reduction of 59% (p < 0.001) and 48% (p < 0.01), respectively. Both diets also resulted in a 3-8 fold over-expression of genes involved in DNA repair such as xeroderma pigmentosum group A complementing protein (XPA), DNA excision repair protein (ERCC5) and DNA ligase III (DNL3). These results suggest that red raspberry and ellagic acid reduce endogenous oxidative DNA damage by mechanisms which may involve increase in DNA repair.
Understandingtwenty-first century global financial integration requires a two- part background. The Handbook of Key Global Financial Markets, Institutions, and Infrastructure begins its description ...ofhow we created a financially- intergrated worldbyfirst examining the history of financial globalization, from Roman practices and Ottoman finance to Chinese standards, the beginnings of corporate practices, and the advent ofefforts to safeguard financial stability. It thendescribesthearchitectureitself by analyzingits parts, such as markets, institutions, and infrastructure. The contributions ofsovereign funds, auditing regulation, loan markets, property rights, compensation practices, Islamic finance, and others to the global architecture are closely examined.For those seeking substantial, authoritative descriptions and summaries, this volume will replace books, journals, and other information sources with a single, easy-to-use reference work. * Substantial articles by top scholars sets this volume apart from other information sources * Diverse international perspectives result in new opportunities for analysis and research * Rapidly developing subjectswill interest readers well into the future
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