Journal articles on the topic 'Banks and banking – State supervision – European Union countries'

The banking sector industry is somewhat unique because it is simultaneously consolidating and diversifying. Banks’ major role in stabilising the financial systems of countries and in spurring their economic growth explains the particularities of their own corporate governance. The specificity of banks, the volatility of financial markets, increased competition and diversification expose banks to risks and challenges. The banking industry is heavily regulated and supervised in every country around the globe. This, in turn, establishes a particular corporate governance system. The paper lays out the specific attributes of banks that influence their regulatory and supervisory environment, which, in turn, creates a unique corporate governance framework for the banking industry. The paper emphasises the benefits and limits of regulations and supervision on banks’ corporate governance and focuses its empirical results on the European Union countries.

This article has the following thesis: changes in banking and the role of banks in real economy in recent years give an argument for treating banks as a public good. Banks received great support from governments as a result of the subprime crisis. G-20 and European Commission recommended new regulations for this sector after the crisis. As a consequence of banking development, more than 90% of the population use banking services in many countries. New social functions of banks have appeared. Doctrines about recovery and government support for banks were changed in parallel (e.g. LoLR). Presently, there are some arguments for recognition of public good doctrine in banking such as: a very big area for state regulation, state banking supervision, state system of deposits insurance, realization of task delegated by the state, social responsibility of banks and others. These arguments confirm that banks’ activity has a particular importance for the society and the economy, and would be public good.

Banking has gained a new dimension throughout the world in the last few decades due to the integration of global financial markets, the development of new technologies, the universalization of banking operations and diversification into non-banking activities. The merging of various financial services has provided synergies in the banks' operations and development of new concepts. One of these concepts is bank insurance (or banc assurance). Banc assurance, as an emerging distribution channel of insurance, essentially is defined as mediation of banks in the sale of insurance policies issued by insurance companies that are most often used as additional collateral for banks when giving loans to their clients, while the clients with the purchase of credit insurance through banks are secure in case of inability to pay off the loan due to occurrence of the insured risk, whereby the insurer covers the remaining debt of the client towards the bank. Banc assurance is much more developed in Western European countries, but in recent years this type of insurance has noted a trend of growth in the less developed countries also. Banks in the Republic of Macedonia, as well as banks in other countries in the region, try to encourage the development of banc assurance, but it still has a low level of growth in comparison with the European Union member states. This paper presents the level of development of banc assurance as well as its share in the insurance market in the Republic of Macedonia by analyzing the annual reports of the Insurance Supervision Agency of the Republic of Macedonia for the past few years. Consequently, an appropriate comparison was made between the realized values of the gross written premium of the banks as intermediaries in insurance with the realized values of the gross written premium of the other insurance intermediaries (insurance brokerage companies and insurance agencies); and a brief comparison was made with the share of banc assurance in the insurance markets in several countries in the region. The purpose of the paper is to determine the reasons for the situation in which the banc assurance in the Republic of Macedonia is, to analyze the need and the possibility for its development, as well as to determine the manners for banc assurance to reach the level of development in the member states of the European Union as soon as possible. For this purpose, an adequate analysis of the level of implementation of the European Directives for banc assurance (such as the Directive on Insurance Mediation and the Directive on Insurance Distribution) in the legal framework of the Republic of Macedonia has been carried out, as well as analysis of the national legislation regulating banc assurance in the Republic of Macedonia, covered in couple of provisions in the Law on Banks and the Law on Insurance Supervision.

Cooperative banking in Poland has more than 150 years of tradition, going back to the period of Partitions. The first Polish credit associations and cooperatives were established in Greater Poland in the years 1861–1862, in the fashion of credit cooperatives for farmers established by Friedrich Raiffeisen and the so-called cooperative “people’s banks” associating craftsmen, that were founded by Franz Schultze. In 1899, on the territory of the Austrian Partition, small credit institutions, the so-called “Stefczyk Savings Unions” (“Kasy Stefczyka”), were created, associating mainly farmers, In the period of the Second Polish Republic (1918–1939), Polish Agricultural Bank (Polski Bank Rolny) was established in Warsaw (1919). The bank’s task was to provide financial backing for agriculture, and in 1921 it was transformed into State Agricultural Bank (Państwowy Bank Rolny), only to become Agricultural Bank (Bank Rolny) in 1948. It was replaced by Food Economy Bank (Bank Gospodarki Żywnościowej), called into being in 1975 as a financial head office for cooperative banks which originated from saving and loan cooperatives. In the period of the Polish People’s Republic (1952–1989), state-cooperative banking was in place. The system and economy transformations that took place after 1989 caused crisis and the necessity of state intervention in the Polish cooperative banking. In the years 1990–1994 efforts were made to fix the cooperative banking system through implementation of the Act of June 24, 1994 on restructuring of cooperative banks and Food Economy Bank and on amendments to certain acts. Food Economy Bank was transformed into a joint-stock company as a bank of the National Association of cooperative banks. Besides, nine regional associations were established in the form of a joint-stock company of cooperative banks, which became shareholders of the national bank. The system and functioning of cooperative banks are currently governed by: Banking Law Act of August 29, 1997, Cooperative Law Act of September 16, 1982 and the Act of December 7, 2000 on functioning of cooperative banks, associating thereof and associating banks. The structure of cooperative banking was based on the division into cooperative banks and associating banks. Two associations of cooperative banks are currently operating in Poland: Bank of the Polish Cooperative Movement (Bank Polskiej Spółdzielczości S.A.) with its seat in Warsaw and Cooperative Banking Group – Bank (Spółdzielcza Grupa Bankowa – Bank S.A.) with its seat in Poznań. All the cooperative banks are covered by the Bank Guarantee Fund and under supervision of the Financial Supervision Authority. In 2015 the Act of December 7, 2000 on functioning of cooperative banks, associating thereof and associating banks was amended due to the changes implemented in the European Union Law (the so-called CRD IV/CRR package). Financial security of cooperative banks was increased through establishment of the Institutional Protection Scheme (IPS). Cooperative banks are an important element for development of the entire Polish banking system. Therefore, the financial supervision over the entire system of banking and Cooperative Savings and Credit Unions (SKOK) should be conducted in appropriate manner.

