2011 research events

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• Financial crisis as (market) opportunity: Retail banking in the UK

   

  Presented by: Adriana Nilsson, Assistant Professor in International Political Economy and Economic Sociology, Copenhagen Business School and ifs/Henry Grunfeld Research Fellow

  Date: Wednesday 02 November 2011

  Location: ifsSchool of Finance, 8th Floor, Peninsular House, 36 Monument Street, London, EC3R 8LJ

  Summary: Dr Adriana Nilsson of the Copenhagen Business School is a Henry Grunfeld Visiting Fellow at the ifs. She presented the findings of her research entitled "Financial crisis as (market) opportunity: Retail banking in the UK". Her research question focuses on whether the disruption caused by the financial crisis has made it easier or more difficult for non traditional banking forms to establish themselves in the UK retail banking market.

  While there is much talk of new entry and alternative providers, her review of the post crisis environment was not positive. With interest rates where they are and with the mutual industry focusing on a shrinking market for saving and especially mortgages, times are difficult for this part of the market, not helped by the difficulty they have in raising new capital. Of course we here much about the entry of firms such as Tesco, Dr Nilsson, however, pointed out that with returns on retail banking much reduced, firms such as Tesco had many other options for using their capital and maybe a drive into banking is not quite as appealing as it was. She also noted that government needs to think about how competition can be fostered and how mutual and cooperative structures can be supported in capital raising.

  The slides include an interesting run through of these factors and the impact of the financial crisis on banks across the whole sector.

  Audio/video footage and any supporting documents are available to members of the ifs Academic Community here (requires log-in)

• Finance Related Research

   

  Date: Wednesday 20 September 2011

  Location: 8th Floor, Peninsular House, 36 Monument Street, London, EC3R 8LJ

  On Tuesday 20 September 2011 a group of around 20 members of ifs academic and permanent staff gathered to learn more from colleagues about both aspects of banking and the challenges of real-life research into the sector (in particular, the difficulties of gaining access to the right people for one’s interviews).

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  Presentation 1: Researching Bank Lending to SMEs in Singapore (Part II): Analysis of Interviews

  Presenter: Dr Keith Pond FCIB, Associate Dean (Teaching), School of Business and Economics, Loughborough University (Speaker Bio)

  Dr Keith Pond, who is involved with many of ifs’ modules at different levels, first spoke about his research into bank lending to SMEs in Singapore (Singaporean Banks are different? Findings and analysis). This was a sequel, picking up on a seminar he had given 18 months previously, and in the tradition of many cinematic sequels it carried the same name as the first, just followed by ‘part 2’. Keith’s research formed part of a wider research project exploring the factors that influence the actual front-line lending decision to SMEs. He has previously investigated the UK, Germany and the Ukraine, and was now extending his research to Singapore. Some of his findings may sound familiar: just as elsewhere in the world the individual banker in Singapore was accustomed to seeing their lending decisions overruled by their managers, at least in terms of having a positive decision rejected. This consequently undermined their sense of autonomy. However, he also found that there was less emphasis on an SME’s financial status, as seen in their accounts (often, anyway, a weakness with this market), and more on longer term relationships. As Keith noted, these business bank lenders “know their customers’ favourite drinks”. So at least in that country, bankers are allowed to get to know customers and think about more than what the computer can process!

  Please click here to access the slides from this presentation

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  Presentation 2: The Risks and Challenges of the Recent UK Bank Nationalisations

  Presenter: Dr Sandra Einig, Senior Lecturer in Accounting, Governance and Information Management, Oxford Brookes University Business School (Speaker Bio).

