Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Merchant banks'

This thesis investigates marketing's role in new product development (NPD) in commercial, investment and merchant banks. It examines how marketing inputs contribute to new product development success. NPD success can be measured at two levels of analysis - at the program and at the project level. Our study is concentrated at the program level at which sustained product development success is examined, rather than one-off project success. Successful product developers are identified as those banks with a better record of being first to market with new products. This measure of product development success is important in the financial risk management market in which commercial, investment and merchant banks compete fiercely. Based on peer evaluation seventeen banks were identified as innovative, that is to say; active new product developers in the financial risk management market from a universe of almost 130 U.K. and foreign banks with established operations in London. From these seventeen eight participated in our research study. Data was collected in two stages. First, personal interviews were conducted with the heads of the treasury divisions or the heads of derivates desks to collect background information for control purposes. Second, detailed questionnaires were administered to two further members of each bank who were involved with the development of financial risk management products. The questionnaires consisted of statements for which respondents were invited to indicate agreement or disagreement on 5-point Likert type scales. Our findings show that it is not the trappings but the quality of marketing inputs that contribute to program success. Quality of marketing inputs comprises the quality of approach adopted and the quality of execution. The most important finding is that successful product developers adopt higher quality marketing than do less successful product developers. Successful product developers place great emphasis on getting both their approach and their execution right. It was found that successful product developers adopt a market-based approach in identifying new opportunities. They not only adopt a strategy which selects markets on the basis of benefits sought (instead of determining strategy on the basis of primarily internal strengths), but they also use internal marketing to promote this cause. Further, successful product developers possess the appropriate implementation skills to exploit selected opportunities. While we cannot claim that program success will be guaranteed from a market-based approach, our evidence lends strong support that absence of a market-based approach is likely to lead to considerably lesser success in the type of product development investigated in this research study.

Thesis (LLM (Mercantile Law))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006.
The research defines derivatives as private contracts, with future rights and obligations imposed on all parties, used to hedge or transfer risk, which derives value from an underlying asset price or index, which asset price or index may take on various forms. The nature of derivatives is that the instruments are intended to be risk management tools. The objectives of derivatives are either to hedge a risk, or to speculate. Derivatives may be classified by the manner in which they are traded, either over the counter (OTC) or on exchange. Alternatively, derivatives may be classified on the basis of structure and mechanisms, i.e. forwards, futures, options or swaps. Risk and risk management are defined in the third chapter with the focus on merchant banking. The nature of risk is that it is inherent in all activities. The nature of risk management is that it aims to ensure that the risks faced by the merchant bank are managed on a daily basis. The objective of risk management is to ensure that losses are minimised and the appropriate level of risk is taken in order to maximise profits. Risk may be classified as operational, operations, market, systemic, credit and legal risk. A comprehensive discussion of credit risk is presented, as it pertains to the legal risk in derivatives in a merchant bank. This includes insolvency, set-off, netting, credit derivatives and collateral. Legal risk is defined as the risk of loss primarily caused by legal unenforceability (i.e. a defective transaction, for instance a contract), legal liability (i.e. a claim) or failure to take legal steps to protect assets (e.g. intellectual property). The nature of legal risk is that it is caused by jurisdictional and other cross-border factors, inadequate documentation, the behaviour of financial institutions, a lack of internal controls, financial innovation or the inherent uncertainty of the law. The objectives of legal risk management in derivatives are to avoid the direct and indirect costs associated with legal risk materialising. This includes reputational damage. Derivatives attract specific legal risks due to the complexity of the instruments as well as the constant innovation in the market. There remains some legal uncertainty regarding derivatives in terms of gaming, wagering and gambling, as well as insurance. The relationship between risk and derivatives is that due to the complexity and constant innovation associated with derivatives, there are some inherent risks to trading in derivatives. It is therefore important to ensure that there is a vested risk management culture in the derivatives trading environment. Chapter four gives an overview of derivatives legislation in foreign jurisdictions and in South Africa. The contractual and documentation issues are discussed with reference to ad hoc agreements, master agreements and ISDA agreements. The practical implementation issues of master agreements and ad hoc agreements are also discussed. The recommendations are that legal risk management be approached in a similar manner to credit, market and other risk disciplines. A legal risk management policy needs to be developed and implemented. The second recommendation is that a derivative to manage the legal risk in derivatives be developed.

