... Dianne Thomson, (Email: [email protected]), Deakin University, Australia Ameeta Ja... more ... Dianne Thomson, (Email: [email protected]), Deakin University, Australia Ameeta Jain, (Email: [email protected]), Deakin University ... in comparison to its peers or its own past record (Hogan et al, 2004, and Gardner, Mills and Cooperman, 2004). ...
In modern pedagogy, a blended approach is used comprising both face-to-face and online learning. ... more In modern pedagogy, a blended approach is used comprising both face-to-face and online learning. This study investigates how undergraduate students majoring in finance view the different learning environments, and evaluates the changes in perception over the three years of the degree after controlling for gender, age, international ⁄ domestic student and English as a first language. Using a purpose designed survey instrument, students across the three years of undergraduate study rated the importance of lectures, tutorials and web-based learning environments in a blended learning model. The results indicate that there is still a strong preference for face-to-face learning. Additionally, there were significant differences in attitudes and perception by year level.
Deposit insurance schemes were an important element in policy responses to the global financial c... more Deposit insurance schemes were an important element in policy responses to the global financial crisis (GFC). There has been considerable debate about the nature and efficacy of such policy measures in alleviating the fallout from financial crises. The GFC highlighted problems associated with deposit insurance schemes including moral hazard, coverage limits, co-insurance, cross border issues and market distortions. Despite these shortcomings, deposit insurance schemes were able to ameliorate the financial panic experienced and reduce contagion. This paper evaluates the Australian and New Zealand experience with deposit insurance introduced in response to the GFC, and compares this to the OECD experience. It reflects on the performance of deposit insurance schemes considered against the attributes of good policy design, and evaluates the specific problems and strengths encountered during the GFC.
The growth of voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting reflects society's ex... more The growth of voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting reflects society's expectations for business to set higher ethical standards and to undertake business in a way that meets the profit imperative (the bottom line). Additionally, the community expects socially and environmentally responsible behavior practices; the so-called triple bottom line approach. The paper briefly reviews the development of corporate social responsibility reporting from the perspective of two large Australian banks and attempts to understand their motivation for voluntary disclosure. Stakeholder theory and game theory provide a means to analyze why banks undertake CSR reporting. The paper compares Westpac and National Australia Bank's CSR reporting over the period 2004-2005 utilizing external rating agencies and CSR reports to determine the extent of disclosure in relation to employees, environment, community and customers. The paper concludes with a discussion of the pros and cons...
The National Australia Bank's (NAB) experience of corporate governance has been contrary to c... more The National Australia Bank's (NAB) experience of corporate governance has been contrary to current standards of good corporate governance, accountability and risk management. Over the last few years NAB's misadventures have brought it under intensive media scrutiny with the HomeSide losses and the investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission in the USA for breaches of auditor independence. More recently the unauthorised trading by its foreign exchange dealers violated NABs risk management practices and the subsequent board crisis resulted in significant downgrading of the share price on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). This paper briefly reviews the international history of corporate accountability and its growth in Australia. The increasing shareholder and legislative pressure to improve sustainability, accountability and board functionality have driven these issues to the forefront of Governing Boards' agendas worldwide. The board remains ultimately res...
This paper examines board responsibilities and accountability by management and Board of Director... more This paper examines board responsibilities and accountability by management and Board of Directors in relation to the National Australia Bank’s (NABs) performance. The NAB, an international financial service provider within the top thirty most profitable banks in the world, is compared with the Australian major banks. The evidence suggests that NABs poor performance was consistent with a lack of accountability, poor corporate governance and board dysfunction associated with fraudulent currency trading and the subsequent AUD360 million foreign currency losses. The NAB’s performance is investigated by utilizing accounting-based measures of profitability and cost efficiency as proxies for performance. Following the foreign currency trading losses in 2004 the NAB under-performed the other major Australian banks in terms of profits, cost to income ratio and growth in assets. In terms of profitability and cost efficiency NAB had the lowest ROE and ROA with a 19.7% fall in net profit and t...
