Social impact bonds: Financing grassroots sports

This paper aims to analyze the foreign experience of using social impact bonds (SIB) and formulate proposals for the application of this tool in financing projects aimed at developing mass sports and increasing physical activity on a national scale. The scientific novelty of the article is confirmed by the limited application of such a mechanism in Russia and its insufficient study. This research aims to fill this academic and applied gap. The author uses the methods of deconstruction and aspect analysis. The article analyzes in detail the foreign experience of using social impact bonds, reveals the advantages and disadvantages of this model. In the absence of SIB sports projects, the model of social impact bonds is considered through the example of a New York City-based program aimed at reducing the recidivism rate among young people. This example allowed the author to describe the interaction scheme for all participants and stakeholders and to illustrate related advantages and disadvantages. In the future, this model can be introduced into Russian practice and used as a model for launching a similar project in the field of grassroots sports. The analysis of successful projects implemented abroad allowed the author to substantiate the possibility of using social impact bonds in financing programs aimed at increasing population levels of physical activity. A system of target indicators is proposed, including such a metric as social return on investment (SROI). The author describes in detail the methodology for calculating SROI and provides examples of calculating this indicator for mass sports projects. The author concludes that the advantages of SIB prevail over the disadvantages and about the high potential of this tool. Further research in this area can be aimed at clarifying the methodology for calculating the SROI for sport interventions promoting physical activity at the population level and evaluating specific projects in the field.

Phishing schemes in the banking sector: Recommendations to Internet users on protection and development of regulatory tasks

The aim and objectives of the article are to analyze fraudulent phishing schemes and develop recommendations for Internet use and relevant regulatory tasks. The relevance of the article is due to the peculiarities of working in cyberspace with the emergence of new sources of banking risks, both for customers and organizations. The scientific novelty of the manuscript consists of a detailed analysis of phishing schemes, the development of recommendations and directions in relation to the Russian Federation. The object of the study is cyber fraud in the credit and financial sphere; the subject is social engineering and phishing schemes. The methodology of the paper includes a systematic analysis of the literature and sources on the research topic, general scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, deduction, analogy, classification), correlation analysis of data, graphical visualization of information. The authors consider the main methods of phishing and the most common techniques used by cybercriminals. Based on the critical analysis of the literature the authors determined a promising direction for the scientific and technical potential of Russia. A correlation analysis of the relationship between the number of cybercrimes and commercial banks is performed. The study offers recommendations to Internet users (how to recognize the signs of fraud), and to regulatory bodies on improving the system of supervision over the dissemination of information in cyberspace. The authors concluded that it is necessary to increase the level of cyber literacy and general literacy of the population, on the one hand, and to modernize the methods of supervision and control of the information posted on the Internet, on the other hand, to effectively counter financial and cybercrime. The research results can be used in the further development of remote banking services for the population to increase competitiveness in the banking services market. Prospects for further research on this topic lie in expanding its structure, developing the competencies of specialists in the field of remote banking technologies, as well as developing the scientific and technical potential of Russia.

Practical aspects and prospects for formation of financial and industrial groups in Uzbekistan

This article examines the conditions for the formation of financial and industrial groups in Uzbekistan and the participation of commercial banks in their activities. The purpose of the study is to formulate recommendations for creating the necessary conditions for the formation and organization of the activities of financial and industrial groups. The authors used the following research methods: grouping, abstraction, comparative analysis, structural analysis, and scientific forecasting. This article also describes the role of financial and industrial groups in the development of the economy and assesses the possibility of creating financial and industrial groups with the participation of commercial banks. In addition, the features and prospects for the creation of financial and industrial groups in Uzbekistan have been identified. The authors conclude that there are the following grounds for the formation of financial and industrial groups with the participation of commercial banks in Uzbekistan: the volume of commercial bank loans allocated to the real sector of the economy is increasing, there is a great need for financial resources to modernize production, as well as technical and technological re-equipment of enterprises. The formation of financial and industrial groups in the national economy will lead to the sustainable development of the industrial sector, ensuring the stability of the financial and banking system and increasing the competitiveness of the national economy.