Research background: The contribution of banks? non-interest income to the total income becomes particularly important in the face of a severe financial crisis, usually accompanied by burdensome restrictions in economic activity, insolvencies of enterprises and households and low interest rates of central banks. Purpose of the article: This study investigates banks in 40 European countries to determine whether non-interest income had a significant impact on the bank?s profitability and whether the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic influences the form of this relationship. Methods: This study used a linear cross-section model using bank-level data. In the model, the bank?s profitability was regressed with the measure of income diversification, controlling for the pandemic?s intensity and the state of the country?s economy and bank characteristics. Banking data were obtained from the S&P Global MI. The Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (Hale et al., 2021, pp. 529?538) was the source of pandemic-related variables. Findings & value added: The obtained results indicate that the increases in non-interest income share in the bank?s total income have a statistically significant positive impact on profitability for the European banking sector. The dependence of profitability on diversification was stronger with the growing adverse effects of the pandemic. Our results are in line with those for the US banks (Li et al., 2021) and the European Central Bank Banking Supervision?s assessment that higher non-interest income has allowed banks? profitability in the euro area to be maintained at a pre-pandemic level (ECB, 2021). In addition, the study contributes to previous literature by testing the impact of the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic on the relationship between income diversification and bank profitability in 40 European countries.

The debt crisis in the European Union is known to be caused by the interdependence of banking and state financial stability, and, together with the non-existence of the fiscal union, it has taken on the existential dimensions of the EU project itself. Under the guise of financial fragmentation within the financial markets of the Eurozone, and from the aspect of the outbreak of the crisis, EU member states resorted to national interventions, thus closing national banking and financial markets, which ultimately resulted in deepened and stronger structural foundation of the crisis and its economic and financial consequences. In that context, the Banking Union is the regulatory and institutional response of the EU after the global financial crisis, about which the first proposals have found a place in institutional controversies since 2012. In addition to the key moment and motive for establishing such an institutional regulatory arrangement, the reason for its creation is more to create a union that is connected with the creation of a single market for financial services and free money circulation, and certainly with the tendency of fuller monetary integration. However, certain questions which arose remained relevant to date: whether these established and instrumentalized frameworks, mechanisms and procedures are in fact sufficient; whether the EU banking union, conceptually designed, really represents banking integration; and whether the "centralized-common" and "sovereign-national" relationships continued in the EU financial architecture, the use of the principle "one measure for all" in the implementation of the Basel III, non-inclusion of all types of banks, and the conflict of emission and supervisory roles of the Central Bank, be a structural conflict in achieving the desired financial stability, which is the ultimate goal. In the broader context of the functioning of the EU, financial stability can also be interpreted as a factor in the survival of the common currency and the European Union itself, regardless of the intertwined contradictions and construction conflict. In this paper, we analyze the functional scope of the regulatory framework for banking supervision in the EU during the five-year existence to date, and finally the effects and impact that this framework has had on the regulatory adjustment of the Serbian banking sector.

Challenges the European economy began to face 12 years ago raised the question about actions European Central Bank (ECB) have to undertake to maintain the financial sustainability, considering its objective to ensure price stability while coping with a changed economic environment. Provision that the ECB is obliged to take efforts to ensure financial stability as well as potentially serious consequences of crisis’ impact on the banking system and industrial production, led to an expansion of its role beyond standard monetary policy measures, with the unconventional steps being taken in addition to conventional to combat the adverse impact of the financial crisis. While reducing the interest rate, ECB also provided a cheap financial capital for banks via fixed-rate “Long Term Refinancing Operations” (LTROs), and three “Covered Bond Purchase Programmes” (CBPP). Purchases of debt securities were also conducted via “Securities Market Programme” (SMP) and, later, with then ECB’s President Mario Draghi declaring that ECB will do “whatever it takes to preserve the euro”, possibility of their increase was announced with the start of “Outright Monetary Transactions” (OMT) Programme. A mere announcement of the OMT was enough to calm financial markets, as none of the eurozone countries applied for financial support within this programme’s framework. Then ECB proceeded with a full-fledged quantitative easing, starting to buy sovereign bonds under its Public Sector Purchase Programme (PSPP), having spent 2.6 trillion € on its implementation. Understanding that a monetary union without an efficient banking union is unacceptably dangerous, the European Banking Union, under which supervision of largest eurozone banks has transferred directly to the ECB, was progressively established. While ECB’s anti-crisis policies achieved their goals, prolongation of the strategy it adopted may create new risks for the financial stability of the euro area, such as excessive dependence of credit institutions on monetary support and excessive inflationary risks under a zero interest-rate policy. Still, EU institutions’ coordinated financial management played an important role in overcoming the existing turbulence, with fiscal and monetary policy measures reinforcing each other.

