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U.S. bank holding companies (BHCs) have experienced dynamic changes over a period of 2000–2010. We find that the size distribution of sample banks becomes highly positively skewed with a small number of big banks becoming super-sized, and these big banks tend to take extra risk by holding derivative positions for trading purposes. The ten largest risk-taking banks hold about 70% of total assets of all the sample banks in 2010. We investigate whether the risk-taking activities of the BHCs translate into higher risk-adjusted return performance. In extensive panel regression analyses, we find that the risk-taking strategies of large banks by holding derivative positions for trading purpose do not show the clear evidence of enhancing risk-adjusted performance. We find that negative impacts of extra risk-taking on the risk-adjusted performance become bigger with the size of banks.

The intention of this chapter is to review and test the degree to which organizational changes related to gender parity, adopted within Venezuela since 1999, have affected the C-level positions and Boards of Directors among banking institutions.

Through review and qualitative analysis of primary and secondary data, along with triangulation, given names were used as proxy to define gender among groups of individuals.

Evidence indicates that besides some parity in lower positions, middle management, and some C-level positions, at the Board of Director level, there remains a gender imbalance. Government-owned institutions show improved gender balance, but still there is a need for progress.

Coercive isomorphisms may be the most common explanation for organizational change; nevertheless, this is not necessarily the case unless there is clear law enforcement. Practitioners must analyze the underlying reasons that females may reach a C-level position, yet don’t reach the Board of Directors in the same proportion.

This research analyzes gender issues and composition among corporate governance bodies (Board of Directors and C-level positions) in Venezuela. It offers preliminary insights on gender imbalance within the upper echelon of Venezuelan banking institutions.

Purpose – This chapter aims to show the similarities and differences that can be found in the destiny of cooperative banks and mutual insurance companies; these two industries, for reasons both similar and specific, are now “at a crossroads.” To reinforce this, we begin by tracing the history of cooperative banks and mutual insurance companies to better inform the future. Cooperative banks and mutual insurance gradually secularized and out of corporatism have patiently built-in different ways depending on the network as opposed to companies.

Results – This chapter will pursue these observations by identifying the impacts of recent crises in shaping business models by questioning a central issue which is that the trap values meet performance requirements in a fierce competition. Then, this chapter will end with the discussion on the main challenges faced by the mutual sphere; «She» should be replaced by «it». Could it exert a role in the crisis?

Contrary to what its title might suggest, this chapter does not develop an alternative vision of finance. On the basis of the financial world as it currently operates, we propose to identify the paradoxes and the likely evolution of a banking and financial system evolving. Based on the facts, this chapter seeks to extend the discussions initiated in the last chapter, entitled “Socially responsible banks?” of our book “The management of the bank,” published by Vuibert editions. The frantic pace of innovation and the requirements of regulators encourage banks to review their organization and their governance. This chapter attempts to position the bank between two paradoxes: on one side, the crises have not made more responsible banks. The facts remain: rates and currency manipulation, embezzlement rules on bonuses, even if some are still under financial assistance of the United States. On the other hand, the “finance otherwise” innovates, disturbs, and upsets. Creative players such as collaborative funding or virtual currencies are not really threatening to the big banks. But in the past, marked by their personnel costs and infrastructure cannot meet the agility of these new entrants “crowdfunding,” and other online payment methods have backed the Web. These innovations really threaten banks that do not lack the resources to adapt. And if tomorrow, the banks no longer existed? Behavior changes and already a growing number of clients save, borrow, and lend the use of means of payment to settle their online purchases without using the services of traditional financial institutions! A certainty, “finance otherwise,” will play a stimulatory role. The speed and magnitude of change is such that it becomes necessary for banks and financial institutions to adapt to these new technologies to increase or simply maintain their business. Based on the facts, the chapter explores and analyzes the developments that may become sustainable for a banking system reluctant to lose the monopoly of the distribution of credit and means of payment. The “end of the banks,” is a “provocative” subject but insufficiently addressed in the economic literature.

This analysis attempts a comparative specification of certain aspects of the country studies contained in this volume. The point of departure is the banking crises of the early 1990s (deep in Finland, Norway and Sweden, mini-crisis in Denmark and absent in Iceland) and the contrast to Iceland's financial meltdown in 2007/2008 (no crisis in the three, a new mini-crisis in Denmark). Detailed process tracing of the Icelandic crisis is provided. The case account is then used to shed light on the different roles of neoliberalism, economics expert knowledge and populist right-wing party formation in the five Nordic political economies.

Romania was a centrally planned economy until 1990. Over 1950 to 1975 large-scale government investments were made into heavy industry and hence productivity increased. Performance was measured against required production quotas rather than quality products that could be exported (Bacon, 2004). Compared to most other Central and Eastern European countries, Romania had little prior experimentation with market practices, so when the change occurred it was even more significant (Bacon, 2004). Romanians initially enjoyed their new economic freedoms and imported consumables previously not permitted. Inflation increased and workers sought higher wages, with consequential negative effects on output (Daianu, 2004). The government also expended large amounts, particularly foreign exchange reserves, prior to elections. Meanwhile, supranationals, such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC), World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), all funded Romania's burgeoning market economy. In 1993, a pyramid-type scheme offering huge returns for money invested for 3 years blossomed and became so large it rivalled gross domestic product (GDP) at the time. Hence the 1990s was a period of instability despite efforts to transform the economy to market practices.

Purpose – The chapter seeks to examine the changing nature of competition during and immediately after the consolidation within the context of Nigerian banking sector reform.

Design/methodology/approach – The chapter deploys the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index, interest rate spread and conducted interviews with senior bank managers to test the hypothesis that there was no change in competition.

Findings – The results obtained support the CBN's expectation of sustained competition and higher efficiency levels, resulting in a minimal reduction of interest rate spread.

Originality/value – This is the first study that examines the changing nature of competition resulting from the 2004–2006 Nigerian banking consolidation.

The history of international business has generated a growing literature. Over the AIB's fifty years, scholars associated with AIB have contributed to this literature but it has been a far broader one. This chapter surveys a sample of the wide variety of works on the history of multinational enterprise, published from the 1950s onward. The works are not only in business history but also in diplomatic and legal history. The literature makes it clear that the multinational enterprise has a long history and is far from a post-World War II or post-1989 phenomenon. The chapter shows the variety in the accumulation of studies in business history directly related to international business as well as the forums where business historians present their findings. It considers why and how international-business history matters for international-business research.