Contrary to the significance that HSBC and its comprador office made on the modernisation in China at the turn of the 19th and the 20th Century, studies about the Bank’s expansion in the Beijing-Tianjin area were exceptionally limited. In this research, the importance of HSBC’s expansion to North China in the 1880s will be primarily examined by the Bank and its comprador office’s roles in the railways development in North China. During this process, Wu Jim-pah, as the first comprador of HSBC in Tianjin, offered significant aids in establishing HSBC’s collaboration with the Qing Court and the influential Bei-yang Ministry under Li Hong-zhang’s administration. This research is going to examine Wu Jim-pah’s career and personal development in late Qing Huizhou, Suzhou, Shanghai, Tianjin and Beijing, so as to answer a series of questions related to China’s social-economic reforms and its earliest capitalists’ formation at the turn of the centuries. Moreover, acts as the first academic study focusing on Wu Jim-pah’s participation in the early modernisation projects of late Qing China, this research put the collection and classification of historical materials in the central place. The findings of primary resources from the archives in China and overseas, namely, the Institute of History and Philology of Academia Sinica in Taipei, the National Library of China, the Shanghai Library, the Southwest Jiao-tong University, the Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences (TASS), the HSBC Group Archives, London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), as well as the Public Record Office at Kew, London, could be regarded as the most valuable part of this research.
published_or_final_version
Humanities and Social Sciences
Doctoral
Doctor of Philosophy

This thesis examines how sovereign lending, i.e. the practice of lending capital to sovereigns, has changed since the early nineteenth century. It tackles this question by investigating how lenders have thought about sovereigns for the past two centuries, focusing on the tools they have used to know and represent them. I argue that there was a critical shift in the early twentieth century in terms of the kinds of knowledge lenders deployed to know sovereigns. This shift differentiates the old sovereign lending from the new. In the old sovereign lending, merchant banking families such as the Rothschilds knew sovereigns through intensely personal relations based on gentility, whereas in the new sovereign lending, joint stock banks, credit rating agencies and international institutions largely came to know sovereigns through statistics. Though difficult to imagine nowadays, the description of sovereigns through quantifiable facts (the original definition of 'statistics') was revolutionary for early twentieth century lenders. Despite constituting the origins of sovereign credit ratings, this key shift has been overlooked in all major studies about sovereign debt. The new sovereign lending rose to prominence from the interwar period to the 1970s and now defines our world. The identification of this crucial shift is based on the development and application of the concept of forms of knowledge. Forms of knowledge refer to enduring ways of knowing and representing the constituent units of the international system used by international practitioners (e.g. diplomats, military strategists, financiers, and international lawyers). Examples of forms of knowledge include, but are not limited to, modern cartography, international treaties, statistics, gentility, and heraldry. The use of this concept is that it leads to a better understanding of how international practitioners and their practices undergo radical changes. In so doing, it provides a firmer empirical grasp on the question of how fundamental discontinuities arise in international relations.