The paper is devoted to the investigation of the current state and trends of the project banking management in Ukraine. It is stated and proved in this paper that project management is a separately developed area of management with its own methodology, professional knowledge, methods and tools. The average salary level of «Project manager» in Ukraine in 2020, is analyzed in this scientific paper. Comparative analysis of the above mentioned indicator with similar indicators of eleven European Union countries is carried out. It is defined that the average salary level of «Project manager» in Ukraine lags far behind the Project Management Salary in Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, and other European Union countries. The main options for banking project implementation are systematized. It is established that for the successful implementation of any project in the bank, it is necessary to construct the effective system of remuneration for the project office. The classification of expenses in the framework of project implementation in banks is identified. It is proposed to structure the expenses in the framework of project implementation in banks into three groups: target costs, general project costs, general bank costs. The investigation results are presented in the form of tables and graphical interpretations. The options for successful implementation of banking project are revealed and several methods of the system of calculating remuneration in the form of incentives are highlighted. In order to stimulate project participants during its life cycle, the relevance of applying a piece-rate bonus system of remuneration in bank project management is substantiated. Two versions of the organization of salary payment in piece-rate bonus system of remuneration depending on the duration of the bank project are proposed. The features of accounting for payroll settlements with personnel in project banking management are highlighted, and accounting entries related to the formation of accounting information about settlements arising between project participants in banks are provided in this paper. A number of recommendations for the development of project banking management are developed.

Abstract In this paper we analyse determinants of bank profitability of EU15 banking systems for the period 2001-2011. We use as proxy for banks profitability the return on average assets (ROAA), the return on average equity (ROAE) and net interest margin (NIM). We also measure the impact of the first and the largest wave of enlargement (10 new members in 2004) on EU15 bank profitability, introducing a dummy variable. The contribution of this paper for the empirical literature is that there are no other studies that deal bank profitability for all EU 15 countries for the period considered (2001-2011). The literature splits the factors that influence banks’ profitability in two large groups: bank-specific (internal) factors and industry specific and macroeconomic (external) factors. Our results are in line with the economic theory. Cost to Income Ratio, credit risk and market concentration had a negative influence in case of all measures of banks’ profitability, while bank liquidity only for ROAE and NIM. The size of banks had a negative impact on NIM, suggesting that bigger the bank is, smaller the net interest margin ratio is, but, on the contrary, in case of ROAA, had a direct effect. The market concentration had a negative influence, meaning that the increasing competition, as a structural point of view, increases banks’ profitability. The results show us that the process of European Union enlargement from 2004 does not have significant impact on EU15 banking systems’ profitability. It has a week and negative effect only in case of net interest margin. As policy recommendations, we suggest for authorities a better supervision for credit risk and liquidity and maintaining a competitive banking environment. For banks’ management we also recommend to monitor the credit risk indicators, optimizing costs and diversifying the sources of income.

The article attempts to assess the fiscal effects of the introduction of a bank tax in Poland. From January 2016, a new public tax in Poland has been imposed on some financial institutions, including banks. Similar solutions are also found in some European Union countries. The aim of the article was to implement literature research and legal acts as well as empirical simulation. To accomplish the purpose of the article, literature research and legal acts, as well as empirical simulation were used. The simulation showed that the introduction of a bank tax gives beneficial fiscal effects for the state in the form of additional budget revenues. The construction of the bank tax provided for in Polish law was much more beneficial for the state than the adoption of a solution operating in another EU country. On the other hand, the introduction of a new tax is a rather unfavorable situation for the banking sector, because banks hitherto covered by income taxes and VAT have to bear an additional tax burden from 2016. For the banks themselves, the adoption of a solution found in one of the EU countries would be more favorable than the Polish solution.

This study examines whether the CEECs’ financial market development can explain the EU FDI in the CEECs during 1994–2012. The higher bank credit flows had a positive effect on the FDI in 2005–2012. This can be attributed to the major banking sector reforms undertaken before the CEECs’ EU accession. Second, the stock market size had a positive effect in 1997–2004. This is due to the fact that the EU membership announcement facilitated deeper stock market integration. Third, the higher country income, in interaction with a higher bank credit flow, had only a small positive effect in 2005–2012. The higher income CEECs have pursued much deeper bank liberalization through large-scale privatization of state-owned banks. Finally, the higher country income, in interaction with a larger stock market size, had a negative effect in 2005–2012. A possible reason for this is that the EU countries have started to divert their new FDI to the non-EU countries.