  Keith was followed by Dr Sandra Einig, who spoke about the research into the risks and challenges of the recent UK bank nationalisations that she undertook as the project for her Henry Grunfeld Visiting Research Fellowship with ifs. As we all know, in 2008 the government was forced to acquire significant stakes in a number of the UK’s leading banks. Sandra’s aim was to explore the views from a number of different industry players as to how these stakes should be managed and what impact these state-influenced banks have on the market. She had found that her participants considered the nationalisation process to be the only option available when the financial crisis hit. However, most were also concerned that having these banks in the State’s hands for a long period (which now looks more likely given the share prices of the banks which are well below what the government bought them at), could lead to issues of distorted competition and issues of moral hazard. Not surprisingly, therefore, most respondents thought the banks in state ownership should be managed in a handoff manner and should be privatised as soon as practically possible in order to avoid the problems that some other countries have had in having large state owned banks. When she had initially presented her project idea 18 months previously, the interviewers had queried how long the topic would remain current; 18 months on, it’s still very much a live topic, and indeed, like Keith’s topic that preceded it, generated a lively debate.

  Please click here to access the slides from this presentation

• Non-Executive Directors in UK Banks: Their Role and Performance Implications

   

  Presented by: Iyala Stewart, Sessional Lecturer/Research Student, London South Bank University and ifs School of Finance/Henry Grunfeld Visiting Research Fellow (Speaker Bio).

  Date: Wednesday 20 April 2011

  Location: 8th Floor, Peninsular House, 36 Monument Street, London, EC3R 8LJ

  Background and Summary: The recent financial crisis has become a focal point of the corporate governance debate. In this context, commentators are questioning the role and ‘effectiveness’ of Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) and querying whether (or not) these NEDs - particularly in banks - have any influence on performance. In the U.S., the trend now is to have a majority of independent outside directors, although this is typical only of large firms with at least two-third of independents (Bhagat and Black, 2002). In the U.K., the recent Corporate Governance Code (2010) advocates that half (50%) of boards of public firms should be NEDs. Regrettably, there is limited U.K. evidence on how NEDs impact banks’ performance. Hence, the main purpose of this research workshop is to present some evidence that contributes to the debate as to whether NEDs matter in terms of U.K. banks’ performance.

• The Legal and Regulatory Challenges of Islamic Banking in the UK Market: How could the industry participate to the promotion of the legal and regulatory frameworks?

   

  Presented by: Dr Abdul Karim Aldohni, Lecturer in Law, Newcastle Law School and ifs School of Finance/Henry Grunfeld Visiting Research Fellow. (Speaker Bio)

  Date: Wednesday 02 February 2011

  Location: 8th Floor, Peninsular House, 36 Monument Street, London, EC3R 8LJ

  Background and summary: Dr Aldohni is a current holder of a Henry Grundfeld Fellowship, a scheme administered by the ifs School of Finance. He based his presentation on the research he is currently conducting under the Grundfeld scheme.

  The workshop looked at the legal environment in which Islamic finance exists in the UK and the value of creating clearer codes of practice to codify the nature of Islamic products and governance which is the key focus of his research. As part of this presentation he covered the genesis of Islamic banking in the UK, providing an overview of the legal jurisprudence that Islamic banking and finance are based on. It examined the nature of the legal risk that Islamic financial institutions are exposed to; it also explored how this risk can be mitigated and the role of the industry in this process.

  The workshop also touched on his research methods and the challenges he has faced during the development of his studies.

  Audio/video footage and any supporting documents are available to members of the ifs Academic Community here (requires log-in)

2010 research events

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• Finance Related PhD Research: Loughborough University

  Date: 13:30 - 16:00, Thursday 25 November 2010
  Presenters: - David McConville, PhD Researcher, Loughborough University (Speaker Bio)
                         - Meimei Wu, PhD Researchers, Loughborough University (Speaker Bio)
   Venue: 8th Floor, Peninsular House, 36 Monument Street, London, EC3R 8LJ.

   

  Summary: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/sbe/news/press-releases/2010/2010-12-1.html

  

• The Contribution of Financial Education to Financial Inclusion

  Presented by: Anne Kiem, Vice Principal, ifs School of Finance  (Speaker Bio)

  Date: 13:30 - 16:00, Wednesday 20 October 2010

  Location: ifs School of Finance, 8th Floor, Peninsular House, 36 Monument Street, London, EC3R 8LJ

  Background:

  Take a group of students from a large inner city FE College. Note that approximately 78% of them receive the Education Maintenance Allowance.^[1]Make them take a qualification in financial capability. Then ask them what they think of financial education and financial exclusion. What do you think might happen? The results might surprise you.

