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This study explores the impact of bank market structure on firm innovation in China using a two-way fixed effects model. Our analysis is based on a dataset comprising 2,412,316 firm-city level observations. Our findings suggest that there exists a U-shaped relationship between bank market structure and firm innovation in China. Specifically, we identify that the financing channel is a crucial pathway through which bank market structure influences firm innovation. Moreover, our results indicate that this relationship is mainly driven by small firms and innovative firms, and is more pronounced in regions with stronger intellectual property rights protection or greater openness to foreign markets. In sum, this study contributes to the existing literature by advancing our understanding of the impact of bank market structure on innovation in Chinese firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to enhance market share and competitiveness, large banks are increasingly focusing on promoting marketing strategies. However, the traditional bank marketing strategy often leads to the homogenization of customer demand, making it challenging to distinguish among various products. To address this issue, this paper presents a customer demand learning model based on financial datasets and optimizes the distribution model of bank big data channels through induction to rectify the imbalance in bank customer transaction data. By comparing the prediction models of random forest model and support vector machine (SVM), this paper analyzes the ability of the prediction model based on ensemble learning to significantly enhance the market segmentation of e-commerce banks. The empirical results reveal that the accuracy of random forest model reaches 92%, while the accuracy of SVM model reaches 87%. This indicates that the ensemble learning model has higher accuracy and forecasting ability than the single model. It enables the bank marketing system to implement targeted marketing, effectively maintain the relationship between customers and banks, and significantly improve the success probability of product marketing. Meanwhile, the marketing model based on ensemble learning has achieved a sales growth rate of 20% and improved customer satisfaction by 30%. This demonstrates that the implementation of the ensemble learning model has also significantly elevated the overall marketing level of bank e-commerce services. Therefore, this paper offers valuable academic guidance for bank marketing decision-making and holds important academic and practical significance in predicting bank customer demand and optimizing product marketing strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As financial technology (fintech) is developing rapidly, many commercial banks experience difficulty deciding what kind of fintech to primarily focus on when managing their business. Owing to limited resources and assets, there is a practical need for guidelines for banks' investments in fintech. This study provides a systemic procedure to identify promising fintech groups and their investment priorities. We propose a QFD-based decision support framework for banks by considering both aspects of the emerging fintech push identified using patent topic modeling and the market pull of banking services obtained from a survey of the literature and experts. An empirical application of the proposed QFD framework to major South Korean banks shows that transaction support technology, secure transactions, and trading platforms are the three most important fintech categories. The QFD results are utilized to guide individual banks for further investment strategies such as mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships, and spin-off operations. The proposed framework can be generalized and applied to other financial service firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to contribute to the existing literature that explores the impact of market concentration on bank efficiency in emerging economies. Using a sample of 225 banks in 18 countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region over the period 2006–2020, we empirically investigate the significance of this relationship. Since the evidence of concentration effect on efficiency during the COVID-19 outbreak is ambiguous, we test the hypothesis that the efficiency is positively affected by the level of banking market concentration in the MENA region. We adopt fixed effect model specifications and test the robustness of our results with the two-step Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimation technique. Our analysis finds a strong positive association between market concentration and bank efficiency. The analysis of different types of banking systems that co-existing in the MENA region (Islamic and conventional) indicates the market concentration effect is more pronounced when the banking institution is Islamic and during the COVID-19 outbreak. Moreover, the better economic performance of Islamic banks during the initial stage of pandemic further increases their efficiency. Our analysis indicated that the impact of market competitive conditions on bank efficiency varies significantly across banks with different ownership structures and is more pronounced for government-owned banks. The results are robust using different model specifications and alternative estimation techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is twofold. The first is to examine the impact of environmental disclosure on banks' performance, while the second is to investigate the moderating role of a country's economic activities and institutional quality on the relationship between environmental activities disclosure and banks' operational, financial and market performance. Design/methodology/approach: The sample includes 246 banks from emerging markets from 2008 to 2020, comprising 1,899 bank-year observations. The independent regressors are environmental disclosure, two moderators and two sets of control (bank and country) variables. The dependent variables are return on assets, return on equity and Tobin's Q. This study adopts ordinary least squares, panel fixed effect and instrumental variables generalized method of moments to estimate the parameters of the models. Findings: This study reveals a negative relationship between environmental disclosure and bank performance, lending credence to the agency and neoclassical theories. The moderator regressors show positive influence on banks performance. The results indicate that it is difficult to make a business case for environmental commitment. Practical implications: There is a need for effective monitoring by shareholders to ensure that funds allocated for environmental activities are spent wisely. Originality/value: This study provides new evidence on the ways in which economic and institutional quality influence the environmental practices of banks in emerging and frontier markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ninety-seven spices of seven different types were collected from different retailers in the West Bank of Palestine and were analysed for fungal contamination, specifically aflatoxigenic Aspergillus spp. and Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) levels. Aspergillus was found in 89% samples analysed. Ground red chilli had the highest average number of fungal colonies. In decreasing order, mixed spices (57%), cardamom (53%), red chilli (52%), chicken spices (50%), sumac (47%) and pepper (38%), were contaminated with Aspergillus species. Aspergillus niger and A. flavus were dominating Aspergillus species in 37% and 23% of food samples analysed, respectively. Of the 11 tested isolates, 82% were identified as aflatoxin-producers. AFB1 was detected in 40.2% of the samples analysed with a mean value of 2.09 ± 3.20 μg/kg. Red chilli powder followed by chicken spices and cardamom recorded the highest levels (6.98, 3.55 and 1.48 μg/kg, respectively). Twenty-two of the spices (23%), were above the European Union's maximum limit of 5 μg/kg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the first study to integrate structural and non-structural approaches into the evaluation