The article investigates the current state of the insurance market in Ukraine and the history of its formation. The existing problems that hinder the progressive development of the market and attract investment are considered. Attention is paid to the latest legislative state regulation of financial services markets (banking and non-banking) by one regulator (NBU) and the expediency of its introduction in the non-banking financial sector and its further role. The main levers by which Ukraine will be able to obtain a financial system that meets international standards have been identified. The focus is on the provisions of the EU Solvency ll Directive and the requirements and standards set out therein. It also substantiates the feasibility of securing prudential supervision of insurers, which defines its peculiarities and mechanisms by which it operates effectively. The experience of countries that have already introduced this type of surveillance is explored. A number of significant changes have been identified, among which are the following: transparent financial statements, new standards for service provision, extension of oversight functions of the Authorized Body, etc., which will allow for the proper protection of the rights of consumers of financial services. Purpose: to analyze the international norms and standards according to which insurers operate within the European Union. Do the research on the EU Directive (Solvency ll) and the feasibility of its implementation in national legislation. The advantages and disadvantages of prudential supervision of insurers have been identified. Methods: General and specific cognition methods have been involved in the writing of the work. Historical method, comparative-legal method, system-structural analysis method and formal-logical methods have been used as the basis of the research methodology. Results: justification for the introduction of a new transparent financial reporting system in the future; the need to create a new internal insurer risk assessment system and new capital adequacy requirements. Conclusions: A number of advantages and disadvantages of current changes and further transformation of domestic legislation in the field of insurance supervision to the best international standards have been identified. It examines what changes the insurance market of Ukraine is going through and what to expect from insurers in the coming years, what costs will have to be incurred and what they will receive as a result. The focus is on protecting the rights of consumers of financial services to prevent events occurring in the insurance market more than 25 years ago.

Introduction. Disclosure of information on sustainable finances and environmental, social and corporate risks is becoming a norm of banking practice in the world, Ukrainian banks are gradually joining this process. Access to information about activities in the field of sustainable finance is crucial for investors to decide whether to provide appropriate resources. Problem Statement. Lack of unification and verification of the reliability of data on the activities of Ukrainian banks in the direction of realizing the goals of sustainable development. The purpose is to generalize key innovations in the global banking community regarding public disclosure of information on sustainable finances. Methods. Common scientific methods were used in the research process: structural and systemic analysis, synthesis, grouping, comparison, theoretical generalization and abstraction. Results. The basic structure of the annual report on sustainable financing of the bank should include four sections (business responsibility, social sphere, environment, corporate structure), in compliance with the principles of proper disclosure of information, and the detailing can be done by a specific bank. The reports of Ukrainian banks, which contain information on sustainable financing, do not fully correspond to the best global practice. The main shortcomings of these reports are declarative, with gaps in setting target indicators, lack of independent assessment, focus on environmental aspects. In addition, there is imperfect, incomplete or outdated information base on climate finance and ecology in Ukraine; the legal framework of sustainable finance needs to be harmonized with European standards, taking into account national specifics. All these aspects complicate the comparative analysis. In the countries of the European Union, a system of reporting on the risks of non-compliance with environmental, social and management standards (so-called ESG risks) has been introduced. In developing reporting standards, the National Bank should pay attention to the principles of effective information disclosure developed by the TCFD expert group. Conclusions. It is appropriate to introduce the publication of annual reports of state banks on sustainable financing in a unified format starting in 2023. The report on stable finances must be confirmed by an independent assessment (verification) to prevent data manipulation. Audit companies and rating agencies can act as independent evaluators. Even in the conditions of martial law, the global Sustainable Development Goals are not excluded from the agenda, on the contrary, they acquire special importance, especially the social aspects. The NBU could play a decisive role in the unification of approaches and ensuring the reliability of data. Martial law cannot be the reason for banks and the regulator to neglect issues of reliability and completeness of reporting.