   ^[1] This is the scheme that provides financial incentives for young people from low income households to continue in education

  Workshop Summary:
   Anne welcomed colleagues to share with her the outcomes of her research on the contribution of financial education to financial inclusion.  Anne had worked with students from a larger inner city FE college where financial capability qualifications are available and, in some cases, are compulsory.  The age range of the students was 16-20.  Approximately 78% of the students received EMA (an indicator of low parental income).  Over 50% of the students were second or third generation in the UK, with English as a second language. Four different groups were interviewed, a total of 46 students, all with the same teacher.

  The session began by looking at the methodology for conducting the research.  Anne used focus groups to interview as many students as possible in a short space of time.  We were invited to imagine what difficulties there might have been in conducting this type of research.  Getting students to engage and focus had presented a challenge – and being able to accurately record all the relevant comments made was another, despite the use of recording equipment.

  All the students had taken a qualification in financial education at the college and Anne asked them what they thought the point of it was.  Their answers were very interesting: “to prepare us for independent life”, “to help poorer students” and “in response to a Government directive”. When she asked the teacher, her answers were “to access funding”, “to give students better employment prospects” and “to benefit students in their personal lives”.  The students said that if they had had any choice in taking it, few of them would have chosen to, although by the end of the course they were all glad that they had.

  Had it benefitted them?  Yes, they said it had.  They now knew what questions to ask if they went into a bank (but they agreed that they don’t trust the banks), how to choose a financial product which was appropriate for their circumstances and not “get ripped off”, and how to manage their money when they came to run their own home.

  Anne asked them if financial education should it be taught in schools rather than at home by their parents?  The students said that parents could only tell you about their own financial experiences, and only give you their own knowledge.  Being taught by a tutor in a school or college gave them a wider breadth of knowledge and opinions.  Also college was a safe environment, devoid of emotions or personal situations, unlike home where money, or lack of it, might be an emotive subject to discuss.    Many students thought their parents didn’t know enough to be able to teach their children.  Some students said that before taking the course they wouldn’t have gone in to a bank to ask for help because they wouldn’t have known where to start.

  The students came to the conclusion that financial education should be made compulsory, and that it should be available to students aged 14 as many students left school/college at 16 and would not, therefore, get the chance to acquire this knowledge which they saw as a skill for life.  Even if they did not use it all now, later, when they needed a mortgage or a loan, they would at least know how to go about it. The students also agreed that financial capability should be an examination subject, because this would encourage both tutors and students to take it more seriously.

  What did the students think financial exclusion meant?  They said: lack of knowledge and therefore lack of ability to handle their finances and to take advantage of the basic financial services which are available.  Anne asked them if they thought financial education could solve the problem of financial exclusion?  Would greater financial knowledge and better financial capability lead to a change in financial behaviour and therefore better consumer outcomes?  The students thought that although it was good to have more knowledge about financial matters, people also need to be able to use that knowledge effectively.

  Anne’s presentation was enthusiastic and informative and stimulated a great deal of discussion.  Further questions arose such as how would students who had not already studied a financial education course respond, and also students from a different background.  The suggestion was made about basic  financial education courses for adults and whether this could or should be provided.  Of course the ifs already has a course for adults.

  Audio/video footage and any supporting documents are available to members of the ifs Academic Community here (requires log-in)

• Learning the Risk Management Lessons from the Financial Crisis

  Presented by: Dr Simon Ashby, Senior Lecturer, University of Plymouth Business School.
  (Speaker Biography)

  Time/Date: 13:30 - 16:00, Tuesday 22 June 2010

  Location: ifs School of Finance, 8th Floor, Peninsular House, 36 Monument Street, London, EC3R 8LJ

  Overview: Dr Simon Ashby’s career spans both academe and the Financial Services industry, having focused, in both sectors, on Risk Management.  Following six years lecturing in Risk and Insurance at both Sheffield Hallam University and Nottingham University Business School, Simon spent two years at the FSA in the Prudential Standards Division.  Following this, he worked at Lloyds TSB, Co-operative Financial Services and Nottingham Building Society where Simon was Head of Operational Risk.  In 2009, Simon returned to the world of academia and is currently Senior Lecturer in Financial Services at the University of Plymouth.