The rapid development of technology is quickly changing the everyday lives of people, and it is now possible to use a mobile phone to pay at the checkout in stores. However, being able to pay with a mobile phone has no intrinsic value over existing payment methods, and thus banks have to find a way to add value to their mobile payment services through inter-industry collaboration with other actors. The aim of this report is to find how banks can collaborate with other actors in order to strengthen their brand in the mobile payment business. Through a literature review and several interviews with representatives in the financial industry, merchant sector, and academia, this report answers questions related to the market in Sweden, dominant design, network externalities, business collaboration, trust, and co-branding. This report found that there is a difference in prioritization regarding features and qualities of mobile payments between different segments in the market, and banks should choose a segment to focus their efforts on. There is also a need for discussion in the market between different actors in order to promote the standardization needed to develop mobile payment services further, and banks should therefore collaborate with other actors regarding standards, even if the collaboration does not need to involve resource sharing. Co-branding with other actors could also be a way banks to enhance their brand in mobile payments and reach new market segments. Trust is a critical factor for the success of mobile payments and the handling of customer data will be one of the biggest issues to solve for the banks and their collaborators. Finally, the most important conclusion of this report is that the banks have to find a business model which is attractive enough to the merchants in order to attract them in collaboration and be able to create added value to mobile payments.
Den snabba utvecklingen av tekniken förändrar snabbt vardagen för människor, och det är nu möjligt att använda en mobiltelefon för att betala i kassan i butiker. Att kunna använda en mobiltelefon för att betala istället för nuvarande betalningssätt har dock inget egenvärde och banker måste därför hitta ett sätt att addera värde till sina mobilbetalningstjänster genom att samarbeta med andra aktörer över industrigränserna. Målet med denna rapport är att finna hur banker kan samarbeta med andra aktörer för att stärka sitt varumärke inom mobilbetalningsbranchen. Med hjälp av literaturstudier och flera intervjuer med representanter från finansindustrin, handeln och akademi svarar den här rapporten på frågeställningar relaterade till den svenska marknaden, dominant design, nätverkseffekter, affärssamarbeten, tillit och varumärkessamarbeten. Rapporten visar att det finns skillnader mellan de olika marknadssegmenten gällande prioriteringen av funktioner och egenskaper hos mobila betalningar, och att banker bör välja ett segment att fokusera på. Vidare fann rapporten att det krävs diskussion på marknaden mellan de olika aktörerna för att främja framtagningen av den standardisering som krävs för att föra utvecklingen av mobila betalningar framåt. Banker borde därför samarbeta med andra aktörer för att få fram en sån standard, även om det inte behöver innebära att man delar resurser. Varumärkessamarbeten med andra aktörer kan också användas av banker för att förstärka sitt varumärke inom mobila betalningar och nå nya marknadssegment. Tillit är en kritisk faktor för att mobila betalningar ska lyckas, och hanteringen av kunddata kommer vara ett av de största problemen för bankerna och deras samarbetspartners att lösa. Slutligen så är den viktigaste slutsatsen av den här rapporten att banker måste skapa en affärsmodell som är tillräckligt attraktiv för handlare för att kunna locka till sig dem till samarbeten och kunna skapa mervärde till mobila betalningar.

EMV est la norme implémentée pour sécuriser une transaction d'achat avec contact ou sans contact (NFC) entre un appareil de paiement d'un client et un PoS. Elle représente un ensemble de messages de sécurité échangés entre les acteurs de la transaction, garantissant plusieurs propriétés de sécurité importantes. En effet, plusieurs chercheurs ont analysé le fonctionnement de la norme EMV afin de vérifier sa fiabilité: ils ont identifié plusieurs vulnérabilités de sécurité qui représentent aujourd'hui des risques majeurs pour notre sécurité au quotidien. Par conséquent, nous sommes intéressés à proposer de nouvelles solutions qui visent à améliorer la fiabilité d’EMV. Dans un premier temps, nous présentons un aperçu du système de sécurité EMV et nous étudions ses vulnérabilités identifiées dans la littérature. En particulier, il existe deux vulnérabilités de sécurité EMV, qui mènent à des risques dangereux menaçant à la fois les clients et les commerçants. Par conséquent, nous sommes intéressés dans la deuxième étape à répondre à ces deux faiblesses. Nous examinons d'abord une sélection des travaux qui ont été conçus pour résoudre ces vulnérabilités. Ensuite, afin d'obtenir de meilleurs résultats par rapport à ces travaux, nous proposons un nouveau système pour le paiement avec contact et NFC qui intègre 4 mécanismes de sécurité innovants. Enfin, dans la troisième étape, nous adaptons notre premier mécanisme de sécurité dans le contexte d'une nouvelle architecture de paiement NFC. Cette architecture est particulièrement destinée aux petits commerçants, leur permettant de profiter de leurs smartphones NFC pour une utilisation directe en tant que des lecteurs NFC
EMV is the standard implemented to secure the communication, between a client’s payment device and a PoS, during a contact or NFC purchase transaction. It represents a set of security messages, exchanged between the transaction actors, guaranteeing several important security properties. Indeed, researchers in various studies, have analyzed the operation of this standard in order to verify its reliability: unfortunately, they have identified several security vulnerabilities that, today, represent major risks for our day to day safety. Consequently, in this thesis, we are interested in proposing new solutions that improve the reliability of this standard. In the first stage, we introduce an overview of the EMV security payment system and we survey its vulnerabilities identified in literature. In particular, there are two EMV security vulnerabilities that lead to dangerous risks threatening both clients and merchants: (1) the confidentiality of banking data is not guaranteed, (2) the authentication of the PoS is not ensured to the client’s device. Therefore, our interests move in the second stage to address these two weaknesses. We first review a selection of the related works that have been implemented to solve these vulnerabilities, and then, in order to obtain better results than the related works, we propose a new secure contact and NFC payment system that includes four innovative security mechanisms. Finally, in the third stage, we adapt our first security mechanism in the context of a new NFC payment architecture. This architecture is especially destined for small merchants, allowing them to take advantage of their NFC smartphones for use directly as NFC readers