of competitive conditions for banks in Taiwan. It is found that the results of structural and non-structural approaches are compatible. This study finds that market share may not have a significant impact on banks' efficiency but may significantly impact profitability. This implies that banks are willing to sacrifice something to expand their market share, such as not enforcing minimum cost targets and wasting resources to raise an already unrealistic market share target. Furthermore, it is essential to pay attention to the observation that the degrees of competition deteriorated after the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). This argues that the transmission mechanism from market structure to performance occurring through product differentiation is able to exercise market power in banks products and earn supernormal profit, which is normally associated with dominant banks and not with collusive behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competition between marketing strategies of enterprises shifts to the use of artificial intelligence and begins to be considered in the context of competition between Data Science projects. Therefore, the issue of developing methodology and building a model in a particular area is relevant, which will make the project quite effective and ensure the achievement of goals for the company. The banking services market has a certain specificity of consumer behaviour, so forming marketing strategies is a somewhat complex process. Thus, banks face the task of maintaining the loyalty of their existing customers and attracting new ones. This article aims to build a marketing strategy to attract new customers in the banking sector using Data Science tools. The result of the study is the construction of two econometric models of the different bank's credit products: cash loans and credit cards, which determine the influence of various factors on this process and helps to distribute the advertising budget between different types of advertising. Using the built model, it was determined that advertising campaigns directly affect the increase in the number of new customers in the bank and the overall growth of brand knowledge about the banking institution in society. In addition, the determined weights of each influencing factor helped form an advertising budget, which increased customer inflows by 12%, with an average ROI of 3.18. Taking all into account, the model had shown its effectiveness in organising the bank's advertising campaign when decisions were made using Data Science technologies. The results obtained based on the models give a fairly clear understanding of the factors influencing the inflow of new customers in the bank, which will model the distribution of the budget for advertising campaigns in future periods and predict their effectiveness. Competition in the country's financial sector is forcing banking institutions to use data science in their marketing activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existence of an uncovered liability has historically benefited foreign banks and lead currencies. Using the case of China's efforts to fund its foreign exchange needs by exploiting loopholes in the international financial architecture, the paper examines whether using state-owned settlement banks as a means of intermediating a specialised 'non-deliverable' financial asset in offshore markets can substitute the institutional and technical prerequisites that developing economies typically lack. The findings show that while offshore money markets can reduce US dollar dependency in areas such as trade invoicing that do not depend on currency delivery, increasing the offshore holdings of RMB is more challenging. The reasons for this are to be found in the way the governance, geographic and credit generating limitations of state settlement banks reinforce the constraints imposed by the uncovered liability problem. The findings distinguish the historical evolution of the RMB's offshore use from other offshore markets and reinforce the impossibility of separating issues related to trade infrastructures from those related to the structure of the international financial system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates challenges and opportunities that regionally expanding emerging market banks face. We focus on four leading Middle Eastern banks' internationalization trajectories and performances by employing a case study approach. We first examine the four banks' choices of target markets, entry sequencing, and entry modes over time and then analyze their entry strategies and post-entry financial performances in one of their key markets, Turkey. We show that the success of regional expansion strategies depends on parent bank characteristics such as scale and capital strength, strategic decisions regarding entry mode and timing, and host market structure and competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fundamental element of brand-building is communicating what a brand is and what it stands for. Clarifying a brand's identity may yield sustained competitive advantage. Moreover, aligning a brand's identity to its image is vital in business-to-business (B2B) services, where a firm's actual character and performance serve as critical sources of differentiation. This study proposes a comprehensive Brand Identity-Image Congruence (BI-IC) framework for B2B banks within South Africa. An interpretivist qualitative research design was adopted. The BI-IC framework was derived from an empirical exploration of the applicability of the Brand Identity Prism (BIP) in selected B2B banks. To explore the applicability of the BIP dimensions, depth interviews were conducted with bank marketing executives who were instrumental in brand strategy formulation. The findings revealed that some BIP dimensions (physique, personality, culture and relationships) were applicable to the study context, while reflection and self-image were inapplicable in the same sector. Consequently, an amended version of the BIP is submitted in the form of a BI-IC conceptual framework for B2B banks. This study contributes to two areas of the brand identity school: (i) it empirically explored the applicability of the BIP in a new context; and (ii) the BI-IC framework is the first of its kind as there is no universally accepted B2B bank Brand Identity-Image Congruence framework. Therefore, this study makes a unique contribution to brand management literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the competitive environment of the financial market, interest-free financial instruments are becoming the focus of attention of Muslim and non-Muslim investors day by day. The reason for the increased interest stems from the fact that the interest-free financial market carries less risk for investors and is a trusted market. Sukuk (lease certificate) stands out as an interest-free financial investment tool, whose use has increased in popularity and has recently been traded the most. In the field of interest-free finance, investment instruments are issued and offered to the market only by participation banks. This has turned participation banks into interest-free finance centers. The introduction of investment instruments by participation banks to the market has also revealed marketing problems. Sukuk is the most marketed financial investment tool by participation banks. In this context, the problems encountered in the marketing of sukuk, which is an interestfree financial instrument and issued by participation banks, were determined as the aim of the study. Interview (face-to-face interview) technique was used in the study conducted in Batman province. In order to obtain the data, five participation banks operating in Batman were interviewed, but the data were obtained from four participation banks. In line with the data obtained, in terms of the criteria required to be found by the customer in the marketing of the sukuk, in terms of knowledge, expertise and customer information (especially the bank personnel taking an active role in sukuk marketing) personnel, in terms of meeting the requested criteria and meeting the requested information, documents and economic resources It has been concluded that there are customer and contractual problems. At the end of the study, solutions were offered for the problems reached. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to determine the influence of relational benefits consisting of confidence, social and convenience benefits to customer satisfaction. This research uses a survey approach. The number of samples consisted of 213 Bank Syariah Mandiri customers in East Java. Data is collected using multiple regression analyses. The results showed that partial confidence benefits have a positive and significant impact on satisfaction, with partial social benefits, partially influential convenience benefits that has a positive and significant impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participation banks that evaluate the savings according to the profit-loss sharing (PLS) principle are one of the essential institutions in Turkey. However, with the regulation in 2018, these institutions started to collect funds based on wakāla (agency) accounts, in addition to PLS, and this brought criticisms. There are various drawbacks in terms of the Islamic jurisdiction (fiqh) in wakāla investment accounts, and there is a concern that it might open the door to diverge from the PLS principle, which is the authentic side of participation banking. The main purpose of this study is to address the functioning of wakāla investment accounts in participation banks in terms of market dynamics as well as their fiqh aspects and thus to understand the issue from different dimensions. In the study, disclosed data and documents of participation banks are used. As a result of the research, it has been revealed that the wakāla investment accounts have various problematic parts that differ from classical fiqh, especially the expected profit ratio. On the other hand, it was concluded that the rationalisation for the introduction of wakāla investment accounts together along with the PLS accounts motivation is to keep high return, sensitive customers within the participation bank, which was raised by a temporary situation. So, that reason may cause divergence from the authenticity of the participation sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to promote the structural optimization of the banking industry and improve the national economic level. The analysis method based on the co-integration test is adopted to study the relationship between market structure optimization and economic growth in the banking industry. Firstly, the current economic growth condition, development trend, and the development of the banking industry are analyzed. Secondly, the model between the bank market institutions and the economy is constructed, and the data source of the model is analyzed. Thirdly, the stationarity test, co-integration test, and regression analysis of the studied data are carried out based on the co-integration test. The results show that there is a significant negative correlation between the concentration of banks and the overall economy, and there is a significant negative correlation between the market structure of banks and the downgrading growth of various industries. Also, the variables of social material input level and human capital input have a significant positive correlation with the economy. It is hoped that the results of this study can provide a good guiding significance for China's economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water bottling industry has negative environmental impacts due to exploitation and possible pollution of water resources and due to solid waste problems related to the use of plastic bottles. To mitigate these impacts, it is important to study the link between consuming bottled drinking water and the perception of its quality. The objective of the study is to assess the perception of Birzeit University students' of the bottled water marketed in the West Bank and its impact on the humans and the environment. Universities play an important role in providing awareness about environmental issues and sustainability, and university students are thought to be more environmentally conscious about these issues. A quantitative survey was used to analyze the behaviors and perceptions of Birzeit University students. The sample size was 375 students, distributed according to the college, gender, and the academic year at the university. The results show that the factors that affect the perception of the students are mainly the educational year at the university, the income, the family size, and the community type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper investigates the interest rate policy transmission mechanism and the role of market structure of the banking industry in Qatar. Design/methodology/approach: Competitiveness indexes are used to measure the degree of market power in the banking industry in Qatar. The momentum threshold autoregressive model is applied over the monthly period from January 2005 to June 2018 to examine the magnitude of intermediation and adjustment to disequilibria in the deposit market. In addition, to model interest rate volatility and overcome the problem of heteroscedastic errors in the error correction standard models, an asymmetric EC-EGARCH-M model is applied. Findings: The findings suggest incomplete pass-through and asymmetric response to monetary shocks. The asymmetric adjustment mechanism is found to be downward rigid which suggests a high degree of customer sophistication and an elastic supply of deposits. The results of the EC-EGARCH-M show that the impact of monetary policy shocks has a significant positive impact on deposit interest rates and that negative monetary shocks trigger more conditional interest rate volatility in the next period than positive monetary shocks for a short maturity rate. Originality/value: The paper is the first to highlight the behaviour of the interest rate pass through channel and measures the degree of competitiveness of the banking industry for the case of a small, rich country. In addition, using recent data, the paper applies different econometric methodologies and overcomes the problem of heteroskedastic errors by modelling the interest rate volatility using the EC-EGARCH-M model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to measure the performances of commercial banks' websites in Turkey by using "Multi -Criteria Decision Making" (MCDM). The use of three MCDM methods (AHP, TOPSIS, VIKOr) consecutively constitutes the originality of this study. Based on the literature and expert opinions, 6 performance criteria (load time, page speed, markup, speed index, visitors, pageviews) and 5 website analysis tools were determined. First, the significance weights of the criteria were calculated with AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process). Second, the data obtained in the 2-month period were analyzed by TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) and VIKOR (Vise Kriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje) methods. "Page speed" was found to be the most important criterion in performance of banks' websites. Most successful banks in terms of website efficiency are Garanti BBVA, Isbank and QNB Finansbank according to TOPSIS whereas QNB Finansbank, Garanti BBVA and Halkbank according to VIKOR results. It is observed that banks with high deposits and number of branches and employees do not show the same success in website performance. The results are expected to shed light on managers who want to set policies and strategies for digital banking applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2013, the Governor of the Bank of England heralded that the Bank of England is 'open for business': ready to buy and sell every asset it can value, thereby adjusting the role of the Bank of England to the demands of market-based finance. This article examines this re-articulation of the role of central banks in financial markets, situating it in the context of the recently enacted Basel III regulatory reforms. By placing a regulatory price on private liquidity provision, Basel III hampers broker-dealers' market-making capacity and the liquidity of assets used as collateral in repo-transactions. The BoE aims to counter these