В сложившейся мировой обстановке Россия находится в состоянии кризиса и переживает не самые светлые дни своей истории. В совокупности политическое и экономическое давление США и стран Евросоюза, выраженное санкциями, оказывает сильное влияние на банковскую систему нашей страны, которая представлена двумя уровнями: Центральным Банком Российской Федерации, коммерческими банками и иными кредитными организациями. Под негативное влияние иностранных ограничительных мер попали довольно крупные коммерческие банки, которые вели свою деятельность за пределами России и имели активы в других странах. Под санкционные ограничения в большей или меньше степени попали 14 банков, на которые приходится более 80 % банковских активов России. Самые крупные из них: Сбербанк, ВТБ, Промсвязьбанк, Россельхозбанк, Газпромбанк, Альфа-Банк и др. Эти крупнейшие банки оказались в условиях нестабильности и неопределенности. В связи с этим необходимо найти такой путь регулирования, который позволит сформировать устойчивую банковскую систему, способную пережить данный кризис с минимальными потерями и при этом развиваться несмотря на давление стран, которые сейчас считаются недружественными. В данный момент основной концепцией развития является безопасность банковского сектора России. В наше время, банковская система РФ развивается не как ведущая, а как ведомая и обслуживающая сфера экономики, в то время как должна быть одной из ведущих. В статье освещены понятия санкций, ключевой ставки процента, безопасности, экономики, устойчивости, концепции развития; рассмотрены последствия, которые могут иметь место после отключения России от международной межбанковской системы передачи информации и совершения платежей SWIFT. Также выявлены и описаны причины введения столь массовых пакетов ограничительных мер против России, их направленность и последствия их воздействия на банковский сектор страны. Приведены примеры действий ЦБ РФ по смягчению последствий, которые несли меры Запада по противодействию политике России. Приведены пути совершенствования российской экономики и банковской отрасли и предложены варианты дальнейшего развития банковской системы России в условиях санкционного давления недружественных государств. In current global environment, Russia is in state of crisis and is experiencing not brightest days of its history. Together, political and economic pressure from United States and European Union countries, expressed in sanctions, has a strong impact on our country's banking system, which is represented by two levels: Central Bank of Russian Federation, commercial banks and other credit institutions. Quite large commercial banks that conducted their activities outside of Russia and had assets in other countries have fallen under negative impact of foreign restrictive measures. Fourteen banks that accounted for more than 80 % of Russia's banking assets fell under the sanctions to a greater or lesser extent. Largest of these: Sberbank, VTB, Promsvyazbank, Rosselkhozbank, Gazprombank, Alfa Bank and others. These largest banks found themselves in environment of instability and uncertainty. In this connection, it is necessary to find a way of regulation that would allow formation of stable banking system capable of surviving this crisis with minimal losses, while developing despite pressure from countries that are now considered unfriendly. At the moment, the main concept of development is security of Russian banking sector. Nowadays, banking system of Russian Federation develops not as leading, but as slave and serving sphere of economy, while it should be one of leading. Article highlights the concepts of sanctions, key interest rate, security, economy, sustainability, development concept; considers the consequences that may occur after Russia is disconnected from international interbank information and payment system SWIFT. Reasons for introducing such mass packages of restrictive measures against Russia, their focus and consequences of their impact on country's banking sector are also identified and described. Examples are given of Central Bank's actions to mitigate the consequences of Western measures against Russia's policy. Ways to improve the Russian economy and banking sector are given and options for further development of Russian banking system under sanctions pressure from unfriendly states are proposed.

In modern conditions, the functioning of the world financial insurance system is an objectively necessary attribute of a market economy and provides reliable guarantees for the restoration of violated property rights and interests in cases of losses caused by fire, natural disasters, man-made accidents, transport accidents and other unpredictable cases. Due to the mechanism of insurance protection for all market actors, equal rights are created, there is the possibility to benefit, there is a desire to take risks, incentives for increasing labor productivity, technical upgrading of production capacities, and investment in business development are provided. At the same time, insurance not only prevents the state from the cost of damages in the event of occurrence of insurance events, but also significantly affects the consolidation of state finances and is an effective form of accumulation of citizens' funds and a significant and stable source of long-term investment. The insurance market, which has a significant impact on the socio-economic stability of society, is one of the factors that directly determines the level of economic security of the country. The intensive globalization of the world insurance market requires from the national insurance markets adaptation to the new regime of international trade in insurance services, which is determined by the processes of liberalization of insurance supervision and state regulation of insurance markets. Today, an important task is to assess the causes, forms and trends of globalization of the insurance environment, which will allow optimally to form the direction of development of the insurance market in Ukraine. The globalization of insurance relations is a process of eradicating legislative and economic barriers between national insurance markets, which is under the influence of changes in the global economy, and aims to form a global insurance space. This phenomenon is eloquent in the following processes: the concentration of insurance and reinsurance capital; merging of bank and insurance capital; concentration on the market of insurance intermediaries; concentration of consumers of insurance services; change in demand for "mass" insurance services, increased participation of insurers in pension insurance; expanding the scope of private commercial insurance; changes in traditional forms and types of insurance services that lead to a combination of insurance and financial services; change of the market environment in the conditions of full computerization of consumers of insurance services. Ukraine's insurance market is at the stage of formation, gradually adapting to the requirements of European and world markets. We have many gaps in insurance activity, but we are actively trying to eliminate them. For this purpose, the Ukrainian insurance market must be connected to foreign insurance experience and change its own operating models. One such option is Ukraine's cooperation in insurance with the countries of the European Union. Thus, today the insurance market of Ukraine is at the development stage and has certain advantages and a significant number of shortcomings: the growth rate of the insurance market lags behind the growth rate of the economy, and its share in the GDP of the country is insignificant. But the Ukrainian insurance market has a great potential for development. In our opinion, the implementation of the above recommendations should strengthen the financial potential of the Ukrainian insurance market. The formation of a developed market of insurance services in Ukraine will provide favorable conditions for market transformation and stable development of the national economy, development of the world economy and international relations. In view of the preservation of the difficult situation in the economy, the volatility of the operating environment, as well as unresolved issues in the East of the country, one can expect the pressure on the insurance market to be maintained in the near future. This can be manifested as a further reduction in solvent demand for individual insurance services by domestic consumers (both the population and companies), as well as reducing the liquidity and profitability of the insurers themselves. Since the limits of globalization are unrealistic, the only right option in these circumstances is to develop new approaches to regulating processes in the national insurance market and to form effective models of insurance relations management in Ukraine. In view of this, you need: - to determine the main parameters and trends of the development of the modern world insurance space and the place of the insurance market of Ukraine in it; - to form a system of economic regulation instruments that would promptly react to probable significant changes in the insurance business; - ensure a gradual narrowing of the scope of the use of fiscal mechanisms for regulating insurance relations by maximizing the tax burden on the financial performance of insurers through the introduction of taxation principles in the field of insurance in the countries of the European Union; - to adapt the conceptual tools of the national insurance law to the conceptual apparatus of the international agreements regulating the trade in insurance services in the conditions of globalization of the world insurance market; - to adapt the classification of types of insurance activity, the rules for the formation of insurance reserves and their investment in accordance with the requirements of the global insurance market; - continue work on improving the system and structure of management of the institutions of the national insurance market, to study the causes, forms and experience of merging financial, banking and insurance capital.

