Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance

Publisher:: Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Publication date:: 2011-12-21

ISBN:: 1358-1988

Issue Number

Latest documents

Global financial crisis, international capital requirement and bank financial stability: an international evidence
Purpose: Financial crises (FC) remain a global threat to the financial stability of financial institutions and international bank regulatory capital requirement (IBRCR) by the Committee on Banking Supervision provides mechanism for curbing the adverse effect of FC on financial stability. Hence, the purpose of this study is to provide, evidence on how IBRCR tones down the adverse FC effects on bank financial stability (BFS). Design/methodology/approach: The study uses 102 economies between 2006 and 2016 in a two-step dynamic generalized method of moments model. Findings: The results show that while FC and IBRCR negatively and positively impact BFS, respectively, it is observed that under the increasing presence of IBRCR, the negative effect of FC on BFS declines. Additionally, the results show that economies that maintain minimum IBRCR above 10.5% recommended by BASEL III are able to reinforce a significant reduction in the negative effect of FC on BFS. Practical implications: These findings imply that in as much as financial crisis is injurious to BFS, regulators and policymakers can rely on IBRCR to avert the injurious effects of FC on BFS. Clearly, while IBRCR is necessary for reinforcing BFS through FC, bank managers who maintain IBRCR above the recommended 10.5% stands a better chance to taming the avert effect of FC on BFS. Additionally, economies that have not full adopted the BASEL minimum capital requirement may have to do so given its potential of dampening the adverse effect of FC on BFS. Originality/value: The study presents an international perspective of how BASEL capital requirements can help tame global financial crisis using a global sample of 102 economies.
Does the deployment of algorithms combined with direct electronic access increase conduct risk? Evidence from the LME
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of two regulatory initiatives in developing awareness of conduct risk associated with algorithmic and direct-electronic access (DEA) trading at broker-dealers: the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s algorithmic trading compliance in the wholesale markets and Commission Delegated Regulation 2017/589 (CDR 589) to the second Markets in Financial Instruments Directive. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative examination of 15 semi-structured interviews with representatives of London Metal Exchange member firms, their clients and regulators. Findings: This paper finds that the key conduct related messages in algorithmic trading compliance in the wholesale markets may not yet be fully embedded at broker–dealers. This is because of a perceived simplicity of the algorithms deployed by broker dealers or, alternatively, a lack of reflection on their impact. Conversely, a concern exists that clients’ deployment of algorithms on DEA channels provided by broker–dealers increase conduct risk. However, the threat of harm posed by clients is not envisaged in current definitions of conduct risk. Accordingly, CDR 2017/589 does not currently require firms to evaluate clients’ awareness of it. Research limitations/implications: This study’s findings are limited to the insights provided by 15 participants. Originality/value: This paper contributes to existing research by deepening understanding of conduct risk arising from algorithmic trading and DEA. To account for the potential harm arising from clients’ activities, this paper proposes a revision to Miles’s definition of conduct risk. This is complemented by a proposed amendment to CDR 2017/589 to require evaluation of clients’ understanding of conduct risk.
Institutional quality, macroeconomic uncertainty and efficiency of financial institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa
Purpose: This paper evaluates how institutions of governance and macroeconomic uncertainty influence efficiency of financial institutions in the subregion of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Data for the empirical inquiry were compiled from relevant sources for 33 countries in the subregion from 2002 to 2019. Empirical estimates verifying hypothesized relationships were carried out using the continuous updating estimator (CUE) by Hansen et al. (1996). Design/methodology/approach: The purpose of this paper is to evaluates how institutions of governance and macroeconomic uncertainty influence efficiency of financial institutions in the subregion of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Data for the empirical inquiry were compiled from relevant sources for 33 countries in the subregion from 2002 to 2019. Empirical estimates verifying hypothesized relationships were carried out using the continuous updating estimator (CUE) by Hansen et al. (1996). Findings: The results suggest that institutional quality has significant positive effect on financial institution efficiency, supporting the view that improved and supportive structures of governance tend to promote operational efficiency among financial institutions among economies in SSA. In addition, improvement in individual governance indicators such as corruption control, government effectiveness, regulatory quality and rule of law was also found to support or enhance efficiency of financial institutions among economies in the subregion. Macroeconomic uncertainty on the other hand is found to impede efficiency of financial institutions; the same condition (macroeconomic uncertainty) is further found to negate any positive impact corruption control, government effectiveness, regulatory quality and rule of law have on operational efficiency among financial institutions in the subregion. Originality/value: Unlike most of related studies, this study adopts a different approach on the dynamics of financial institutions. Approach pursued in this empirical inquiry examines how the regulatory environment within which financial institutions operate, the form of governance and the quality of government institutions influence efficiency of financial institutions among emerging economies in Sub-Sahara. Empirical analysis conducted examines effects of variables that are unique to this study; these variables are either constructed or econometrically derived specifically for various interactions verified in the study. For instance, institutional quality variable is an index constructed specifically for this study using principal component analysis approach.
Jurisdictional arbitrage: combatting an inevitable by-product of cryptoasset regulation