New risk measures for variance distortion and catastrophic financial risk measures

In recent years, expectation distortion risk measures have been widely used in financial and insurance applications due to their attractive properties. The author introduced two new classes of financial risk measures “VaR raised to the power of t” and “ES raised to the power of t” in his works and also investigated the issue of the belonging of these risk measures to the class of risk measures of expectation distortion, and described the corresponding distortion functions. The aim of this study is to introduce a new concept of variance distortion risk measures, which opens up a significant area for investigating the properties of these risk measures that may be useful in applications. The paper proposes a method of finding new variance distortion risk measures that can be used to acquire risk measures with special properties. As a result of the study, it was found that the class of risk measures of variance distortion includes risk measures that are in a certain way related to “VaR raised to the power of t” and “ES raised to the power of t” measures. The article describes the composite method for constructing new variance distortion functions and corresponding distortion risk measures. This method is used to build a large set of examples of variance distortion risk measures that can be used in assessing certain financial risks of a catastrophic nature. The author concludes that the study of the variance distortion risk measures introduced in this paper can be used both for the development of theoretical risk management methods and in the practice of business risk management in assessing unlikely risks of high catastrophe.

The nexus between financial failure and stock prices: Panel Pedroni, Panel Kao and Panel AR DL Co-Integration Tests in Turkey REIT s

In today’s globally competitive environment, companies must keep up with these competitive conditions to be successful. Failure of companies to show the expected financial performance, fulfil their financial obligations, or reach their financial targets is considered a financial failure or bankruptcy risk. Real Estate Investment Companies or Trusts (REICs or REITs) are capital market institutions that qualify as legal entities and are partnerships in a joint-stock company that provides financing to all kinds of real estate or real estate projects and bring together many investors for the desired real estate. REITs are an essential investment choice that continues its rapid development in Turkey. This study aims to examine the relationships between the ZScores calculated by periods of REIT companies traded in Borsa Istanbul between 2010–2019 and the stock price performances. In the study, primarily Altman Z-Score and Springate S-Score values of companies traded in Borsa Istanbul were calculated with the help of financial ratios. Then, Pedroni and Kao panel co-integration analysis and Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel causality analysis were performed. According to the analysis results, there is a long-term relationship between the financial failure scores of REIT companies and their stock prices. However, a causality relationship was found between the series.

Impact of risk disclosures on IPO performance: Evidence from India

The main aim of the paper is to explore the performance of Indian IPOs in the context of risk disclosures in the offer documents. For the purpose of assessing the impact of risk disclosure factors on initial returns, subsequent returns and post issue risk of IPOs, the study has implemented ordinary least square regression. The study has analysed 109 IPOs that were listed in two main Indian stock exchanges (BSE and NSE) from 2015–2019. Outcomes of the present study are contrary to the previous studies which showed that information disclosure reduces the asymmetry, which is touted as the main reason for underpricing, the present study did not find any association between risk disclosures and underpricing. Quantitative risk measures showed positive association with 1-year returns, but qualitative measures failed to show any association. The post issue risk of the firms showed positive association with external risk factors listed in prospectus and negative association with liquidity. The results of this study are useful for the investors as based on the results they can make decisions about investing in Indian IPOs. Besides, the managers of issuing companies and lead managers of issues can use the results of this study to improve the pricing of issues. To the best of the authors’ knowledge no study has been done before in the Indian context which is specific to risk disclosures (quantitative and qualitative measures) and IPO performance. The present study seeks to fill this gap and contribute to the existing literature.

Scenario modelling of the impact of the dynamics of public debt on the gross regional product of Russian regions

The subject of this research is public debt and its impact on the dynamics of the gross regional product (GRP) of Russian regions. The aim of the paper is to study and scenario forecast the dynamics of changes in the internal public debt of Russian regions and model its impact on the gross regional product. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that most regions in Russia are forced to increase their internal public debt to cover the budget deficit and attract additional resources to solve important problems of socio-economic development and implement strategic projects and programs. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the development of a methodological approach to modelling and scenario forecasting of the level of GRP of different groups of regions, taking into account the dynamics of changes in their public debt using ARIMA modelling methods and panel regression analysis. The authors apply the methods of panel regression analysis and ARIMA modelling. The authors theoretically substantiated that public debt has a different effect on the GRP of Russian regions, grouped the regions according to the identified trends in the dynamics of public debt (the first group — regions with the dynamics of debt reduction over the period from 2005 to 2019, the second group — with the all-Russian trend of debt reduction since 2017, and the third group — with the dynamics of increasing debt over the period under review); developed a methodological approach to modelling and scenario forecasting of the GRP level of the Russian regions, taking into account the dynamics of changes in their public debt; carried out ARIMA forecasting of the dynamics of the public debt of different groups of regions and built regression models of the influence of the dynamics of the public debt on the GRP of Russian regions within the selected groups; formed forecast scenarios for changes of the GRP level of regions, taking into account the identified dynamics of transformation of their internal public debt. Conclusions: public debt has a negative impact on the dynamics of the GRP of Moscow and the Moscow region and a positive effect on the dynamics of the GRP of the regions of the second and third groups. The findings of the study may be used by the federal and regional executive authorities to find ways to reduce public debt and increase the level of socio-economic development of territories.