EMV est la norme implémentée pour sécuriser une transaction d'achat avec contact ou sans contact (NFC) entre un appareil de paiement d'un client et un PoS. Elle représente un ensemble de messages de sécurité échangés entre les acteurs de la transaction, garantissant plusieurs propriétés de sécurité importantes. En effet, plusieurs chercheurs ont analysé le fonctionnement de la norme EMV afin de vérifier sa fiabilité: ils ont identifié plusieurs vulnérabilités de sécurité qui représentent aujourd'hui des risques majeurs pour notre sécurité au quotidien. Par conséquent, nous sommes intéressés à proposer de nouvelles solutions qui visent à améliorer la fiabilité d’EMV. Dans un premier temps, nous présentons un aperçu du système de sécurité EMV et nous étudions ses vulnérabilités identifiées dans la littérature. En particulier, il existe deux vulnérabilités de sécurité EMV, qui mènent à des risques dangereux menaçant à la fois les clients et les commerçants. Par conséquent, nous sommes intéressés dans la deuxième étape à répondre à ces deux faiblesses. Nous examinons d'abord une sélection des travaux qui ont été conçus pour résoudre ces vulnérabilités. Ensuite, afin d'obtenir de meilleurs résultats par rapport à ces travaux, nous proposons un nouveau système pour le paiement avec contact et NFC qui intègre 4 mécanismes de sécurité innovants. Enfin, dans la troisième étape, nous adaptons notre premier mécanisme de sécurité dans le contexte d'une nouvelle architecture de paiement NFC. Cette architecture est particulièrement destinée aux petits commerçants, leur permettant de profiter de leurs smartphones NFC pour une utilisation directe en tant que des lecteurs NFC
EMV is the standard implemented to secure the communication, between a client’s payment device and a PoS, during a contact or NFC purchase transaction. It represents a set of security messages, exchanged between the transaction actors, guaranteeing several important security properties. Indeed, researchers in various studies, have analyzed the operation of this standard in order to verify its reliability: unfortunately, they have identified several security vulnerabilities that, today, represent major risks for our day to day safety. Consequently, in this thesis, we are interested in proposing new solutions that improve the reliability of this standard. In the first stage, we introduce an overview of the EMV security payment system and we survey its vulnerabilities identified in literature. In particular, there are two EMV security vulnerabilities that lead to dangerous risks threatening both clients and merchants: (1) the confidentiality of banking data is not guaranteed, (2) the authentication of the PoS is not ensured to the client’s device. Therefore, our interests move in the second stage to address these two weaknesses. We first review a selection of the related works that have been implemented to solve these vulnerabilities, and then, in order to obtain better results than the related works, we propose a new secure contact and NFC payment system that includes four innovative security mechanisms. Finally, in the third stage, we adapt our first security mechanism in the context of a new NFC payment architecture. This architecture is especially destined for small merchants, allowing them to take advantage of their NFC smartphones for use directly as NFC readers

