Colombian economy to moderate after impressive rebound

Significance The OECD similarly raised its forecast for Colombia this month to 9.5%, from 7.6% previously. The optimism follows impressive growth of 17.6% and 13.2% year-on-year in the second and third quarters, according to national statistics agency DANE, as the economy emerges from the paralysis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Impacts The banking sector has proven resilient during the pandemic; solvency risks will remain low and no recapitalisation needs are expected. Additional social, health and education spending will be needed to reverse a sharp increase in the poverty rate, now 43%. Security problems will continue to threaten Colombia’s social and economic development. Congress will remain fragmented after the March legislative elections, making consensus-building crucial to the passing of legislation.

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Hadfield-Hill

Purpose – This paper aims to explore corporate social responsibility (CSR) within the Indian context, focusing on the banking sector. This is of particular importance at this time given the financial industry's pivotal role in driving forward India's growth; this paper contributes to the literature on the operationalisation of CSR within one of the world's fastest growing economies. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents empirical, on-the-ground qualitative evidence from the Indian finance sector with regard to CSR operations and motivations. Data are based primarily on a series of semi-structured interviews with “elite” participants; senior officials operating in the banking sector. Findings – The paper offers insight into four levels of CSR engagement which currently exist in the day-to-day operations of Indian companies. Of significance to debates on CSR trends and strategies, the paper presents evidence to suggest that western CSR initiatives are influencing executives in India; ultimately causing a reactive response of an ad-hoc nature. Research limitations/implications – While the focus of this paper is the Indian finance industry, the trends within this sector and emerging practice, one must be cautious about making broad generalisations about CSR in India based on the data presented here. Originality/value – A focus on responsible project finance and CSR is imperative at this time of major infrastructure growth in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) economies; indigenous financial institutions have a crucial role to play in social and economic development. Through a focus on four modes of engagement, which emerged from empirically grounded data collection, this paper highlights multiple forms of commitment and motivation which are often overlooked when reviewing CSR primarily through reporting methods.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (8) ◽  
pp. 3062-3080 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khar Mang Tan ◽  
Fakarudin Kamarudin ◽  
Amin Noordin Bany-Ariffin ◽  
Norhuda Abdul Rahim

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the firm efficiency or technical efficiency (TE), pure technical efficiency (PTE) and scale efficiency (SE) in the selected developed and developing Asia-Pacific countries. Design/methodology/approach The sample consists of a sum of 700 firms in selected developed and developing Asia-Pacific countries over the period from 2009 to 2015. The non-parametric data envelopment analysis under the production approach is used to investigate firm efficiency. Findings On average, this paper discovers that the firms in selected Asia-Pacific countries are moderately efficient. Scale inefficiency (SIE) is found to be the dominant source of firms’ technical inefficiency. The analysis of return to scale shows that the large firms tend to operate at decreasing return to scale level, while the small firms tend to operate at increasing return to scale level. Practical implications The findings from this paper provide significant insights to the policy makers and firm managers in promoting the efficient firms of Asia-Pacific countries. Originality/value The present paper conducts a critical analysis on return to scale in the firms sector of Asia-Pacific context, which is ignored by the past studies on firm efficiency since the analysis of return to scale is mostly emphasized on banking sector. The precise nature of SIE is important for a firm to be efficient in achieving the firm’s primary goals of profit maximization and sustaining market competitiveness.


2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 231-249
Author(s):  
Evans Asante Boadi ◽  
Zheng He ◽  
Eric Kofi Boadi ◽  
Josephine Bosompem ◽  
Philip Avornyo

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to draw on affect social exchange theory and related literature to develop and test a research model linking employees’ perception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to their outcomes [performance and organisational pride (ORP)] with moderating variables: perceived work motivation patterns (autonomous and controlled motivation) to sustain firm’s operations through their employees. Design/methodology/approach The authors used Ghana as a case for this study due to recent turbulences in the banking sector of Ghana. A sample data of 244 subordinate/supervisor dyads from rural and community banks was collected with a time-lagged technique and analysed through a structural equation modelling for this study. Findings These employee’s perceptions of CSR positively related to their performance and ORP. Autonomous motivated employees had a stronger positive moderated impact on perceived CSR-Performance link whereas controlled motivated employees recorded a stronger impact on perceived CSR-ORP link. Practical implications Based on these results, managers and human resource (HR) professionals can aim at acquiring favourable employees’ perception of their firms’ CSR initiatives. In that, it can help firms to remain in business particularly in difficult times. Also, autonomous and controlled motivators may seem inversely related, however, they are not contradictory to each other. Both can coexist within a firm and it is crucial that HR professionals and managers endeavour to balance them discreetly to attain organisational goals. Originality/value Despite the growing interest in CSR across continents, CSR outcomes on employees among small and medium scale firms especially in Africa has fairly been toned-down by respective management of firms, governments and researchers.