fragilities of market-based finance, providing a potential backstop for market prices. Endorsing entrepreneurial principles, a hallmark of neoliberal reason, this hybrid mode of external and internal intervention establishes a new balance in the relationship between central banks and private market actors. Our paper complements analyses which showed that such liquidity-providing interventions of central banks are of institutional necessity by highlighting how regulators and central bankers engage with this task. We show that the 'cultivation of market liquidity' is driven by the intention to transform shadow-banking into a value for society, therefore accepting to engage in an admittedly risky investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the accelerated financial integration, M & A is seen as carriers of the process. Multiple types of activities related to the facilitation of cross-border M & A are provided in the "Financial Services Action Plan". Since M & A is the carrier of the process of integration of financial processes as well as the process of globalization, the "Financial Services Action Plan" refers mostly to the M & A's regulatory process and control to ensure normal market competition. Thus, the third objective of the "Financial Services Action Plan" refers to the provision of prudential rules regarding the control and supervision of banks. The factors on which the rules depend on M & A and how they apply will deserve special attention in order to achieve the normal market functioning of M & A. Of course, M & A can be directly or indirectly affected by other objectives of the "Financial Services Action Plan" that require the provision of a secure and integrated market with identical game rules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Customer relationship management (CRM) is instrumental to attain and sustain organizational competitive advantage. Innovation in terms of CRM adoption is the key to gain competitive advantage, and being innovative is dependent on how well organizations know about changing demands of customers and their changing ways to gain access to the market. There is hence a need to develop ongoing empirical insights from diverse management perspectives into the effect of CRM adoption on organizational performance. In this context, the purpose of this study is to develop empirical insights in relation to the moderation of technological turbulence in the banking sector. Design/methodology/approach: Primary data were collected and analyzed from 277 CRM staff-members of the banking sector in Pakistan to test a conceptual model. Frequencies of demographics are calculated with correlation and regression analyses using SPSS. The correlation analysis was performed to identify the direction that exists between the dependent and independent variables, and the regression analysis was performed to study the strength/intensity of the independent variable over the dependent variable. Moderating regression analysis was performed to find the moderation effect of technological turbulence on CRM adoption and organizational performance. Findings: The CRM adoption has a critical positive impact on organizational performance in the settings of business-to-customer (B2C) perspective in the banking sector. Moreover, the results uncover that improved client satisfaction through CRM adoption prompts better organizational performance in the B2C organization. The authors also have found that technological turbulence has a negative guiding impact on the association linking with CRM adoption, as well as organizational performance. Research limitations/implications: The conceptual model that is proposed in this study and supported by empirical insights offers researchers to develop future research studies on the moderating role of technological turbulence to analyze the influence of CRM adoption on organizational performance. Practical implications: The empirical insights of this study are valuable for the professionals in the banking sector and other B2C organizations to enrich their organizational performance through CRM adoption while considering the moderating role of technological turbulence. Originality/value: Based on an empirical study, in support of an original conceptual model, the insights of this paper contribute to the extant literature in the CRM, bank marketing and management, service management, B2C marketing and the emerging economy knowledge streams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: The aim of this paper is to evaluate public acceptance toward Islamic banking system in Malaysia by using the market structure analysis as proposed in industrial organizational studies. The structural approach framework was used to evaluate the nature and changes of market concentration in the Malaysian Islamic and conventional deposit markets. Methodology: The well-known market concentration measure, namely concentration ratio (CR) is calculated to study the changes in saving behaviour among depositors in both banking markets. The concentration ratios of deposits for both banking markets are evaluated by using the banking firms' level data for the period 1997-2016. Pearson and Spearman correlation analysis was also used to investigate the relationship between the total deposits and bank-specific variables. Findings: It is found that interest or profit rate paid to the depositors are the factor that greatly affect the depositors' choice of banks to save their money. Besides, experience doing businesses is more important to Islamic banks compared to conventional banks in order to attract depositors. Contributions: The findings demonstrate that societies, especially the Islamic community, are still loyal to conventional banks, which have more experience in the banking operation. The findings of this study are expected to open the eyes of the Muslim community to use Islamic banking services, which are certainly sharia-compliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Regional Rural Banks are government-owned, regionally based and rurally oriented financial institutions specialized in catering to the credit needs of the neglected and weaker sections of the society. In the recent past, RRBs have become a potent mediator for financial inclusion in rural areas. This paper summarizes the innovative methods used by the employees of these banks in deposit mobilizations, credit expansion and recovery of the loan. The primary purpose of the research is to find the problems faced by officials of these banks in marketing their services to the rural customer. The opinions of these bank officials regarding the above factors and the functioning of these banks and their impact on society have also been studied. For this purpose, a sample of 96 bank officials of Aryavart bank and Purvanchal Bank have been taken from the rural areas of Uttar Pradesh. Methodological tools of the research methods were Frequency and Chi-square test of independence which have been used to test the hypotheses developed in the study. The research empirically confirms and theoretically proves that the employees and staff of these two regional rural banks in the state are making their earnest effort to channelize the savings of rural people by mobilization of deposits by motivating them to deposit their surplus money in the regional rural banks. The bank officials are making efforts to extend credit facilities in rural areas to uplift the people economically. The bank officials are facing problems in deposit mobilization, and credit expansion in the rural areas of the state and they are managing these problems very efficiently. Some political interference was found in the functioning of these banks. In the opinion of these bank officials, the overall working of these regional rural banks is proper. The results of the research can be useful for policymakers in the government to understand the hurdles faced by regional rural banks in reaching to the poor and needy sections of the society. The insights from this paper can help the policymakers to craft innovative schemes which enable these banks to reach the most inaccessible customers in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Well-designed marketing activities and the