  

  Audio/video footage and any supporting documents are available to members of the ifs Academic Community here (requires log-in)

• Researching bank lending to SMEs in Singapore: The design and methodology of a qualitative research project

  Presented by: Dr Keith Pond FCIB, Loughborough University
  (Speaker biography)

  Date: Thursday 4th February 2010

  Location: ifs School of Finance, 8th Floor, Peninsular House, 36 Monument Street, London, EC3R 8LJ

  Overview:  This two-hour workshop focused on a live example of doing academic research in financial services.  The workshop explained the design and methodological approach to an ongoing research project related to bank lending to SMEs in Singapore.  Through a mixture of presentation and participant discussion the workshop covered:

  • The key elements in the research design
  • The conceptual model and the literature search
  • Designing the data instrument
  • Fieldwork
  • Analysing the data

  Summary:  During the course of this extremely interesting two-hour seminar Keith gave an overview of doing academic research, arguing in particular the case for qualitative research and providing a warts-and-all view of some of the challenges of undertaking such research.

  He stressed amongst other matters the importance of generating the big idea and refining a researchable research question, and the role of the literature review in the process. He then turned to the qualitative research project he had undertaken with three research participants in Singapore, this project being an extension of work done to date in the UK, Germany and the Ukraine orientated at investigating the influences on bank lending decision to SMEs in respect of risk assessment.

  In discussing this, Keith took participants through the process of developing the research methodology, weighing up the respective benefits and issues of using quantitative as opposed to qualitative methods, and explained the rationale for adopting the latter. Keith gave a particularly helpful overview of the kind of difficulties faced in interviews as a data collection method – especially when the researcher is not fluent in the participants’ language! – and explained in some detail the coding process for analysing qualitative data, stressing that for small-scale projects investment in expensive analytic software was not at all necessary.

  The seminar generated considerable discussion that ranged widely over themes such as the ranking in terms of credibility of different literature sources, the issues with ethical approval and problems with transcribing. Whilst not everyone was convinced by the qualitative research argument, a number of participants commented on the value of seeing this perspective strongly defended; and in general, participants agreed that the workshop had provided a very useful set of insights into the research process helpfully illustrated by a live example.

  Audio/video footage and any supporting documents are available to members of the ifs Academic Community here (requires log-in)

2009 research events

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• Credit Crunches: Why they happen and why they may or may not lead to (Great) Depressions

  Date: 23rd June 2009
  Presenter: John Hearn, Senior Faculty, ifs School of Finance
  Venue: ifs School of Finance, 8th Floor, Peninsular House, 36 Monument Street, London, EC3R 8LJ

  Details

  If it is managed well, money is benign; if it is managed badly it is very damaging to the economy. There are two schools of thought about how monetary demand can be managed and they are directly in opposition to each other.

  The purpose of this workshop is to expose the debate, to explain why interest rates are not the way to manage monetary demand and show how every depression over the last two centuries has the same root cause and a relatively simple solution.

  John Maynard Keynes said:

  "There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction and does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose."

  With this billing and with a provocative accompanying pre-lecture blog that made John's opinions of the role of the Bank of England quite clear, it is not surprising that this lecture attracted a good turnout from both within the ifs academic community, including some of John's students, and without. Using the current crisis as a backdrop, John presented compelling arguments (always stressing that this was just one perspective) on why Keynsian economics is powerful... but wrong (and the key issue in the current financial crisis). Having briefly explained core differences in thinking between Monetarists and Keynsians, using inflation as an example, John turned to history to support his thesis. Drawing on the events of post WWI, the Great Depression/Wall Street Crash, and the current depression, but also on the Asian Crisis and the events following 9/11 as counter examples, he argued his case that credit crunches do not always entail depressions. That not everyone in the audience agreed with thesis, but that all were engaged with the theme was fully demonstrated by the lively discussion that followed the lecture.