2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 517-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fadzlan Sufian ◽  
Fakarudin Kamarudin

Purpose This paper aims to provide empirical evidence for the impact globalization has had on the performance of the banking sector in South Africa. In addition, this study also investigates bank-specific characteristics and macroeconomic conditions that may influence the performance of the banking sector. Design/methodology/approach The authors use data collected for all commercial banks in South Africa between 1998 and 2012. The ratio of return on assets was used to measure bank performance. They then used the dynamic panel regression with the generalized method of moments as an estimation method to investigate the potential determinants and the impact of globalization on bank performance. Findings Positive impact of greater economic integration and trade movements of the host country, while greater social globalization in the host country tends to exert negative influence on bank profitability. The results show that banks originating from the relatively more economically globalized countries tend to perform better, while banks headquartered in countries with greater social and political globalizations tend to exhibit lower profitability levels. Originality/value An empirical model was developed that allows for the performance of multinational banks to depend on internal and external factors. Moreover, unlike the previous studies on bank performance, in this empirical analysis, we control for the different dimensions of globalizations while taking into account the origins of the multinational banks. The procedure allows us to test for the home field, the liability of foreignness and global advantage hypotheses to deduce further insights into the prospects of banking across borders.


Author(s):  
Rim Ben Selma Mokni ◽  
Houssem Rachdi

Purpose – Which of the banking stream is relatively more profitable in Middle Eastern and North Africa (MENA) region? Design/methodology/approach – The empirical study covers a sample of 15 conventional and 15 Islamic banks for the period 2002-2009.The authors estimate models using the generalized method of moments in system, of Blundell and Bond (1998). They exploit an up-to-date econometric technique which takes into consideration the issue of endogeneity of regressors to evaluate the comparative profitability of Islamic and conventional banks in the MENA region. Findings – Empirical analysis results show that the determinants’ significance varies between Islamic and conventional banks. Profitability seems to be quite persistent in the MENA region reflecting a higher degree of government intervention and may signal barriers to competition. Originality/value – The main interest is to develop a comprehensive model that integrates macroeconomic, industry-specific and bank-specific determinants. The paper makes comparison of the performance between two different banking systems in the MENA region. The authors consider a variable crisis to gain additional insights into the impacts of the financial crisis on MENA banking sector.


2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 551-571 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sugumar Mariappanadar ◽  
Alma Kairouz

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to apply the strategic human resource management (HRM) perspective to investigate the schematic relationship between the dimensions of human resource (HR) capital information and intentions to use such information in individual investors’ decisions relating to investing equities in the banking industry. Design/methodology/approach A two-stage empirical study was conducted in 2010 using a four-part HR capital disclosure questionnaire, which was developed and validated in stage 1 (n=145) of the study. In stage 2 (n=157), current or previous shareholders in one of the Australian banking sector corporations participated in the study. The collected data were analyzed using confirmatory factor and logistic regression analyses. Findings The findings of this explorative study highlight that the individual investors’ perception on the importance of performance management dimension of HR capital information has varied impacts on their intentions to use such information in investment decisions to buy, hold on to, or sell stocks. Practical implications This study has made an important contribution to the strategic HRM and behavioral finance literature that the human capital information facilitates the propensity to avoid regrets in selling shares too early (dispositional effect bias) to achieve utility benefits in future which is different from the findings of financial information disclosure study. Originality/value A recent critical review of HR disclosure indicated that most of the published articles on HR capital have used company annual reports for data source. However, this is the first study that attempts to understand the impact of HR capital disclosure information on investment intentions from individual investors’ schema rather than drawing data from company annual reports.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 421-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R. Barth ◽  
Tong Li ◽  
Wen Shi ◽  
Pei Xu