use of modern marketing tools can increase the competitiveness of banks on the market. Given this fact, the main purpose of the study is to develop theoretical and practical provisions for estimating the level of marketing activity of banking structures. This is based on the definition of the integral index and takes into account all the elements of the marketing-mix and their partial indicators. The urgency of solving this problem comes from the fact that it is precisely the estimation of the level of marketing activity of the banking structures that directs managers to make the appropriate adjustment of marketing activities and make use of modern marketing instruments that will increase the competitiveness of banks on the market (e.g. increase market share and expand the boundaries of the target segments, help to create a positive image of the bank and maintain its business reputation). The article proposes a calculation methodology for bank marketing activity, which has been tested through the definition of the level of marketing activity of the leading Ukrainian banks. The computation of the level of bank's marketing activity is based on the calculation of the integral indicator by summarization the input statistics, that characterize the bank's marketing activity, with help of two methods: the standardization method and the hierarchy analysis method (Saaty method). The results of the expert survey were used for determining the weight of partial indicators within the hierarchy analysis method. Based on the results, the analyzed banks are ranked according to the level of their marketing activity in the investigated period, and a system of particular measures for raising the level of their marketing activity has been established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Illicit financial flows is a concept which will influence legal and regulatory developments for financial markets for the next decade and beyond. This note is intended to alert the sector and its lawyers and help them engage with the concept and its practical evolution. United Nations member countries are moving to meet their commitments to achieving Sustainable Development Goals, which include reducing illicit financial flows by 2030. It outlines some of the decisions that need to be made to make effective the commitment. Actions to curb illicit financial flows are being discussed and implemented, both locally and globally. This perspective suggests that it will be rewarding if some in banking and financial markets help those seeking to curb illicit financial flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper proposes the Recursive General Regression Neural Network Oracle. • The algorithm was compared to several other classifiers. • It had the highest performance metrics such as accuracy and area under the curve. • The algorithm had also bested the literature in the performance metrics. This research introduces the Recursive General Regression Neural Network Oracle (R-GRNN Oracle) and is demonstrated on several binary classification datasets. The traditional GRNN Oracle classifier (Masters et al., 1998) combines the predictive powers of several machine learning classifiers by weighing the amount of error each classifier has on the final predictions. Each classifier is assigned a weight based on the percentage of errors it contributes to the final predictions as the classifiers evaluate the dataset. The proposed R-GRNN Oracle is an enhancement to the GRNN Oracle in which the proposed algorithm consists of an oracle within an oracle – where the inner oracle acts as a classifier with its own predictions and error contribution. By combining the inner oracle with other classifiers, the R-GRNN Oracle produces superior results. The classifiers considered in this study are: Support Vector Machine (SVM), Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN), Gaussian Naïve Bayes (GNB), K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN), and Random Forest (RF). To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, several datasets were used, with the primary one being the publicly available Spambase dataset. The predictions of SVM, MLP, KNN, and RF were used to create the first GRNN Oracle, which was then enhanced with the high performances of SVM and RF to create the second oracle, the R-GRNN Oracle. The combined recursive model was 93.24% accurate using 10-fold cross validation, higher than the 91.94% of the inner GRNN Oracle and the 91.29% achieved by RF, the highest performance by a stand-alone classifier. The R-GRNN Oracle was not only the most accurate, but it also had the highest AUC, sensitivity, specificity, precision, and F1-score (97.99%, 91.86%, 94.40%, 93.28%, and 92.57%, respectively). The research contribution of this paper is introducing the concept of recursion (a concept not fully explored in machine learning models and applications) and testing this structure's ability on further enhancing the performance of the traditional oracle. The recursive model has also been applied to several other datasets: The Human Resources, Bank Marketing, and Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance (MGUS) datasets. The results of these implementations are summarized in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Given that Blockchain technology poses a growing challenge to the banking industry, this paper aims to analyse the innovation of Blockchain banking with regard to its systemic dimension, as well as dynamics of competition. The empirical research demonstrates how the systemic characteristics of Blockchain banking relate to the pursuit of strategies and to what extent these strategies influence the directional path and level of technology diffusion. Design/methodology/approach: The research study uses a case study methodology to explore the strategic competition of Blockchain banking. The study proposes the systemic innovation model for analysing and tracking the path of innovations. The model can be applied to any industry to understand the process of innovation development and the strategies to win market share in the banking industry. This research makes a contribution towards the theory of technology diffusion to understand the directional path of innovations. Findings: The analyses of findings reveal the situation whereby most banks still compete to create their own Blockchain banking systems. The analyses, based on the systemic innovation model, also shows the low systemic feature of Blockchain banking at present. From the technology diffusion perspective, the future of Blockchain banking may need cross-chain interoperability to support a full spectrum of payments and value exchanges on the internet of things. Originality/value: The main contribution of this paper is the systemic analysis of the latest innovation of Blockchain banking. Given that the research also includes the major banking innovation cases of ATM/cash cards, credit cards and electronic fund transfer at the point of sale/debit cards, the comparative analyses offer strategic insights to predict the progress, as well as pattern of technology development and diffusion for the case of Blockchain banking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Commission's proposal for a Bank Structural Reform (BSR) aimed at increasing banks' resolvability through separating risky trading activities from deposit-taking institutions. In contrast to initial plans, the final proposal exempted market-making activities of banks. This exemption, we argue, was brought about by the Commission's discursive framing of the BSR as a balancing act between stability and growth. Coupled with the incapacity to unambiguously measure the effects of the reform on market liquidity and on growth, this pushed the assessment of market-making from the technical to the political realm, leading to a reproduction of the prevalent market-based banking system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2004, China has partially liberalized loan rate setting by the banks, but loan rates remain stubbornly within narrow bounds. We argue that competition in the loan market is signalled through the variation of loan deal terms and loan maturity rather than loan rates. We examine the determinants of loan deal conditions in terms of size and maturity. This paper focuses on the role of single firm-bank relationships in determining loan deal conditions as evidence of guanxi in Chinese banking market. Commercial loan deal terms of listed companies are matched to provider banks over the period 1999–2012 and sub-sample estimation for the pre-2004 and post-2004 periods confirm a change in the bank-firm-loan relationship. We find that single firm-bank relationships are associated with larger loan size and longer loan maturity in the pre-liberalization period but that this relationship has weakened in the liberalization period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