Purpose: This paper aims to provide an overview of different issues related to jurisdictional arbitrage found in general regulatory arbitrage literature and their projection to the specific area of cryptoasset regulation. Design/methodology/approach: By distinguishing any parallel, analogous and neighbouring concepts, this paper attempts to clarify the notion of jurisdictional arbitrage. By discussing certain aspects and effects of three regulatory regimes, BitLicense, 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD5) and the European Commission’s Proposal for a Regulation on Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCa), it makes clear that national/State/regional policymakers have already failed to create arbitrage-proof regulatory frameworks by acting exclusively within their jurisdictional limits. Against this background, this paper discusses briefly regulatory competition and international harmonisation as alternative solutions to inappropriate and ineffective national/regional legislative approaches. Findings: Based on a structured theoretical analysis, this paper reaches three important findings. First, academics, international bodies and other commentators use inaccurately the general concept of “regulatory arbitrage” to refer to the specific problem of jurisdictional arbitrage creating in this way an interpretative confusion; second, commentators confuse jurisdictional conflicts with jurisdictional arbitrage; third, the solutions to this regulatory problem can actually be found in its underlying causes. Originality/value: To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first specific-issue paper on jurisdictional arbitrage in the context of cryptoasset regulation and aims to trigger further academic discussion on this evolving phenomenon and inform the development of future cryptoasset regulation combatting this problem.
The regulation of RegTech and SupTech in finance: ensuring consistency in principle and in practice
Purpose: The paper’s aim is to consider how best to formulate sturdy regulatory frameworks for RegTech and SupTech. The paper appraises how key features of EU and UK regulatory and policy initiatives can contribute to a functional framework for RegTech and SupTech. Design/methodology/approach: The paper refers to the most comprehensive empirical findings within the EU and the UK on RegTech and SupTech, including reports released by the European Banking Authority and the Bank of England. As data is only gradually becoming available about the true rate of adoption of RegTech and SupTech, the paper identifies salient areas that warrant analysis from emerging findings. In light of the relatively restricted sources of empirical data, the article’s methodological approach is directed towards the most wide-ranging and detailed sources that are currently available at EU and UK levels. Findings: The paper reveals distinct variations in how the EU and UK have pursued regulatory approaches towards RegTech and SupTech growth. However, there are many shared features in the respective approaches. The paper argues that a regulatory framework should ideally be imbued with overarching strategies and policy objectives, as well as with practical measures through innovation facilitators, such as sandboxes. Yet, legislative (top-down) intervention will be the significant ingredient in guaranteeing legal clarity for RegTech and SupTech. Originality/value: By understanding the nuances in EU and UK approaches, the paper advocates for pragmatic reasoning when formulating a regulatory response. The importance of the article is in its focus on the elements of EU and UK regulatory approaches that are most capable of guaranteeing clarity on standards relating to RegTech and SupTech. The paper makes a vital contribution to existing commentary by determining how a balance can be struck between “top-down” and “bottom-up” types of regulation (i.e. should regulation be entirely concerned with industry-driven standards, such as codes of conduct?).
Regulations and banking crisis: lessons from the African context
Purpose: This study aims to investigate the coordinated impact of regulations on the predicted probability of a banking crisis in Africa. Design/methodology/approach: The study used the dynamic panel instrumental variable probit regression model of 52 African economies over the period 2006 to 2018. Findings: The authors observe that banking crisis is persistent for few years but dissipates in the long run. The results show that board mechanism and ownership control are important in reducing the likelihood of banking crisis. The authors found a negative impact of regulatory capital and monetary policy on the predicted probability of a banking crisis while regulatory quality was not strong in reducing the likelihood of banking crisis. There was also evidence to support that regulatory capital and monetary policy augment the negative impact of board mechanism and ownership control on the predicted probability of a banking crisis. Research limitations/implications: The limitation of the study is that it did not explore all measures of regulatory framework and how they impact banking crisis. However, it has an advantage of using alternative measures of regulations in a banking crisis probability model. Therefore, future studies should include other macro-prudential regulations, regulatory environments and supervision and observe how they are coordinated to reduce possible crisis in a robust methodological framework. Practical implications: The research has policy implications for monetary authorities and policymakers to set coordinated regulations through internal banking mechanisms that are relevant in sustaining banking system stability goals. Countries in Africa should strengthen their quality of regulation in such a way that it can play a strong and complementary role to a robust internal control mechanisms, so as to maintain stability in the banking system. In general, regulators and policymakers should design greater coordination of external and internal regulations through a single regulatory framework and a common resolution mechanism that make the banking system more robust in curbing possible crisis. Social implications: The policy implication of the study is to build banking confidence in the society. Originality/value: This study analyses the interactions of different components of internal and external regulatory framework in helping to reduce the probability of a banking crisis in Africa.
Bank regulation and risk-taking in sub-Sahara Africa