AbstractThis paper provides evidence on the impact of European Banking Union (BU) and the associated Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) on the risk disclosure practices of European banks. The onset of BU and the associated rules are considered as an exogenous shock that provides the setting for a natural experiment to analyze the effects of the new supervisory arrangements on bank risk disclosure practices. A Difference-in-Differences approach is adopted, building evidence from the disclosure practices of systemically important banks supervised by the European Central Bank (ECB) and other banks supervised by national regulators over the period 2012–2017. The main findings are that bank risk disclosure increased overall following BU but there was a weakening of disclosure by SSM-supervised banks relative to banks supervised by national authorities. We also find that the overall positive effect of the BU on bank disclosure is stronger for less profitable banks and in the most troubled economies of the Eurozone (GIPSI countries), while the negative effect on centrally supervised banks is stronger if bank CEOs act also as chairmen (CEO duality). We interpret these findings in light of the fact that the new institutional arrangements for bank supervision under which the ECB relies on local supervisors to collect the information necessary to act gives rise to inefficiencies with respect to the speed and completeness of the information flow between SSM supervised banks and the ECB, which are reflected in bank disclosure practices.

The nature and scope of the European Central Banks’s (‘ECB’) oversight mandate over the supervision of smaller and medium-sized banks by national supervisors has been one of the most debated aspects of the newly created European Banking Union. In particular, the issue whether the ECB should influence already established national supervisory practises and standards was not immediately straightforward. This paper applies the Principal-Agent (‘PA’) approach to explore the extent of the ECB supranational agency governing the supervisory oversight policies in the Single Supervisory Mechanism (‘SSM’). Notably, one of the important features of the SSM institutional design is the contractual incompleteness of supranational delegation. The ECB has been granted discretion to fill in the agency contract concluded with the Member States. A brief analysis of the practical operationalization of the ECB oversight role suggests that the ECB could exploit this contract condition to pursue own policy goals (agency hold-up problem) and situate itself in “bureaucratic drift” vis-à-vis the Member-State principals. However, under slightly relaxed Principal-Agent assumptions which allow policy learning to take place between the principal and agent, it is also possible that the ECB managed to influence the Member States’ stance, and, in doing so, exercised effective bureaucratic entrepreneurship.

The article considers the development of the credit market of Ukraine, its problems and ways to improve. The purpose of the study is to substantiate the theoretical foundations of the credit market and establish the current state of credit activity of banking institutions. Having studied the development of the credit market in the field of economic relations, where the object of operations is the capital provided under certain conditions. The object of the credit market is temporarily free capital in cash, and the subjects of this market are creditors and borrowers. Market functions of the credit market include the function of pricing, information and distribution. The credit market in Ukraine is regulated by the Constitution of Ukraine, the Law "On Banks and Banking", the Law "On the NBU". In recent years, banks in different countries are increasingly experiencing the problem of bank lending. This is especially true of the domestic banking system, in which the level of overdue debt has a steady upward trend in recent years. A large number of banks suffer from imperfect risk assessment and are forced to raise interest rates on loans, which, in turn, affect borrowers. Currently, loans are used to privatize government organizations and manage public debt. Ukraine has a multifaceted credit system, where borrowers and banks use their rights to obtain the most appropriate form of credit: continuous loans to borrowers and one-time loans that compensate for temporary gaps in payment turnover. The main problems of credit market development are imperfect legislation, distrust of borrowers, high interest rates on loans and others. Based on these shortcomings, only countries that face authorized institutions can solve these problems: reduce the discount rate of the NBU to the level of European countries (3–5%), thereby lowering interest rates on loans to commercial banks; include a regulatory framework for credit market supervision, European standards, interpretation of credit institutions, increasing requirements for banking licenses, introduction of a mandatory mechanism for all commercial banks in deposit guarantee funds for individuals, legislation to increase the authorized capital of commercial banks to UAH 250 million.