  Members of the ifs Academic Community can access the slides from this presentation here (requires log-in)

• An introduction to doing Academic Research

  Dates:

  • 19th May 2009
  • 2nd September 2009
  • 1st December 2009

  Presenters:

  - Michael Flavin, Head of Learning and Teaching, ifs School of Finance

  - Rachel Gosling, Director of Studies, Postgraduate Programmes, ifs School of Finance

  Venue: ifs School of Finance, 8th Floor, Peninsular House, 36 Monument Street, London, EC3R 8LJ.

  Details

  Teaching and research are at the heart of academic life. However, for many practitioner academics who are confident and competent teachers, the research side is a foreign land, with processes and modes of writing that are quite different from what is required in business.

  In 'An Introduction to doing Academic Research' we will give an overview of approaches to research and writing for our financial services practitioners. Whether you are interested in undertaking small-scale research projects yourself or simply want to develop an understanding of how the research process works, this workshop will provide a valuable introduction to research methods and the writing of academic papers.

  Members of the ifs Academic Community can access the slides/handouts from this presentation here (requires log-in)

• Plagiarism: The Pandemic in 21st Century Higher Education?

  Date: 14th October 2009
  Presenter: Lynn Shaw, ifs School of Finance
  Venue: ifs School of Finance, 8th Floor, Peninsular House, 36 Monument Street, London, EC3R 8LJ

  Details

  “Plagiarism: The Pandemic in 21st Century Higher Education?” was the question posed to the delegates who attended the afternoon workshop at Peninsular House on Wednesday 14 October 2009.

  Participants, comprised of the ifs School of Finance Academic Community, tutors and staff, were initially invited to think about what is really meant by the words “pandemic” and “plagiarism”, thus providing a good foundation for reflection during the afternoon.  Group work followed, focusing on the many factors which may cause students to plagiarise, with attendees exploring a variety of possible plagiarism scenarios.  A Turnitin UK report illustrating a completely anonymous yet “real life” example of a student’s coursework assignment was also presented to workshop delegates, prompting considerable discussion within groups as to whether plagiarism and malpractice had indeed occurred.

  The afternoon concluded by looking at evidence from global press sources which further guided participants in ultimately answering the key question of whether plagiarism is truly the pandemic in 21st century Higher Education.

  The workshop provided a great insight into the “hot” topic of plagiarism in the Higher Education sector and encouraged lively debate among participants.  Feedback from the session was positive, with delegates finding the content very useful, while enjoying the mix of interactive group work and presentation.

  Testimonials:

  "Lynn’s presentation style was engaging and inclusive".  Nicola Scull, Head of e-Services, ifs School of Finance

  "A well thought-out, well-paced session".  Des Laffey, University of Kent

  Members of the ifs Academic Community can access audio/video footage of this presentation here (requires log-in)

• The Role of Price Comparison Services in 21st Century Financial Services

  Date: 20th February 2009
  Presenters:

  - Dr Anthony Gandy, ifs School of Finance

  - Des Laffey, University of Kent.
  Venue: ifs School of Finance, 8th Floor, Peninsular House, 36 Monument Street, London, EC3R 8LJ

  Details

  Around twenty members of our academic community attended the first research workshop of 2009.

  This workshop explored the changing nature of Internet delivery of financial services. It looked at how people can now use a new generation of web-based service providers to gather information on the financial products they require and to use this information to make and execute purchasing decisions. The workshop centred on a research programme being conducted by ifs academic staff and academic staff from the University of Kent evaluating the nature and impact of the web-based price comparison service.

  The workshop followed a number of themes covering the subject matter of the research (comparison price services and their impact on the distribution of financial services), the nature of the research process undertaken and the beneficial impact of the research on course content and teaching.

  Key themes covered were:

  • The research
    • The nature and impact of traditional Internet banking services
    • The entrepreneurial framework in which early Internet banking services were developed
    • The failure of first generation Internet banking to establish a sustainable independent model and the dominance of Internet banking by established large banking groups
    • The nature of Web 2.0/collaborative Internet models
    • The rise of the Price Comparison and Aggregation model
    • The impact of this market on key markets (such as car insurance)
  • The research process
    • Getting started on the research
    • Research undertaken with price comparison providers
    • Nature of the sampling
    • Future research targets
    • Application for Research Council funding
  • Linking research to teaching at the
    • University of Kent
    • ifs School of Finance

  The two presentations prompted considerable discussion around both the more unusual (to this community) online communities in the new world of Web 2.0 through to debate around the kinds of manipulative behaviour exhibited by both providers and users of price comparison web-sites.