General theoretical approaches to the content of the concept of multi-channel marketing have been generalized. It is proved that multi-channel marketing differs from multi-channel communications and is a modern and global technology of integration of all components of the marketing complex in the process of interaction with the consumer. It is substantiated that the level of possession of mobile devices in Ukraine and their penetration among the population creates a background for widespread using of Internet channels by service providers. The special relevance of the use of multi-channel marketing takes on the market of banking services because it allows personalizing the contact with the consumer and take into account his or her requirements in terms of access points and convenient time. The data about the increase of non-contact payments in the domestic market and stability of this trend has been displayed in this article. At the same time, the reduction of traditional branches of banks is not always justified, as the consumer must have their own choice as to the convenience of using one or another channel. The expert assessment proved that despite the high cost of maintaining the liaison office has relatively high efficiency among the clients of advanced age. Therefore, against the background of reduction of unprofitable branches, there should be processes of modernization of those that remain on the market from the point of view of conversion into financial service centers. The article proposes a method of constructing a system of multi-channel marketing of a banking institution, which consists of four stages: analysis of large amounts of data on consumer behavior, their preferences regarding the ways and means of connecting to banking services, products and services, the volume, timing and regularity of provision; segmentation of the market and the definition of target segments depending on the level of ownership of mobile devices and information technology, age, income and social activity; optimization of the set of channels from the point of view of maximization of profit and minimization of expenses for their maintenance in the context of each target segment; evaluate the effectiveness of multi-channel interaction and adjustment of the configuration of the channels. It is proved that the main feature of segmentation of consumers in the construction of multi-channel marketing should be the level of ownership and frequency of use of electronic devices. The results of the study may be useful for banking institutions that are trying to build a system of multi-channel marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article summarizes the arguments and counterarguments in the framework of the scientific discussion on determining priority directions of developing banking systems, modern problems and prospects of introduction of financial innovations in the process of development of banking services. Its pace and current trends require a completely scientific basis. Accordingly, the purpose of the study is to determine the impact of modern information technology in the banking systems of the European Union countries and the future prospects for their development. For this purpose, the hypothesis was, first of all, proposed that the level of business activity of the banking activity is related to the level of development of the country's economy and it will determine in the future the development of the banking systems of these countries. An appropriate empirical study was conducted to confirm this hypothesis. The systematization of literary sources and approaches to the solution of this problem has shown that in scientific sources the analysis of the impact of financial innovations on the banking systems of individual European Union countries is mainly carried out. Taking into account the different levels of development of these countries, these studies do not allow us to make conclusions and suggestions as to the future of European banks. Electronic banking, the creation of a large number of fi tech companies, crypto volume, blockade - radically change the classical banking business. These changes are gaining momentum and the future of the banking system is now very ambiguous. Will classical banks be able to function effectively, or will new financial companies come to their place? What should I do to manage the bank to lay the groundwork for its successful operation, in the context of the rapid development of information technology? Who and how will regulate global financial markets? There are no clear answers to these questions. The methodical toolkit of the study was a clustering method, methods of systematization, grouping, comparison, expert evaluations. The study period covers 2015-2018, which shows the most rapid dynamics of changes in the processes of customer service of banks from the offline to the online sphere. In addition, this period of time is characterized by the rapid development of financial innovation, which radically changes the approaches to traditional banking activities. The article presents the results of cluster analysis, the results of which allowed to group the countries of the European Union at different levels of digitalization. As a result, it was found that the most advanced economies and the most developed countries have the highest level of deductibility of banking activity (related to clusters 2 and 1). As a higher level of economic development provides more opportunities for investment, Internet access and better education of the population. In addition, it can be argued that it is the countries from the first group in the near future will or will become leaders in the European market of banking services, and it is on them that they will need to be guided by the orientation of the development of the banking system. The results of empirical analysis, have shown that banking institutions understand the lack of prospects of activities without financial innovation. On the other hand, as the study showed, such activity is characterized by high-risk banks. The issue of safety of up-to-date financial transactions is extremely important for supervisors who can not at the moment agree on what measures to apply and implement in order to minimize the risks of financial transactions. The study empirically confirms and theoretically proves that it is important to understand and justify the basic principles of the future development of banks, to identify and develop measures to minimize the levels of financial risks associated with the implementation of financial innovations, as well as to simply understand and evaluate changes expected by users of banking services during the next 5 to 10 years. The results of the research can be useful for scientists, management of banking and other financial institutions, as well as for users of banking services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We discuss the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Banking and its admirable restraint in avoiding the temptation to call for more regulation: the 2,300 page U.S. Dodd-Frank Act and its progeny have amply demonstrated the perils of that approach. We identify elements of the banking and advisory market that pose challenges in implementing the positive changes called for in the Commission's Report, and potential solutions. We offer three favoured candidates for overcoming anticipated resistance to implementation: learning from the technology giants; creating a meaningful enforcement program; and building a regulatory measurement system that enables a broader spectrum of clients to better assess and compare providers' performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study, entitled "Electronic Marketing of Saudi Banks through the Internet" and its Role in Customer Service, is a field study on Saudi banks. 