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine recent developments pertaining to China’s shadow banking sector. Shadow banking has the potential not only to be a beneficial contributor to continued economic growth, but also to contribute to systematic instability if not properly monitored and regulated. An assessment is made in this paper as to whether shadow banking is beneficial or harmful to China’s economic growth. Design/methodology/approach – The authors start with providing an overview of shadow banking from a global perspective, with information on its recent growth and importance in selected countries. The authors then focus directly on China’s shadow banking sector, with information on the various entities and activities that comprise the sector. Specifically, the authors examine the interconnections between shadow banking and regular banking in China and the growth in shadow banking to overall economic growth, the growth in the money supply and the growth in commercial bank assets. Findings – Despite the wide range in the estimates, the trend in the size of shadow banking in China has been upward over the examined period. There are significant interconnections between the shadow banking sector and the commercial banking sector. Low deposit rate and high reserve requirement ratios have been the major factors driving its growth. Shadow banking has been a contributor, along with money growth, to economic growth. Practical implications – The authors argue that shadow banking may prove useful by diversifying China’s financial sector and providing greater investments and savings opportunities to consumers and businesses throughout the country, if the risks of shadow banking are adequately monitored and controlled. Originality/value – To the authors’ knowledge, this paper is among the few to systematically evaluate the influence of shadow banking on China’s economic growth.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 215-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leila Gharbi ◽  
Halioui Khamoussi

Purpose This paper aims to explore empirically the impact of fair value accounting on banking contagion in a comparative context between Islamic banks and conventional banks. Design/methodology/approach The analysis of the impact of fair value changes on banking contagion is carried out through a panel data model. This study covers 20 Islamic banks and 40 conventional banks operating in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries during nine years from 2003 to 2011. Findings Empirical evidence shows that there is a significant change in dynamic volatility in GCC banking sector because of financial crisis 2008. However, results fail to confirm the hypothesis that fair value accounting is significantly associated with an increase of banking contagion for both Islamic and conventional banks operating in GCC countries. Originality/value The outcome of this study provides some insights for academicians, accountants as well as regulators in terms of enhancing the effectiveness of accounting practices.


2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 629-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sundas Sohail ◽  
Farhat Rasul ◽  
Ummara Fatima

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore how governance mechanisms (internal and external) enhance the performance of the return on asset (ROA), return on equity (ROE), earning per share (EPS) and dividend payout ratios (DP) of the banks of Pakistan. The study incorporates not only the internal factors of governance (board size, out-ratio, annual general meeting, managerial ownership, institutional ownership, block holder stock ownership and financial transparency) but also the external factors (legal infrastructure and protection of minority shareholders, and the market for corporate control). Design/methodology/approach The sample size of the study consists of 30 banks (public, private and specialized) listed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE) for the period 2008-2014. The panel data techniques (fixed or random effect model) have been used for the empirical analysis after verification by Hausman (1978) test. Findings The results revealed that not only do the internal mechanisms of governance enhance the performance of the banking sector of Pakistan but external governance also plays a substantial role in enriching the performance. The findings conclude that for a good governance structure, both internal and external mechanisms are equally important, to accelerate the performance of the banking sector. Research limitations/implications Internal and external mechanisms of corporate governance can also be checked by adding some more variables (ownership i.e. foreign, female and family as internal and auditor as external), but they are not added in this work due to data unavailability. Practical implications The study contributes to the literature and could be useful for the policy makers who need to force banks to mandate codes of governance through which they can create an efficient board structure and augment the performance. The investments from different forms of ownership can be accelerated if they follow the codes properly. Social implications The study facilitates the bankers in incorporating sound codes of corporate governance to enhance the performance of the banks. Originality/value This work is unique as no one has explored the impact of external mechanism of governance on the performance of the banking sector of Pakistan.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sviatlana Engerstam

PurposeThis study examines the long term effects of macroeconomic fundamentals on apartment price dynamics in major metropolitan areas in Sweden and Germany.Design/methodology/approachThe main approach is panel cointegration analysis that allows to overcome certain data restrictions such as spatial heterogeneity, cross-sectional dependence, and non-stationary, but cointegrated data. The Swedish dataset includes three cities over a period of 23 years, while the German dataset includes seven cities for 29 years. Analysis of apartment price dynamics include population, disposable income, mortgage interest rate, and apartment stock as underlying macroeconomic variables in the model.FindingsThe empirical results indicate that apartment prices react more strongly on changes in fundamental factors in major Swedish cities than in German ones despite quite similar development of these macroeconomic variables in the long run in both countries. On one hand, overreactions in apartment price dynamics might be considered as the evidence of the price bubble building in Sweden. On the other hand, these two countries differ in institutional arrangements of the housing markets, and these differences might contribute to the size of apartment price elasticities from changes in fundamentals. These arrangements include various banking sector policies, such as mortgage financing and valuation approaches, as well as different government regulations of the housing market as, for example, rent control.Originality/valueIn distinction to the previous studies carried out on Swedish and German data for single-family houses, this study focuses on the apartment segment of the market and examines apartment price elasticities from a long term perspective. In addition, the results from this study highlight the differences between the two countries at the city level in an integrated long run equilibrium framework.


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