Finance and Financial Management Commons^™

Can The Financialised Atmosphere Be Effectively Regulated And Accounted For?, Patty Mcnicholas, Carolyn Windsor

Carolyn Windsor

Purpose – This paper aims to carry out a critical analysis of the proposed Australian emissions trading scheme (ETS) as a complex market solution to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs). Specifically it seeks to examine the financial regulatory infrastructure that will more than likely oversee the Australian ETS, the same regulatory infrastructure which failed to prevent the global financial crisis.Design/methodology/approach – A critical examination of the financialisation of the atmosphere that follows the growth of the financialisation of capitalism when economic activity shifted from production and service sectors to finance. Financialisation of capitalism is supported by capitalist regulation influenced by neo-liberal …

Do Investors Herd Intraday In Australian Equities?, Julia Henker, Thomas Henker, Anna Mitsios

Thomas Henker

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to consider whether market wide herding occurs intraday.

Design/methodology/approach – Using the 1995 Christie and Huang and the 2000 Chang et al. models, the paper tests whether market wide and industry sector herding occurs intraday in the Australian equities market.

Findings – Neither market wide nor industry sector herding occurs intraday.

Research limitations/implications – Both herding measures focus on one specific type of herding, herding evidenced by changes in the cross-sectional return distribution. Therefore the herding measures are ill suited to capture the effects of period specific abnormally high or low market …

Bank Risk And Return: The Impact Of Bank Non-Interest Income, Barry Williams, Laurie Prather

Laurie Prather

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider the impact on bank risk of portfolio diversification between traditional margin income and fee-based income for banks operating in Australia.Design/methodology/approach – Considering several performance variables, this analysis compares the benefits of diversification across different bank types relative to margin income and fee income. Further, regression analysis considers bank risk and revenue concentration.Findings – This paper documents that fee-based income is riskier than margin income but offers diversification benefits to bank shareholders. While improving bank risk-return trade-off, these benefits are of second order importance compared to the large negative impact of …

Bank Risk And Return: The Impact Of Bank Non-Interest Income, Barry Williams, Laurie Prather

Barry Williams

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider the impact on bank risk of portfolio diversification between traditional margin income and fee-based income for banks operating in Australia.Design/methodology/approach – Considering several performance variables, this analysis compares the benefits of diversification across different bank types relative to margin income and fee income. Further, regression analysis considers bank risk and revenue concentration.Findings – This paper documents that fee-based income is riskier than margin income but offers diversification benefits to bank shareholders. While improving bank risk-return trade-off, these benefits are of second order importance compared to the large negative impact of …

Foreign Bank Efficiency In Australia: What Makes A Difference?, Jan-Egbert Sturm, Barry Williams

Barry Williams

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors that affect differences in measured efficiency of foreign-owned banks operating in Australia. The relevance of both comparative advantage theory and new trade theory to multinational banking in Australia will be tested.

Design/methodology/approach – A three stage research method is employed. First, estimates of foreign bank efficiency are drawn from a larger sample of domestic and foreign banks in Australia. Efficiency is estimated using parametric distance functions, applying several different specifications of inputs and outputs. Second, factor analysis is used to estimate a series of common factors drawn from …

Fundamental Investment Research – Do Us Results Apply To Australian Investors?, Bruce Vanstone, Tobias Hahn, Gavin Finnie

Tobias Hahn

For many investors, the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 has sparked renewed interest in value-based investment approaches. There is much published research supporting the use of fundamental analysis for value-based investment, and much of this research comes from the US. In previous articles, we have shown that US based fundamental investment research does not translate well to the Australian market. In this paper, we show how to test a well documented US fundamental investment strategy and find that it also does not transfer well to our Australian market.

Fundamental Investment Research – Do Us Results Apply To Australian Investors?, Bruce Vanstone, Tobias Hahn, Gavin Finnie

Bruce Vanstone

For many investors, the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 has sparked renewed interest in value-based investment approaches. There is much published research supporting the use of fundamental analysis for value-based investment, and much of this research comes from the US. In previous articles, we have shown that US based fundamental investment research does not translate well to the Australian market. In this paper, we show how to test a well documented US fundamental investment strategy and find that it also does not transfer well to our Australian market.

What Drives Tbl Reporting: Good Governance Or Threat To Legitimacy?, Pamela Kent, Reza Monem

Pamela Kent

This paper provides two complementary explanations for the adoption of triple bottom line (TBL) reporting by Australian companies. The first explanation is that companies adopt TBL reporting to legitimise their relationship with society because of adverse publicity from the media. The second explanation is that TBL reporting is adopted because of the company’s desire to achieve high-quality reporting and transparency inferred by strong corporate governance. Companies with TBL reporting had significantly more adverse media coverage before implementing TBL reporting than non-TBL companies. TBL reporting is also significantly and positively related to the existence of an environmental or sustainable development committee …

Factors Determining Net Interest Margins In Australia: Domestic And Foreign Banks, Barry Williams

Barry Williams

This study tests the application of the Ho and Saunders (1981) model of bank net interest margins (NIMs), and its subsequent developments, using Australian data. The core elements of this model apply in Australia. Bank market power is found to increase NIMs, consistent with McShane and Sharpe (1985), with evidence of bank buying market share and mispricing for risk. Operating costs also have an important role in determining NIMs, together with implied payments and management quality. Bank NIMs are found to have fallen over the study period.