1- Identifying the motives of the study sample for the electronic marketing of the Saudi banks. 2- Know the expectations achieved in the study sample from exposure to electronic marketing of Saudi banks. 3- Identification of the rate of exposure of the study sample for electronic marketing of Saudi banks. 4- Identify the satisfaction of customers sample study towards the electronic marketing of Saudi banks. 5-Identify the most important electronic services provided to customers through the electronic marketing of Saudi banks. 6-Know customer suggestions towards the development of electronic marketing sites for Saudi banks sample study. The study reached the following results: 1- 73.30% of the respondents are exposed to the e-marketing sites of the Saudi banks for banking services, while the percentage of those who are not exposed to e-marketing sites of the Saudi banks to obtain banking services from the total vocabulary of the study sample is 26.70%. 2- The proportion of those who have a high percentage of satisfaction with the electronic services provided to customers through the electronic marketing of Saudi banks reached 66.80%. The percentage of those who have an average percentage of satisfaction with electronic services provided to customers reached 33.20% depending on the type of bank. 3- Achieving the validity of the first hypothesis, where there is a statistically significant correlation between the rate of customer use for electronic marketing of Saudi banks and the motives of this exposure. 4 - Verify the validity of the second hypothesis where there is a correlation relationship statistically significant between the rate of exposure of customers to the electronic marketing of Saudi banks and the expectations achieved. 5 - Verify the validity of the third hypothesis where there is a correlation relationship statistically significant among the motives of the exposure of customers to the electronic marketing of Saudi banks and the expectations achieved. 6- Achieve the validity of the fourth hypothesis where there are statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the respondents on the scale of the motives of exposure to e-marketing sites of Saudi banks according to their demographic variables. 7 - Validation of the fifth hypothesis where there are statistically significant differences between the average scores of respondents on the scale of exposure to exposure to electronic marketing sites of Saudi banks according to their demographic variables [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The preference for incremental gains, or the improving sequence effect, has been presented as one of the most important anomalies in intertemporal choice. Usually, the experiments to verify this effect have been based on sequences of incomes, and most of them have shown a preference for an increasing sequence. The objective of this paper is to analyse this topic in the context of loan repayment plans where a preference for constant and decreasing over rising payments is expected. The methodology applied in this paper is based on the use of questionnaires in the same way as Hoelzl et al. (2011) to evaluate different loan plans with the same interest rates and durations. It clearly shows that people prefer those plans which repay more at the beginning of the loan duration. Thus, the main contribution of this paper is the use of the q -exponential discounting to explain this revealed decreasing sequence effect because the q -exponential discount function can exhibit the inconsistency in intertemporal choices based on a decreasing interest rate. Finally, recommendations are made for banking institutions when considering their strategies of interest rate offers in the context of bank marketing. Highlights • This paper shows a preference for constant and falling over rising loan payments. • This paper confirms the existence of the anomaly known as falling sequence effect. • The q-exponential discounting can explain the decreasing sequence effect. • A procedure to calculate the inconsistency of a q-exponential has been introduced. • This paper recommends a bank strategy with respect to the offer of interest rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial engineering is the effective component of economic development in general and of any subject of the economy. The purpose of this work is to develop an organizational and economic mechanism for the implementation of financial engineering and to identify trends in the banking market and derivatives market in Ukraine. The results of the study are: the definition of the essence of financial engineering as a process of creation and implementation or the search and application of new approaches to solving financial problems with the help of already known tools and technologies, in order to achieve specific financial goals by any subjects of economic relations; construction of the organizational and economic mechanism for the implementation of financial engineering; identification of the main types of financial innovations that are being implemented by Ukrainian banks; identification of trends in the derivatives market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study provides an understanding of how the use of Internet-based technologies can affect the quality of business-to-business marketing relationships in the Jordanian Banking industry. It investigates the relationships of Jordanian Banks with their small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) customers in terms of commitment, satisfaction, trust, communication, transparency, understanding, and cooperation. It examines how the use of Internet-based communications can affect the quality of corporate customer relationships by developing a conceptual model which empirically tests the relationships between Jordanian Banks and SMEs. This research builds and validates a research model based on the literature survey and uses a mixed method approach. Qualitative data were gathered through in-depth interviews to achieve the goal of refining the initial research model. The second stage is a quantitative empirical study that uses a questionnaire and tests the empirical model generated in the first stage. This integration of methods provides a more complete view of this emerging area of marketing theory. This research finds that online banking has a positive impact on Relationship Quality (RQ) in a business-to-business context in Jordan. Six different constructs of Relationship Quality were found to be critical in this research: trust, commitment, satisfaction, transparency, communication, understanding and cooperation. The importance of transparency emerged as one of the most significant determinants of Relationship Quality, which is considered to be a new finding and not common among previous studies. Communication appears to make the biggest contribution overall and have direct and indirect relationships with other variables. It is, therefore, a major contributor to the success of Relationship Quality and further increases the importance of using e-banking technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the degree and determinants of banks' market power in 13 MENA countries for the years 2000 to 2018, with a special focus on customers' switching costs and banks' cost efficiency. We find that MENA banks enjoy a substantial degree of market power on the loan market, while their customers have to face remarkable costs in case of switching to other banks. Banking market power increases with the level of switching costs and is higher when credit institutions are more cost efficient, focus on the traditional intermediation activity, are smaller in size, and operate in countries where stock markets are less developed, banking markets are more concentrated, the inflation rate is lower, and GDP growth is poor. Our results are robust to alternative specifications and estimation techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We contribute to the existing literature on the nonlinear nexus between competition and risk-taking by exploring how differences in efficiency levels affect the risk-taking of banks when competition increases. Based on a sample of 430 African banks, this paper reveals that, banks with high and low efficiency tend to take more risk than those with average efficiency level. This study further suggests that bank specific characteristics and macroeconomic dynamics, play an important role in the competition-risk-taking nexus within African banking industry. Besides, while the penetration of African Cross-border banks does not stimulate risk-taking in the hosts domestic markets, an improvement of banking regulation (Basel 2.5, 3 and further) is mandatory to mitigate their possible adverse effects on the competition-financial stability nexus. • We study the role of efficiency level in the nonlinear relationship between risk-taking and competition based on Martinez-Miera and Repullo (2010) 's model in Africa. • Cost efficiency decreases risk-taking and moderates the relationship between competition and risk-taking. • Inflexions points vary across efficiency levels in this relationship. • Banks with high and low efficiency take more risk than those with average efficiency. • The expansion of Pan-African banks does not induce high risk-taking by domestic banks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I Banking on markets i is a remarkable piece of scientific achievement that weaves together various strands of research by Rachel Epstein on Western and Eastern European institutional transformations in banking prompted by the financial crisis. For instance, is it only the Banking Union that represents a new banking governance framework, or should we also consider a host of other institutional changes at the EU level that affect member states' banking policy formation such as state aid regulation, fiscal coordination and the changing role of the ECB?. [Extracted from the article]

Business strategy and market communication of financial intermediaries, including banks require a transformation under the significant impact of the innovation's development and a highly competitive landscape. The article considers bank marketing improvement through evaluation of deposit market competition. Key trends of the deposit market by Ukrainian case were analysed by authors. More than 60% of the total deposit portfolio of Ukraine is concentrated in 5 largest banks making market highly concentrated. Comparative matrix of the existing approaches and models for assessing the level of competition in the banking market was presented in the paper. Using nonstructural Panzar- Rosse model (by calculating the H-statistics as an indicator of the level of competition on the market) and input quarterly data on the bank's financial performance in Ukraine for the period 01.01.2005 - 01.04.2016, four main factors for bank competition level on the deposit market were identified. They include the rate of bank liquidity; factor describing the effectiveness of bank funding strategy; a factor assessing the availability of the bank's reserve funds and a factor that combines all the key indicators of the country's banking system stability (the ratio of equity capital to total assets, the ratio of the volume of customers' deposits to total assets, the ratio of total unpaid assets to assets, the ratio of total administrative expenses of the bank to its assets). Evaluation results point out on the monopolistic competition with frequent deviations towards absolute monopoly or oligopoly on the deposit market of Ukraine. This trend is consistent with the characteristic of the European Union indicating a further reforming of the banking sector in this segment (for example, full implementation of Basel II, Basel III). Suggested and empirically tested approach for evaluation of deposit market competition could expand tools of bank marketing strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need to leverage knowledge through data mining has driven enterprises in a demand for more data. However, there is a gap between the availability of data and the application of extracted knowledge for improving decision support. In fact, more data do not necessarily imply better predictive data-driven marketing models, since it is often the case that the problem domain requires a deeper characterization. Aiming at such characterization, we propose a framework drawn on three feature selection strategies, where the goal is to unveil novel features that can effectively increase the value of data by providing a richer characterization of the problem domain. Such strategies involve encompassing context (e.g., social and economic variables), evaluating past history, and disaggregate the main problem into smaller but interesting subproblems. The framework is evaluated through an empirical analysis for a real bank telemarketing application, with the results proving the benefits of such approach, as the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve increased with each stage, improving previous model in terms of predictive performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study is the usage of social media in the banking sector. We investigate why banks have decided to use social media and the obstacles they face. We describe the different goals of social banking: advertising purposes (showcase) versus interaction with clients and prospects in order to develop strong relationships through open, continuous, and transparent communication. We seek to understand the reasons behind any usage of social banking and, thus, the expected objectives banks wish to achieve in terms of visibility, loyalty, brand awareness, engagement, and reputation. Finally, we present a development path of the social media process in banks, focusing on the use of marketing tools. We also explore the relationship between social media strategies, customer behaviors, and reputation in the banking system, compared to other sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on land banking and the functioning of land markets to identify possible areas for future research. The paper adopts a three-stage systematic review design process to evaluate and synthesise relevant extant literature sourced from academic databases like Scopus, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Directory of Open Access Journals, JSTOR, Hein Online and Wiley Online Library. The findings suggest a research pattern that concentrates largely on public land banking within the context of formal land markets and neo-classical theorisation. The findings further show that a generic outcome of land banking on the functioning of the land market is rarely established. Consequently, the need to pay attention to informal land markets and institutional economics theorisation under the domain of private and semi-public land banking has been identified as possible research areas for exploration. The review excludes contemporary interpretation of land banking in the US, which is usually limited to the domain of acquiring and converting tax delinquent, vacant and foreclosed properties into productive use. The paper advocates for the basis of exploring areas that have been largely neglected in the literature on land banking and the functioning of land markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We provide the first evidence that African banks with greater market power in lending and deposit markets earn more from non-traditional activities. This is consistent with dominant banks' ability to identify better non-traditional opportunities and utilize their greater bargaining capacity in contract creation. Non-African-owned banks are found to exploit non-traditional banking and earn higher non-interest income. In contrast, African banks in other African countries focus more on traditional financial intermediation. Our findings are important to other emerging markets because their banks are traditionally focused on financial intermediation and regulations and supervision in relation to non-traditional activities are relatively less developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]