Changes in the Financial System of Vas County at the Beginning of the 20th Century

The purpose of the study. To showcase the growth of the region’s savings banks network during the period of Hungary’s capitalist development between the turn of the century and the World War I. Applied methods. Primarily data published in the financial almanac ‘Magyar Compass’ and newspaper articles of the time were sourced for the purposes of the study. Of financial indicators, balance sheet total and aggregate cash turnover figures were used. The study presents the accessible data of all the savings banks in operation at the time. Outcomes. By the end of 1912, various types of financial services had already been available in 28 Vas County settlements with 53 savings banks operating in the county. Their number was augmented by five branches and two affiliates. The savings banks furthermore established 17 disbursement points. This network of financial institutions was complemented by the Austro-Hungarian Bank (Osztrák-Magyar Bank, OMB) and two discount houses operating in Szombathely. The market district of Szombathely covered the whole county. While several larger microregional money markets were created, significant amounts were repatriated by Hungarians emigrating to America. Amidst all these changes, two banks’ bankruptcies made it known nationwide that the development of the local financial network was not without its failures.

New «Old» Institutionalisation of Money Circulation in Post-Soviet Russia

For the study of the institutionalization of money circulation in post-Soviet Russia, an institutional-evolutionary approach was used, based on the ideas of Thorstein B. Veblen and Joseph A. Schumpeter, as well as John R. Commons. The object of the analysis was the institutional structures of money circulation, which are the most significant from the public interest point of view. The paper compares the results of the institutionalisation of money circulation in the USSR and post-Soviet Russia. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of transitional periods. In transitional periods there was a rejection, filtration, and correction of institutional forms of money circulation in terms of their compliance with public goals to develop the country's socio-economic system. The following features of the institutional design of the Soviet model are identified: first, the presence of a single-link, a hierarchical, centralized banking system with the concentration of the entire payment turnover system in the State Bank of the USSR; second, the existence of a "three-circuit system" of money turnover with cash for servicing the turnover of consumer goods, non-cash money for industrial consumption (investment) and convertible rubles for international export-import payments; third, the division of money turnover was supported by the creation of special banking institutions for servicing each of them, controlled by the State Bank of the USSR - the "State Labour Savings Banks", "Stroybank" and "Vneshtorgbank", respectively; fourth, the institutions of money circulation were an internal element of the system of the planned national economy of the USSR and were organically integrated into it. The institutionalisation of money circulation in post-Soviet Russia is characterized by the presence of new (albeit previously represented in the history of our country) institutions and has the following features: first, a two-tier banking system, the upper level of which is represented by the Central Bank of Russia, and the lower level is represented by banks and non-banking credit institutions; second, organizations of various forms of ownership operate in the sphere of money circulation, while state forms of ownership are playing an increasingly significant role; third, there is a stock exchange where stocks, bonds, currencies and other instruments of the money market are traded. The official exchange rate set by the Central Bank of Russia is based on stock quotes; fourth, the Federal Treasury operates to mediate the movement of budgetary funds. An additional element of control over their use is the introduction of "treasury accounts", to which budget funds are transferred and from where they are used for the implementation of state development programs. As a result, one can see that the process of institutional renewal of money circulation in post-Soviet Russia is associated with the return to a number of institutions characteristic of pre-revolutionary and Soviet history. Therefore we can talk about a new "old" institutionalisation of money circulation in post-Soviet Russia. The main vector of changes in recent years is associated with the increasing recognition of the social significance of this sphere, serving the public interest. A forecast has been made that state control over the processes of money circulation in modern Russia is likely to increase.

Integration in banking efficiency: a comparative analysis of the European Union, the Eurozone, and the United States banks

PurposeThis paper investigates the development of efficiency and the progress of banking integration in the European Union by checking for convergence among banks of European and Eurozone countries as well as contrasting the results with those of United States banks.Design/methodology/approachInitially, we employ the two-stage semi-parametric double bootstrap DEA method, which absorbs the effects of possible integration barriers in the measurement of efficiency. Afterwards, we apply a panel data model, in order to investigate the process of banking integration by testing for convergence and for convergent clusters in banking efficiency.FindingsOur main findings show that the bank efficiency of the US is considerably higher than that of the Eurozone and the European Union. Although there is no evidence of convergence across the banking groups, our results indicate the presence of club convergence. We also conclude that the US banking system is closer to convergence than the Eurozone and the European Union banks. Nevertheless, this outcome is subject to change in the future due to the fact that Eurozone and European Union banks' speed of convergence is higher than that of US banks.Originality/valueOur survey is unique in trying to check for convergence while controlling for country-specific and bank-specific factors that affect the efficiency of European and Eurozone banks. Moreover, recent literature does not compare the convergence of efficiency of Eurozone, European and US banking. Finally, in our paper special consideration was given to the comparison of commercial, cooperative and savings banks, as subsets of our banking groups.