ABSTRACT Since the 1990s financial sector regulation in Australia has treated credit unions and b... more ABSTRACT Since the 1990s financial sector regulation in Australia has treated credit unions and building societies the same as banks under the designated title of authorized depository institutions. This allows credit unions to choose between different organizational structures: cooperative; convert to customer-owned banks or to demutualize. This article utilizes semi-structured interviews to analyse the key motivations for organizational change. It examines a number of credit unions and their conversion experience to customer-owned banks. It finds that adaptation of the credit union model was necessary to change customer perceptions, ensure future growth in the customer base and assets, and facilitate access to capital raisings with the credit rating of a bank. Despite this change customer-owned banks retain the core principals of mutuality.Kundeneigene Banken in Australien: Von der Kreditgenossenschaft zur Bank auf GegenseitigkeitSeit den 1990er Jahren hat die Finanzsektor-Regulierung in Australien Kreditgenossenschaften und Bausparkassen genauso behandelt wie Banken, beides bezeichnet als autorisierte Depotinstitute. Dies erlaubt Kreditgenossenschaften, zwischen verschiedenen organisatorischen Strukturen zu wählen: Genossenschaft, Umwandlung zu kundeneigenen Banken oder Abkehr vom Gegenseitigkeitsprinzip (demutualisation). In dem Beitrag werden semi-strukturierte Interviews verwendet, um die wichtigsten Motivationen für die organisatorische Veränderung zu analysieren. Untersucht wird eine Anzahl von Kreditgenossenschaften mit ihren Erfahrungen bei der Umwandlung zu kundeneigenen Banken. Als Ergebnis wird festgestellt, dass die Anpassung des Kreditgenossenschaftsmodells notwendig war, um die Wahrnehmungen (“perceptions”) der Kunden zu ändern, den zukünftigen Wachstum der Kundenbasis und des Kapitals zu ermöglichen sowie mit der Bonität einer Bank die Kapitalbeschaffung zu erleichtern. Trotz dieser Veränderung halten die kundeneigenen Banken an den Grundprinzipien des Gegenseitigkeitsprinzips (mutuality) fest.Los bancos pertenecientes a los clientes en Australia: de la cooperativa de crédito a la banca mutualistaDesde los años noventa la regulación del sector financiero en Australia ha tratado a las cooperativas de crédito y a las sociedades de crédito inmobiliario de la misma manera que a los bancos nominados como instituciones de depósitos autorizadas. Eso permite a las cooperativas de crédito elegir entre diferentes estructuras organizativas: cooperativas, convertirse en bancos pertenecientes a los clientes o desmutualizarse. Este artículo se basa en entrevistas semiestructuradas para analizar sus principales motivaciones para llevar a cabo un cambio organizativo. Se examina un cierto número de cooperativas de crédito y su experiencia de transformación en un banco de clientes. Se pone de manifiesto que el modelo de las cooperativas ha debido de adaptarse para cambiar la percepción de los clientes, asegurar el crecimiento futuro de los recursos y de los clientes y facilitar el acceso a los incrementos de capital. A pesar de este cambio, los bancos de clientes conservan los principios de base del mutualismo.Les banques appartenant aux clients en Australie: de la coopérative de crédit à la banque mutualisteDepuis les années 1990, la régulation du secteur financier en Australie a traité les coopératives de crédit et les sociétés de crédit immobilier de la même façon que les banques désignées comme institutions de dépôts agréées. Cela permet aux coopératives de crédit de choisir entre différentes formes organisationnelles : coopératives, conversion en banques appartenant aux clients ou démutualisation. Cet article se base sur des entretiens semi-directifs pour analyser les principales motivations d'un changement organisationnel. Il examine un certain nombre de coopératives de crédit et leur expérience de transformation en banque de clients. Il apparaît que le modèle de ces coopératives a dû s'adapter pour changer la perceptions des clients, assurer la croissance future des capitaux et de la clientèle et faciliter l'accès à des augmentations de capital avec la réputation de solvabilité d'une banque. En dépit de ce changement, les banques de clients conservent les principes de base de la mutualité.
Economic Papers: A journal of applied economics and policy, 2011
In modern pedagogy, a blended approach is used comprising both face-to-face and online learning. ... more In modern pedagogy, a blended approach is used comprising both face-to-face and online learning. This study investigates how undergraduate students majoring in finance view the different learning environments, and evaluates the changes in perception over the three years of the degree after controlling for gender, age, international ⁄ domestic student and English as a first language. Using a purpose designed survey instrument, students across the three years of undergraduate study rated the importance of lectures, tutorials and web-based learning environments in a blended learning model. The results indicate that there is still a strong preference for face-to-face learning. Additionally, there were significant differences in attitudes and perception by year level.
Although there has been significant research on US financial intermediaries' stock return... more Although there has been significant research on US financial intermediaries' stock returns and sensitivity to interest yields, there has only been limited research on Australian bank stock returns and key macro variables, such as interest rates and exchange rates. The aim of this article is to examine this relationship for four major Australian banks, namely the Australia New Zealand bank
ABSTRACT Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries permanent building societies have been... more ABSTRACT Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries permanent building societies have been important providers of housing finance in Australia. Despite their long history Australian building societies have been disappearing at a steady rate since the early 1980s as they have converted into banks or become involved in mergers. The purpose of this paper is to give a background account of the history of Australian building societies and put forward explanations for their past popularity and more recent disappearance from Australian housing finance markets.