The article deals with the problems of public relations in the sphere of financial services in foreign countries. The foreign experience of regulation of the sphere of financial services is studied and possibilities of its use in Ukraine are determined. An example of a model of legal regulation of the financial services industry in Ukraine may be the model used by the European Union. The European Union in the field of financial services has introduced a system of authorized institutions and bodies of the European Union, based on the principles of the internal market, aimed at consolidating a competitive efficient financial market, ensuring a high degree of financial stability, consumer protection and control. The regulation of financial markets in different countries of the world usually works within two different models. The first model involves regulation by predominantly state bodies, and only a small part of the powers overseeing, controlling, establishing the rules for conducting operations are transferred to associations of professional market participants - self-regulatory organizations. The second involves the transfer of as much authority as possible to self-regulatory organizations. At the same time, the state retains basic control functions and the ability to intervene at any time in the process of self-regulation. An important issue in the implementation of the European Union's financial services policy is the organization of a prudential oversight structure for financial market participants.However, the effectiveness of its operation depends on the specific institutional structure of supervision established in the Member States of the European Union in most countries of the world as a regulator of the banking system entrusted to the central bank. The experience and possibilities of introducing positive experience in regulating public relations in the sphere of financial services of such countries of the European Union as Germany, Great Britain, France, Denmark, Czech Republic, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Malta and the experience of the Russian Federation are discussed in detail The study of the financial services market regulation systems makes it possible to conclude the gradual development of common rules, rules and principles that are recognized by most countries. The need for unification is linked to the processes of interstate integration, internationalization and globalization of the financial markets, which initiate the gradual blurring of the identification boundaries between different national models of state regulation of the financial services market.

Problem setting. One of the most important tasks of modern science of public management and administration is the further improvement of management technologies, management decisions in banking in particular and the increase of their efficiency and effectiveness. Accordingly, the scientific interest is not only in the study and the analysis of banking legislation of certain countries, but in the adaptation of national legislation to the directives of the European Union. The urgency of improving the mechanism of state regulation of the market for the provision of services for the collection of funds and transportation of currency valuables in the banking system of Ukraine is undeniable, the implementation of which should include the mandatory establishment of real requirements and measures of responsibility of managers of both individual financial institutions and regulatory bodies. Recent research and publications analysis. The organization of central banks of the world, their legal status, main functions, comparative aspects, regulatory activities in the field of the organization of cash circulation and cash collection were studied in the works of L. Voronova, D. Hetmantsev, V. Krotyuk, S. Yehorychev, M. Starynsky, P. Melnyk, S. Laptev, I. Zaverukha. Legal problems of legalization of firearms circulation in Ukraine were studied by А. Kolosok, P. Mitrukhov, P. Fries, S. Shumilenko and others. The works of V. Baranyak, V. Меzhyvy, М. Pinchuk, T. Pryhodko, V. Rybachuk, В. Tychyi, etc. are devoted to the study of legal problems of illegal handling of weapons. However, these works do not reflect the peculiarities of the use of firearms in subdivisions of collection of funds. Native and foreign scholars generally have not paid due attention to the study and the analysis of the existing model of cash circulation in Ukraine, its advantages, risks and disadvantages as well as the effective functioning of the market of collection of funds and transportation of currency valuables in the banking system of Ukraine. Highlighting previously unsettled parts of the general problem. The purpose of this article is to analyze the innovative foreign experience of state regulation of the market of collection of funds and transportation of currency valuables in the banking system of Ukraine (hereinafter – collection of funds) and to justify the need for its implementation in Ukraine. Another important problem in collection activities is the lack of legislative regulation of firearms trafficking as there is no law on weapons in Ukraine, there are only regulations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, which greatly complicates its regulation by the state according to P. Fries. Paper main body. The market of collection of funds and transportation of currency valuables (hereinafter – the market of collection) is one of the most closed segments of the banking system of any country as a whole. The most popular way to pay for services and goods during the last few years, according to annual surveys conducted by the Swiss central bank, is cash. The important factor is that even with the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the demand for cash and cash flow has increased significantly. The National Bank of Ukraine carries out regulatory activities in accordance with the requirements of the Law of Ukraine “On Principles of State Regulatory Policy in the Field of Economic Activity”. Collection of funds has never been a particularly profitable activity, for the subdivisions of collection of any country along with the staff and transportation costs, that is why to ensure the proper security of cash transportation is a very costly item of the estimate. In this regard, there is an urgent need for the adoption of the Law of Ukraine “On collection of funds and transportation of currency valuables” and “On firearms”, which would define the basic foundations, principles, forms of activities in the field of collection services, rights, duties and responsibilities of all participants in the collection market, in order to increase their reliability, safety and efficiency. In the countries of the European Union (EU), services for the collection and transportation of currency valuables are provided by public and private enterprises. In many EU countries there is no legal definition of the concept ‘collection’. In most cases, collection falls under the general legislation on the basics of security, except for Austria and Germany, which regulate such activities through professional organizations, insurance and collective agreements. Today, five foreign global CIT companies account for almost 60% of the global CIT market for cash collection and cash handling services. They are: – Brinks (USA) – 23%; – G4S (England) – 15%; – Loomis (Sweden) – 12%; – Prosegur (Spain) – 7%; – Garda (Canada) – 4%; – GSLS – 0.01%; – Other regional independent companies – 39%. In six EU countries (Denmark, Ireland, Greece, Sweden, Great Britain and the Netherlands) the presence of firearms during collection of funds is prohibited. In Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and Spain, the presence of a weapon in the performance of professional collection duties is mandatory. Safe collection of funds largely depends on the fast, without delays, safe travel by road. Ukraine needs to reform its transport system to gain access to the European Union’s rail, road, river and air transport markets and to financial resources for building safe infrastructure of high quality. Conclusions of the research and prospects for further studies. Unfortunately, there are no well-known world CIT collection companies in the Ukrainian market of collection services and therefore Ukrainian banks and legal entities have to deal with local CIT companies, the authorized capital of which in some cases may be significantly less than the amount of the collected cash. In accordance with the mentioned above, for the effective functioning of the Ukrainian market of collection of funds and a balanced regulatory policy of the state, we suggest making appropriate changes and additions to the Laws of Ukraine on “Banks and Banking”, “National Bank of Ukraine”. To initiate the development and adoption of the Laws of Ukraine “On Collection and Transportation of Currency Valuables” and “On Firearms” which will ensure equal competitive conditions in the collection market for all its participants, reliable labor protection, social guarantees and rights of employees of collection divisions.