L'industrie de la soie a joué un rôle central dans les échanges commerciaux mondiaux au XIXe siècle. Lyon, capitale historique pour l’industrie de la soie en Europe, constituait aussi l’un des centres commerciaux les plus importants du continent, déjà à l’époque romaine, puis, à nouveau, à partir du XVIe siècle. Au XIXe siècle, Lyon était l'un des centres les plus importants de la soie au monde, en grande partie grâce à ses liens étroits avec la Chine, laquelle était le plus grand fournisseur de matières premières pour la soierie lyonnaise. En même temps, la Chine, où la technique de la fabrication de soie a été découverte sous la dynastie des Shang , est une destination indispensable pour les soyeux lyonnais. En effet, l'ouverture de la Chine au commerce étranger, après la Seconde Guerre de l'Opium, permit aux soyeux lyonnais de s'implanter et de réaliser des opérations de commerce de la soie en Chine. Depuis le XIXe siècle, ces commerces s’intensifient en profitant de l’établissement de concessions françaises en Chine et de la mise en place de la route maritime entre Marseille et Shanghai. Les soyeux lyonnais réussirent à conquérir le marché chinois et ils développaient une stratégie de partenariat avec les négociants locaux pour acquérir des soies grèges directement en Chine et les envoyaient à Lyon sans passer par Londres afin de concurrencer les Britanniques. Puis ce réseau lyonnais travailla avec le plus puissant acteur britannique, qui avait installé des filatures et des ateliers de tissage sur place. Cette stratégie leur permit de devenir des acteurs majeurs du commerce de la soie en Chine et de renforcer leur position sur le marché mondial
Silk industry played a central role in global commercial exchanges during the 19th century. Lyon, the historical capital of European silk industry, constitutes also one of the most important commercial centers of the continent, as early as in the roman period, again from the 16th century. In the 19th century, Lyon was renowned as one of the most important global silk business centers, mostly due to its close link to China, which was the biggest silk exporting country for the silk industry of Lyon. China, where the silk manufacturing techniques were invented during the Shang Dynasty, was an indispensable destination for silk manufacturers of Lyon. In fact, the opening of China to foreign trade, especially after the Second Opium War, which permits these silk manufacturers to establish and operate in the silk trade in China. To the mid-19th century, those silk trades were stepping up, with the establishment of the French concession in Shanghai as well as the opening of the direct maritime route between Marseille and Shanghai, Lyon’s silk entrepreneurs attempted, some of them by direct competition, others opting to work in partnership with well-established British trade houses in China, first to short-circuit the British monopoly and then to secure the silk supply by themselves. The efforts made by the silk entrepreneurs of Lyon made them predominant players in the global silk trad and contributed to the silk trade development between China and Europe during the 19th Century

M.Com. (Marketing Management)
Companies in the industrial sector, where merchant banks generate 80% of their returns, are the best source of business for these banks. Because merchant banks' markets are largely restricted to the industrial sector, market segmentation of the industrial market and the concomitant assessment of the needs of the market are vitally important. The aim of this study was to develop a workable model for merchant banks, on the basis of which they may segment their markets meaningfully and simply, and may assess their clients' needs within the markets. with this aim in view, the first step was to gather background information on merchant banking, subsequent to which a theoretical analysis of market segmentation was carried out. The market research carried out, consisted of two parts. The first part entailed developing a computer model that could do market segmentation by combining the existing sources of information within the merchant bank and those of outside bodies. Internal sources used were the accounting and marketing records of merchant banks' own clients. External sources reflected the demographic, psychographic and geographic information on merchant banks' markets and the enterprises within these markets. These consisted of databanks of the BFA-NET (The Bureau of Financial Analysis, University of Pretoria), the Central Statistical Service, Bureau of Market Research (UNISA), McGregor's "Online Database" and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange...