... Dianne Thomson, (Email: [email protected]), Deakin University, Australia Ameeta Ja... more ... Dianne Thomson, (Email: [email protected]), Deakin University, Australia Ameeta Jain, (Email: [email protected]), Deakin University ... in comparison to its peers or its own past record (Hogan et al, 2004, and Gardner, Mills and Cooperman, 2004). ...
In modern pedagogy, a blended approach is used comprising both face-to-face and online learning. ... more In modern pedagogy, a blended approach is used comprising both face-to-face and online learning. This study investigates how undergraduate students majoring in finance view the different learning environments, and evaluates the changes in perception over the three years of the degree after controlling for gender, age, international ⁄ domestic student and English as a first language. Using a purpose designed survey instrument, students across the three years of undergraduate study rated the importance of lectures, tutorials and web-based learning environments in a blended learning model. The results indicate that there is still a strong preference for face-to-face learning. Additionally, there were significant differences in attitudes and perception by year level.
Deposit insurance schemes were an important element in policy responses to the global financial c... more Deposit insurance schemes were an important element in policy responses to the global financial crisis (GFC). There has been considerable debate about the nature and efficacy of such policy measures in alleviating the fallout from financial crises. The GFC highlighted problems associated with deposit insurance schemes including moral hazard, coverage limits, co-insurance, cross border issues and market distortions. Despite these shortcomings, deposit insurance schemes were able to ameliorate the financial panic experienced and reduce contagion. This paper evaluates the Australian and New Zealand experience with deposit insurance introduced in response to the GFC, and compares this to the OECD experience. It reflects on the performance of deposit insurance schemes considered against the attributes of good policy design, and evaluates the specific problems and strengths encountered during the GFC.
The growth of voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting reflects society's ex... more The growth of voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting reflects society's expectations for business to set higher ethical standards and to undertake business in a way that meets the profit imperative (the bottom line). Additionally, the community expects socially and environmentally responsible behavior practices; the so-called triple bottom line approach. The paper briefly reviews the development of corporate social responsibility reporting from the perspective of two large Australian banks and attempts to understand their motivation for voluntary disclosure. Stakeholder theory and game theory provide a means to analyze why banks undertake CSR reporting. The paper compares Westpac and National Australia Bank's CSR reporting over the period 2004-2005 utilizing external rating agencies and CSR reports to determine the extent of disclosure in relation to employees, environment, community and customers. The paper concludes with a discussion of the pros and cons...
The National Australia Bank's (NAB) experience of corporate governance has been contrary to c... more The National Australia Bank's (NAB) experience of corporate governance has been contrary to current standards of good corporate governance, accountability and risk management. Over the last few years NAB's misadventures have brought it under intensive media scrutiny with the HomeSide losses and the investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission in the USA for breaches of auditor independence. More recently the unauthorised trading by its foreign exchange dealers violated NABs risk management practices and the subsequent board crisis resulted in significant downgrading of the share price on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). This paper briefly reviews the international history of corporate accountability and its growth in Australia. The increasing shareholder and legislative pressure to improve sustainability, accountability and board functionality have driven these issues to the forefront of Governing Boards' agendas worldwide. The board remains ultimately res...
This paper examines board responsibilities and accountability by management and Board of Director... more This paper examines board responsibilities and accountability by management and Board of Directors in relation to the National Australia Bank’s (NABs) performance. The NAB, an international financial service provider within the top thirty most profitable banks in the world, is compared with the Australian major banks. The evidence suggests that NABs poor performance was consistent with a lack of accountability, poor corporate governance and board dysfunction associated with fraudulent currency trading and the subsequent AUD360 million foreign currency losses. The NAB’s performance is investigated by utilizing accounting-based measures of profitability and cost efficiency as proxies for performance. Following the foreign currency trading losses in 2004 the NAB under-performed the other major Australian banks in terms of profits, cost to income ratio and growth in assets. In terms of profitability and cost efficiency NAB had the lowest ROE and ROA with a 19.7% fall in net profit and t...