This paper is included in the First Monday Special Issue #3: Internet banking, e-money, and Internet gift economies, published in December 2005. Special Issue editor Mark A. Fox asked authors to submit additional comments regarding their articles. E-money four years later In the late 1990s, there was a lively debate about the implications of the newly emerging e-money on the ability of central banks to control monetary aggregates.[1] What caught the imagination of many observers was not so much the fact that new types of money were electronic. Rather, it was the potential that new forms of money were capable to be transferred via the internet without the intervention of a traditional credit institution. More than anything else, the trial of DigiCash in 1994 with its ‘Cyberbucks’ rang the alarm bells of monetary authorities. It had everything they feared: it was issued by a non-bank, it could be used via the internet, it was P2P capable and it was anonymous. Against this background, a debate ensued about the merits of the new type of money and its potential to limit the power of central banks. Central banks and international bodies such as the Bank for International Settlements published a large number of reports [2] and academics scrutinised the issues involved. Finally, law makers took to the issue and e-money became subject of regulation in a number of countries. Thus, after long debates, the E-Money Directive of the European Union was passed in 2001 (it is currently reviewed). By 2001, however, many of the early pioneers such as DigiCash, Cybercash or First Virtual had gone out of business. The whole discussion began losing steam. Moreover, the very concept of ‘e-money’ was slowly changing. Initially, e-money was meant to be a close electronic substitute for cash: a bearer instrument, capable to circulate, anonymous, etc. To some degree, this was achieved by e-purses. However, only to a degree because e-purses do not allow balances to circulate. The recipient has to return balances to financial institutions and the corresponding value will be credited to a bank account. Thus, from the point of view of the payor, e-purses have a lot in common with cash, but not from the point of view of the payee. On the internet, nothing like the envisioned digital bearer certificates has emerged. Rather, today, what is called ‘e-money’ consists of limited purpose accounts with non-banks. In the EU these non-banks have to obtain an e-money licence. In the U.S. they may be required to hold state money transmitter licences. These accounts have much more in common with bank accounts than with cash. What drives the demand for these products is convenience of use. Thus, in the end, the internet e-money that exists is not a new type of money at all. And the card based e-money is struggling in many parts of the world. Only recently, one of the first e-purse schemes, the Danish Danmont has been discontinued. What are the lessons? 1. I think the approach by Alan Greenspan to take a ‘wait and see’ attitude was vindicated. Strict ex ante regulation of new concepts and products make life difficult for small start-ups and thus slows down innovation. Moreover, early regulation may be misguided because it is not known well what to regulate. Thus, the type of e-money regulators had in mind in the late 1990s (digital bearer instruments) never took off. 2. Payments exhibit strong network effects. Therefore, any new instrument that is meant to be more than just a niche product has be firmly connected with the payment backbone: the bank-based retail and wholesale payment system. Therefore, the emergence of a parallel circulation of alternative monies should not worry central bankers. Such schemes are unlikely to grow beyond the already existing scale (in form of barter schemes etc.). Technological innovations are unlikely to change this. This is the point made in my paper and I think it is still valid. 3. The early discussion was very much about technical issues. Innovators that entered the market were technology companies. However, the payment industry also is, to a considerable extent, a service industry. The early newcomers ignored this and paid the price. They all vanished from the market. Today’s successful internet payment providers are much more focussed on service than their predecessors. 4. It seems wise to let non-banks have a share of the payment market. Internet payments, for example, require a mix of technological skills and quality of service that banks may often be unable to provide. Notes to Special Issue Update 1. Strictly speaking, the term e-money was a misnomer. It implied that traditional monies were non-electronic. But as a matter of fact, bank deposits had been electronic for many years already. 2. Between 1996 and 2001 the BIS published 5 reports on e-money. The ECB (and its predecessor the EMI) published 2 reports (1994 and 1998) and a security framework for e-money issuers (2002). The European Commission passed an E-Money Directive that came into force in 2002. In some countries law makers were much faster. Thus, the German government amended the German banking law in 1997 requiring e-money issuers to become banks. Technically, it is conceivable that banks (or even non-banks) that are based in offshore centres can issue e-money and distribute it via the Internet all over the world. Therefore, many economists see offshore e-money issuers as a severe threat to the ability of central banks to conduct monetary policy. In this paper, it is argued that offshore issuers will denominate their e-money products in terms of existing currencies. Therefore they will be affected by monetary policy measures in the same way as onshore banks.