The research defines derivatives as private contracts, with future rights and obligations imposed on all parties, used to hedge or transfer risk, which derives value from an underlying asset price or index, which asset price or index may take on various forms. The nature of derivatives is that the instruments are intended to be risk management tools. The objectives of derivatives is either to hedge a risk, or to speculate. Derivatives may be classified by the manner in which they are traded, either over the counter (OTC) or on exchange. Alternatively, derivatives may be classified on the basis of structure and mechanisms, i.e. forwards, futures, options or swaps. Risk and risk management are defined in the third chapter with the focus on merchant banking. The nature of risk is that it is inherent in all activities. The nature of risk management is that it aims to ensure that the risks faced by the merchant bank are managed on a daily basis. The objective of risk management is to ensure that losses are minimised and the appropriate level of risk is taken in order to maximise profits. Risk may be classified as operational, operations, market, systemic, credit and legal risk. A comprehensive discussion of credit risk is presented, as it pertains to the legal risk in derivatives in a merchant bank. This includes insolvency, set-off, netting, credit derivatives and collateral. Legal risk is defined as the risk of loss primarily caused by legal unenforceability (i.e. a defective transaction, for instance a contract), legal liability (i.e. a claim) or failure to take legal steps to protect assets (e.g. intellectual property). The nature of legal risk is that it is caused by jurisdictional and other cross-border factors, inadequate documentation, the behaviour of financial institutions, a lack of internal controls, financial innovation or the inherent uncertainty of the law. The objectives of legal risk management in derivatives is to avoid the direct and indirect costs associated with legal risk materialising. This includes reputational damage. Derivatives attract specific legal risks due to the complexity of the instruments as well as the constant innovation in the market. There remains some legal uncertainty regarding derivatives in terms of gaming, wagering and gambling, as well as insurance. The relationship between risk and derivatives is that due to the complexity and constant innovation associated with derivatives, there are some inherent risks to trading in derivatives. It is therefore important to ensure that there is a vested risk management culture in the derivatives trading environment. Chapter four gives an overview of derivatives legislation in foreign jurisdictions and in South Africa. The contractual and documentation issues are discussed with reference to ad hoc agreements, master agreements and ISDA agreements. The practical implementation issues of master agreements and ad hoc agreements are also discussed. The recommendations are that legal risk management be approached in a similar manner to credit, market and other risk disciplines. A legal risk management policy needs to be developed and implemented. The second recommendation is that a derivative to manage the legal risk in derivatives be developed.
Prof. P. Sutherland Dr. C. van der Bijl

M. Com
The 200 years of South African banking history has been a turbulent mix of crisis and triumph. Banks have had to respond to changes in their environment ranging from wars and the discovery of gold and diamonds, to regulatory changes, disinvestment and township bond boycotts. With the phasing out of sanctions, international opportunities started to emerge and South African banks were quick to respond. International and local competition has increased and it has become necessary for banks to put more emphasis on obtaining a competitive advantage. Optimists like to speak of South Africa as the "powerhouse of Africa" and the natural investment home for foreign investors wanting a foothold in the African market. It has therefore become necessary to do a "SWOT" analysis (Strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats) to be able to formulate a competitive strategy. • This dissertation comprises of an environmental analysis which includes a study of the macro-environment, international environment and the analysis of Porter's five basic forces. This environmental analysis leads to the establishing of local and international competitive strategies. South Africa has a competitive edge on other countries of its size and development levels in the sense that it has a very adaptable economy. The fact that South Africa is seen as the "gateway to Africa" should be exploited by South African banks. The changing and uncertain environment in South Africa must be seen as an opportunity for international departments of commercial banks to enrich themselves and their employees. This dissertation has shown that local banks do not have an advantage over international banks. From this follows a recommendation that local banks should develop and maintain a competitive advantage and focus on African business.

碩士
義守大學
財務金融學系碩士班
99
After the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement had signed on June 29, 2010 between Taiwan and China, the investment of Taiwan’s banks in China entered into a new phase. This study aims to explore the credit rating of Taiwanese merchants by the banks investing in China. Questionnaires and data analysis elicited the following conclusions: 1. As for the credit extension of financing to Taiwanese merchants, banks place a great value on “whether the company was found guilty of illegal returned checks or loan default”, “the credit rating of the company’s person-in-charge”, and “the development potential of the company”. 2. In terms of how the banks execute future operations with Taiwanese merchants, “the margin ratio for financing should depend on the type and value of the collateral”, “the credit extension should be medium or long-range financing”, and “the margin ratio should be based on the credit rating results” are the top three points. Besides, factor analysis, six dimensions are derived regarding “the determining factors for the banks to extend financing credit to Taiwanese merchants; three concern “the operation strategy of the banks for credit extension.” The operation strategy for the financing to Taiwanese merchants can be organized in reference to “market positioning” and “target clients” so that the market can be divided with the initial clients focusing on Taiwanese merchants and then expanding to Chinese merchants and overseas companies in China. Information about the Taiwanese merchants can be collected for the finance credit rating. A crisis possibly involving financing can be lowered by requesting that the creditor present a relevant reliable guarantee, collateral, endorsement, and property guarantee, or by collecting information concerning the background, reputation, as well as assets and debt of the creditor from business associations, credit rating institutes, or overseas credit investigation companies.