Deakin's e-book device loan trial

Powerpoint presentation presenting an overview of e-books and e-content at Deakin University, revolving around the e-readers trials that were done in 2010 at Deakin University Library.

Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS): Is It a Curse or a Blessing for the Australian Home Loan Market? A Natural Experiment

The Australian home loan market has seen a significant and persistent boom over more than two decades. Theextant literature exploring the underlying factors explaining this boom has predominantly looked at thedemand side rather than the supply side. In this paper, we look at a major supply-side issue, the introductionof mortgage-backed securities and its likely impact on the home loan market. In doing so, we have developeda mathematical model that theorises this likely relationship. Our mathematical model predicts possibleexistence of an unstable equilibrium in the home loan market in the presence of mortgage-backed securities.We have subsequently backed up our theoretical exercise with sound empirical evidence acquired andanalysed as a natural experiment in the Australian scenario using quarterly market data on home loans andmortgage-backed securities data for a 36-year period from 1976 to 2012. Using unknown structural breaktests, we have identified significant breaks around late 1992 to mid-1995, clearly indicating that there weresignificant changes in the housing market due to the introduction of mortgage-backed securities in early1993. We have also performed a stability test confirming that under certain conditions this market canbecome unstable.

Herding behaviour in the Australian loan market and its impact on bank loan quality

We examine the effect of herding behaviour on the credit quality of bank loans in Australia. We find that bank herding varies with different types of loans. It tends to be more prevalent in owner-occupied housing loans and credit cards than other types of loans. During the global financial crisis period, herding in owner-occupied housing loans was most pronounced due to the flight-to-quality phenomenon in the housing sector. Furthermore, we find that the big four banks tend to herd more than smaller and regional banks. Bank herding behaviour is countercyclical, as it is negatively related to real GDP growth and the cost of funding but is positively related to market risk. Regulatory capital requirements may also encourage herding as banks are required to hold less risk-weighted capital for residential loans. Most importantly, bank herding is related to higher impaired assets and therefore lower loan quality. Our findings may have implications for policymakers and bank regulators.

Does location matter to explain loan interest rates? evidence from Brazilian highly concentrad local markets

O setor bancário brasileiro é altamente concentrado. Embora concentração não signifique necessariamente que o mercado se comporta de forma não competitiva, o grau de competição é freqüentemente questionado no país. Utilizando uma base de dados extensiva e única do mercado de crédito brasileiro, este trabalho procura avaliar muitos dos fatores que contribuem para a variação nas taxas de juros cobradas pelos bancos nos diferentes mercados locais em duas categorias de empréstimos. A concentração não é significante ou mesmo associada a taxas de juros mais baixas, em parte devido ao papel dos bancos públicos. O prêmio de default é positivo e significante, e há alguma evidência de imperfeição de mercado. Neste trabalho, analisamos também o comportamento de precificação dos bancos em diferentes regiões do país, e encontramos que a localização é importante para explicar as taxas de juros dos empréstimos.

Business cycle and bank loan portfolio performance : empirical evidence from brazilian banks

Este trabalho estuda os efeitos do crescimento econômico e da taxas de juros sobre o desempenho de carteiras de empréstimo dos bancos comerciais brasileiros no período de 2000 a 2010. Os resultados empíricos mostram que o crescimento econômico é o principal "driver" para o desempenho da carteira de crédito. Não foram encontradas evidências estatísticas sginificativas de mudanças na taxa de juros sobre o desempenho das carteiras de empréstimos. Além disso, há evidências empíricas de que o impacto do crescimento econômico sobre o desempenho da carteria de crédito tem efeito defasado de 2 trimestres. Por fim, os resultados mostram que alterações de PIB impactam de forma mais significativa o desempenho da carteira de crédito dos bancos comerciais brasileiros maiores. Devido ao efeito multiplicador do mercado de crédito, quanto maior o banco, maior a expansão relativa de sua carteira de crédito e, conseqüentemente a taxa de inadimplência da carteira, que é agravada pela concentração do mercado de crédito no Brasil.

AN ANALYSIS OF SMALL BUSINESS LOAN GUARANTEE FUNDS

Small businesses are considered important engines for job growth and economic development by policy makers worldwide. One of the most commonly cited constraints of small businesses is a lack of access to capital. To address this constraint, small business loan guarantee programs have been established in over 100 countries. There are a variety of types of guarantee funds, with the most significant differences being which borrowers are eligible for guarantees, and how borrowers are approved for guarantees. There is currently no clear delineation between types of programs and the economic conditions they operate in, though some trends are becoming apparent. However, these trends may not be leading to the best economic outcomes possible. By better matching the structure of the guarantee fund to the economic conditions it operates in, the program’s success in meeting economic development goals may be greatly improved. Many programs in developing countries may not be taking advantage of bank expertise and may be limiting the scope of their effectiveness. At the same time, programs in developed countries may be wasting resources by scattering their efforts too thinly and subsidizing less competitive firms to the detriment of local economic development.

Migrazione verso una architettura rest di un applicativo per l'inter library loan

Questo lavoro di tesi �si basa sull'estendere l'architettura del software NILDE - Network Inter Library Document Exchange attraverso un processo di migrazione verso servizi REST (REpresentational State Transfer) utilizzando e ampliando metodologie, best practice e frameworks che hanno permesso lo sviluppo di API Pubbliche e Private utilizzabili da utenti esterni.

Fixing the Student Loan Mess

A Montana Public Radio Commentary by Evan Barrett. Published newspaper columns written by Evan Barrett on this topic, which vary somewhat in content from this commentary, appeared in the following publications: Havre Daily News, June, 11, 2014 Montana Standard, June 12, 2014 Missoulian, June 13, 2014

Economic Loan Loss Provision and Expected Loss

The intention of a loan loss provision is the anticipation of the loan's expected losses by adjusting the book value of the loan. Furthermore, this loan loss provision has to be compared to the expected loss according to Basel II and, in the case of a difference, liable equity has to be adjusted. This however assumes that the loan loss provision and the expected loss are based on a similar economic rationale, which is only valid conditionally in current loan loss provisioning methods according to IFRS. Therefore, differences between loan loss provisions and expected losses should only result from different approaches regarding the parameter estimation within each model and not due to different assumptions regarding the outcome of the model. The provisioning and accounting model developed in this paper overcomes the before-mentioned shortcomings and is consistent with an economic rationale of expected losses. Additionally, this model is based on a close-to-market valuation of the loan that is in favor of the basic idea of IFRS. Suggestions for changes in current accounting and capital requirement rules are provided.

Democratization and Financial Reform in Taiwan: The Political Economy of Bad-Loan Creation

This study shows that many bad loans now burdening Taiwan's financial institutions are interrelated with the society's democratization which started in the late 1980s. Democratization made the local factions and business groups more independent from the Kuomintang government. They acquired more political influence than under the authoritarian regime. These changes induced them to manage their owned financial institutions more arbitrarily and to intervene more frequently in the state-affiliated financial institutions. Moreover they interfered in financial reform and compelled the government to allow many more new banks than it had originally planned. As a result the financial system became more competitive and the qualities of loans deteriorated. Some local factions and business groups exacerbated the situation by establishing banks in order to funnel funds to themselves, sometimes illegally. Thus many bad loans were created as the side effect of democratization.