State ownership and firm performance: A performance evaluation of disinvested public sector enterprises

The Indian government devised a flexible method to modify the performance of public sector firms through disinvestment in the 1990s to boost commercial strength and bridge the budget deficit. The disinvestment policy intends to reduce the government’s involvement in the country’s economic activities to encourage the private sector. The research aims to empirically examine the financial and operating performance of thirty-two Central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) in India. Further, the paper intends to study the other firm factors that influence the performance parameters. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test and random panel regression model are the methods employed to analyze the data statistically. The results show that the profitability of disinvestment has not brought significantly much improvement post-privatization in PSEs. In contrast, the productivity of employees has improved. Dividend payout ratio and no. of employees have shown improvement after five years of disinvestment, and leverage has insignificantly declined. In addition, state ownership shows a significant negative relationship with the performance variables. It implies that higher the equity shareholding of the government (state ownership) in the CPSEs, would negatively hamper the performance of firms. On the other hand, GDP and firm size are positively affecting the profitability and productivity of employees. The study concludes that the government is required to bring down the equity shareholdings in CPSEs, directing more efforts towards strategic disinvestment. Government should choose strategic disinvestment rather than partial and small-scale disinvestment because neither will offer good results. The decline in leverage shows the availability of cheaper sources of finance. Furthermore, it has been suggested that government interference in operational and administrative functions should be given the least priority.

IFIs undertake financing when their environmental and social quality criteria are met

The main content of this article is to describe “climate finance” and “green finance” in detail, as implemented by International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and their pertinent environmental and social project quality criteria. The approach of this article is to perceive and understand environment-related activities of international financial institutions (IFIs) as part of a societal learning process, and consequently to describe their “environmental and social project quality criteria” as an expression of such ongoing societal learning processes. What can our readership, related to global finance, profit from such a comparison? Against the expectation of many, IFIs already implemented efficient rules for redirecting global funds to climate and environmental projects — and have thus performed a successful “act of societal learning”. The “environmental and social project quality criteria” have played a crucial role in convincing economic and administrative actors (i. e., learners in our context) to behave in a climatecompatible manner. Thus, the lesson can be drawn from the domain of “societal learning” to the domain of “individual learning” that clear and transparent criteria sets are decisive for a rule-based societal transformation. This article shows that a criteriabased selection process provides the best results for long-term societal interest; in this case climate protection.

Analysis of the dynamics of IPO transactions in the banking sector

IPO (initial public offering) is a widespread financing instrument in the world, however, the scientific community pays little attention to the dynamics of IPOs in the banking sector. The aim of the study is to critically analyze the dynamics of IPO transactions of credit institutions on the horizon from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2020. The research methodology includes analytical methods for collecting and processing information, comparative and graphical analysis of the database collected by the author and consisting of 305 IPOs of banks from 2000 to 2020. The study compares the dynamics of IPO transactions of credit institutions from developed and developing countries, identifies characteristics inherent in each market, and explains the differences in market dynamics. The study reveals clustering in the IPO market of credit institutions and compares clustering with the general market of initial public offerings. It is shown that lending institutions around the world have actively attracted funds through IPO, having placed their shares for a total of $ 218 billion. The bulk of the funds were attracted by banks from emerging markets, primarily from China. During this period, there were 3 IPO waves on the banking IPO market, characterized by a significant increase in placement volumes and profitability on the first day of trading. This clustering in the IPO market of credit institutions was not typical only for the banking sector but coincided with the global growth in the number of transactions and IPO yields. The author concludes that the placement of shares of credit institutions during the hot market period is the most promising in terms of the volume and dynamics of raising funds; the IPO market of credit institutions retains high growth potential, primarily in Asia and the CIS.