ABSTRACT Since the 1990s financial sector regulation in Australia has treated credit unions and b... more ABSTRACT Since the 1990s financial sector regulation in Australia has treated credit unions and building societies the same as banks under the designated title of authorized depository institutions. This allows credit unions to choose between different organizational structures: cooperative; convert to customer-owned banks or to demutualize. This article utilizes semi-structured interviews to analyse the key motivations for organizational change. It examines a number of credit unions and their conversion experience to customer-owned banks. It finds that adaptation of the credit union model was necessary to change customer perceptions, ensure future growth in the customer base and assets, and facilitate access to capital raisings with the credit rating of a bank. Despite this change customer-owned banks retain the core principals of mutuality.Kundeneigene Banken in Australien: Von der Kreditgenossenschaft zur Bank auf GegenseitigkeitSeit den 1990er Jahren hat die Finanzsektor-Regulierung in Australien Kreditgenossenschaften und Bausparkassen genauso behandelt wie Banken, beides bezeichnet als autorisierte Depotinstitute. Dies erlaubt Kreditgenossenschaften, zwischen verschiedenen organisatorischen Strukturen zu wählen: Genossenschaft, Umwandlung zu kundeneigenen Banken oder Abkehr vom Gegenseitigkeitsprinzip (demutualisation). In dem Beitrag werden semi-strukturierte Interviews verwendet, um die wichtigsten Motivationen für die organisatorische Veränderung zu analysieren. Untersucht wird eine Anzahl von Kreditgenossenschaften mit ihren Erfahrungen bei der Umwandlung zu kundeneigenen Banken. Als Ergebnis wird festgestellt, dass die Anpassung des Kreditgenossenschaftsmodells notwendig war, um die Wahrnehmungen (“perceptions”) der Kunden zu ändern, den zukünftigen Wachstum der Kundenbasis und des Kapitals zu ermöglichen sowie mit der Bonität einer Bank die Kapitalbeschaffung zu erleichtern. Trotz dieser Veränderung halten die kundeneigenen Banken an den Grundprinzipien des Gegenseitigkeitsprinzips (mutuality) fest.Los bancos pertenecientes a los clientes en Australia: de la cooperativa de crédito a la banca mutualistaDesde los años noventa la regulación del sector financiero en Australia ha tratado a las cooperativas de crédito y a las sociedades de crédito inmobiliario de la misma manera que a los bancos nominados como instituciones de depósitos autorizadas. Eso permite a las cooperativas de crédito elegir entre diferentes estructuras organizativas: cooperativas, convertirse en bancos pertenecientes a los clientes o desmutualizarse. Este artículo se basa en entrevistas semiestructuradas para analizar sus principales motivaciones para llevar a cabo un cambio organizativo. Se examina un cierto número de cooperativas de crédito y su experiencia de transformación en un banco de clientes. Se pone de manifiesto que el modelo de las cooperativas ha debido de adaptarse para cambiar la percepción de los clientes, asegurar el crecimiento futuro de los recursos y de los clientes y facilitar el acceso a los incrementos de capital. A pesar de este cambio, los bancos de clientes conservan los principios de base del mutualismo.Les banques appartenant aux clients en Australie: de la coopérative de crédit à la banque mutualisteDepuis les années 1990, la régulation du secteur financier en Australie a traité les coopératives de crédit et les sociétés de crédit immobilier de la même façon que les banques désignées comme institutions de dépôts agréées. Cela permet aux coopératives de crédit de choisir entre différentes formes organisationnelles : coopératives, conversion en banques appartenant aux clients ou démutualisation. Cet article se base sur des entretiens semi-directifs pour analyser les principales motivations d'un changement organisationnel. Il examine un certain nombre de coopératives de crédit et leur expérience de transformation en banque de clients. Il apparaît que le modèle de ces coopératives a dû s'adapter pour changer la perceptions des clients, assurer la croissance future des capitaux et de la clientèle et faciliter l'accès à des augmentations de capital avec la réputation de solvabilité d'une banque. En dépit de ce changement, les banques de clients conservent les principes de base de la mutualité.
Economic Papers: A journal of applied economics and policy, 2011
In modern pedagogy, a blended approach is used comprising both face-to-face and online learning. ... more In modern pedagogy, a blended approach is used comprising both face-to-face and online learning. This study investigates how undergraduate students majoring in finance view the different learning environments, and evaluates the changes in perception over the three years of the degree after controlling for gender, age, international ⁄ domestic student and English as a first language. Using a purpose designed survey instrument, students across the three years of undergraduate study rated the importance of lectures, tutorials and web-based learning environments in a blended learning model. The results indicate that there is still a strong preference for face-to-face learning. Additionally, there were significant differences in attitudes and perception by year level.
Although there has been significant research on US financial intermediaries' stock return... more Although there has been significant research on US financial intermediaries' stock returns and sensitivity to interest yields, there has only been limited research on Australian bank stock returns and key macro variables, such as interest rates and exchange rates. The aim of this article is to examine this relationship for four major Australian banks, namely the Australia New Zealand bank
ABSTRACT Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries permanent building societies have been... more ABSTRACT Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries permanent building societies have been important providers of housing finance in Australia. Despite their long history Australian building societies have been disappearing at a steady rate since the early 1980s as they have converted into banks or become involved in mergers. The purpose of this paper is to give a background account of the history of Australian building societies and put forward explanations for their past popularity and more recent disappearance from Australian housing finance markets.
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