  Members of the ifs Academic Community can access slides from this presentation here (requires log-in)

2008 research events

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• Strategies for Delivering Global Education

  Date: 27th June 2008
  Presenters:
  - Rosie Gosling, Director, LSE External Studies
  - Professor Jonathan Kydd, Dean, of the University of London External System
  - Morten Flate Paulsen, Professor of Online Education, Director of Development, NKI Distance Education (Norway).
  Venue: New Broad Street House, London, EC2M 1NH.

  Aims of the Session

  To explore alternative institutional strategies for the integration of research and new knowledge into the design and delivery of educational programmes and the implications for academic staff.

   

  Details

  Participants will have presentations from academic leaders in the field of large-scale distance and e-learning. Professor Morten Paulsen was involved in delivering one of the first online programmes at the Norway Knowledge Institute (NKI) in 1986. More recently he has been heading a project researching European global mega providers, which has identified key factors of their success. Professor Jonathan Kydd, recently appointed the Dean of the University of London External System, will outline the strategic direction of the External System, drawing on the key strengths and challenges of the System, which is celebrating 150 successful years of delivery to international markets.

  Members of the ifs Academic Community can access the slides and other resources from this presentation here (requires log-in)

• Advanced Scholarship

  Date: 6th March 2008
  Presenters:
  - Professor Roger Brown, Southampton Solent University
  - Professor Stephen Rowland, Univerisity College London.
  Venue: City Conference Centre, Coleman Street, London, EC2R 5BJ

  Aims of the Session

  To explore alternative institutional strategies for the integration of research and new knowledge into the design and delivery of educational programmes and the implications for academic staff.

  Details

  Advanced scholarship has been defined as 'the creation of new knowledge, or the critical reinterpretation and transfer of existing knowledge'. The approach proposes an alternative way in which non-traditional higher education providers can integrate research and new knowledge into their educational programmes. This workshop will explore the implications of the advanced scholarship approach for the ifs School of Finance academic community.

  Members of the ifs Academic Community can access the slides and other resources from this presentation here (requires log-in)

   

   

2007 research events

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• e-Assessment

  Date: 2nd November 2007
  Presenters:
  - Dr Bill Warburton, University of Southampton
  - Dr Denise Whitelock, The Open University.
  Venue: Canterbury Cathedral Lodge, Canterbury, Kent

  Agenda

   

  Plenary presentation 1: Electronic assesment: Moving forward with formative feedback'

  Plenary presentation 2: Assessing Higher Learning Outcomes Online

  Parallel sessions in groups to cover: 

  • Issues in electronic assessment delivery;
  • The pedagogy of e-assessment: does the assessment fit the learning outcomes at particular levels of study? Can we test analysis as well as knowledge?

  Members of the ifs Academic Community can access the slides and other resources from this presentation here (requires log-in)

• Facilitating Online Learning Communities

  Date: 31st July 2007
  Presenters:
  - David McConnell, Lancaster University
  - David Shepherd, Director, All Things in Moderation.
  Venue: St Martin's Priory, North Holmes Road, Canterbury, Kent.

  Members of the ifs Academic Community can access the slides and other resources from this presentation here (requires log-in)

• Student Retention

  Date: 26th April 2007
  Presenters:
  - Jane Fawkes and Bill McNeill, The College of Estate Management
  - Prof Mary Thorpe, The Open University
  Venue: Canterbury Cathedral International Study Centre, Canterbury, Kent

  Agenda

  Plenary presentation 1: The use of time in e-learning

  Plenary presentation 2: Student retention: Report on the survey of student non-completion

  Parallel sessions in groups to cover: 

  • Motivation and time planning for distance learning and part-time students;
  • Student retention: Managing the student value chain

  Members of the ifs Academic Community can access the slides and other resources from this presentation here (requires log-in)