Purpose: In a bid to enhance the stability of banks, supervisory authorities in sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) have also adopted international bank regulatory standards based on the Basel core principles. This paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of these regulations in mitigating Bank risk (instability) in SSA. The focus of empirical analysis is on examining the implications of four regulations (capital, activity restrictions, supervisory power and market discipline) on risk-taking behaviour of banks. Design/methodology/approach: This paper uses two dimensions of financial stability in relation to two different sources of bank risk: solvency risk and liquidity risk. This paper uses information from the World Bank Regulatory Survey database to construct regulation indices on activity restrictions and the three regulations pertaining to the three pillars of Basel II, i.e. capital, supervisory power and market discipline. The paper then uses a two-step system generalised method of moments estimator to estimate the impact of each regulation on solvency and liquidity risk. Findings: The overall results show that: regulations pertaining to capital (Pillar 1) and market discipline (Pillar 3) are effective in reducing solvency risk; and regulations pertaining to supervisory power (Pillar 2) and activity restrictions increase liquidity risk (i.e. reduce bank stability). Research limitations/implications: Given some evidence from other studies which show that market power (competition) tends to condition the effect of regulations on bank stability, it would have been more informative to examine whether this is really the case in SSA, given the low levels of competition in some countries. This study is limited in this regard. Practical implications: The key policy implications from the study findings are three-fold: bank supervisory agencies in SSA should prioritise the adoption of Pillars 1 and 3 of the Basel II framework as an effective policy response to enhance the stability of the banking system; a universal banking model is more stability enhancing; and there is a trade-off between stronger supervisory power and liquidity stability that needs to be properly managed every time regulatory agencies increase their supervisory mandate. Originality/value: This paper provides new evidence on which Pillars of the Basel II regulatory framework are more effective in reducing bank risk in SSA. This paper also shows that the way regulations affect solvency risk is different from that of liquidity risk – an approach that allows for case specific policy interventions based on the type of bank risk under consideration. Ignoring this dual dimension of bank stability can thus lead to erroneous policy inferences.
Capital regulation, liquidity risk, efficiency and banks performance in emerging economies
Purpose: This study aims to examine the descriptive capabilities of efficiency, liquidity risk and capital risk for the cross-sectional and time-series variations in banks’ performance across emerging economies (EEs). It also examines the impact of the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC) on the effects of capital, liquidity and efficiency on banks’ performance. Design/methodology/approach: The paper adopts a spatial panel model and collects data across 90 EEs. Findings: The study shows that a surge in efficiency and liquidity improves bank performance. In addition, banks that finance credit creation primarily with core deposits perform better. Also, banks in EEs responded to the GFC. The findings show that banks in EEs respond to global events emanating from the developed economies. This indicates that EEs banks are relatively integrated with banks in developed markets. Originality/value: Improvement in profit efficiency and effective liquidity and capital risk management enhance the performance of EEs banks.
A systematic review on forensic accounting and its contribution towards fraud detection and prevention
Purpose: This paper aims to determine how forensic accounting contributes to fraud detection and prevention and answer the following research questions: What are the standard techniques for fraud detection and prevention; and What are the significant challenges that hinder the application of forensic accounting in fraud prevention and detection? Design/methodology/approach: The authors use the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method to carry out a systematic literature review (SLR) to identify and assess the existing literature on forensic accounting. Findings: There exists a positive correlation between forensic accounting and fraud detection and prevention. Moreover, in both the empirical and non-empirical findings, the authors note that fraud is complex, and in carrying out fraud investigations, one must be aware of its complexity. Practical implications: Although drug counterfeiting is a sector where forensic accountants have paid less attention, it is a rapidly expanding fraud area. This paper finds that to detect fraud at an early stage, one must increase consumer understanding of basic forensic accounting techniques by implementing accurate supply chain monitoring systems and inventory management controls and conducting adequate and effective regulatory, honest and legitimate customs inspections. Social implications: The major factors that restrict forensic accounting are a lack of awareness and education. Hence, it is essential to incorporate forensic accounting in undergraduate and post-graduate courses. Originality/value: From the existing literature, it has been observed that very few studies have been conducted in this field using the PRISMA and SLR techniques. Also, the authors carried out a holistic study that focuses on three different areas – fraud detection, fraud prevention and the challenges in forensic accounting.
Influence of virtual currency development and investor attention on financial stocks’ value: evidence from selected Asian equity markets
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of virtual currency (VC) development on financial stocks’ value in selected Asian equity markets and the moderating role of investor attention on this relationship. Design/methodology/approach: The pooled ordinary least squares regression is used on a sample of 138 listed financial firms from four emerging Asian countries for the period 2016–2020. Findings: This study finds that changes in VC values have greater spillover effects on the values of financial stocks in countries which do not recognize the legitimacy of VCs than in countries which do, due to the lack of breadth and depth of the former markets. Moreover, this paper also reports evidence of the greater moderating role of investor attention on this relationship in countries which do not recognize the legitimacy of VCs than in countries which do. Originality/value: Although numerous studies have been conducted on the influence of VCs on stock performance, majority of these studies did not distinguish whether the sample countries being studied actually recognize the legitimacy of VC transactions or not. Moreover, extant literature has not considered the moderating role of investor attention on this relationship. It is the aim of this study to address these research voids by using a refined three-factor theory model of capital asset pricing model incorporating VCs to better represent stock performance in the digital economy era.