In this paper we propose a framework to assess the efficiency of bank branch networks operating in different financial environments. The framework can be used to disentangle within- from between-country performance differences. The framework is constructive in that it identifies operational...

This paper develops a general framework for combining strategic benchmarking with efficiency benchmarking of the services offered by bank branches. In particular, the service-profit chain is cast as a cascade of efficiency benchmarking models. Three models-based on Data Envelopment Analysis...

Endowments with a minimum guaranteed rate of return appear in insurance policies, pension plans and social security plans. In several cases, especially in the insurance industry, such endowments also participate in the business and receive bonuses from the firm's asset portfolio. In this paper...

We present a multi-stage stochastic programming model for managing portfolios of stock and bond indices denominated in multiple currencies. The portfolios are exposed to market risks and currency risks. Uncertainty in asset returns and exchange rates is represented by means of discrete...

We examine the stability of a portfolio management model based on the conditional value-at-risk (CVaR) measure; the model controls risk exposure of international investment portfolios. We use a moment-matching method to generate discrete distributions (scenario sets) of asset returns and exchange...

The preoccupation with economic growth has not led to increase in happiness in the developed world. More than that, the world experienced the worst financial crisis of 2008 since the Great Depression. We draw on Sen's work Development as Freedom and research on economics of happiness to explore...

Risk management has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past fifteen years, with most new methods having been designed for the concerns of large institutions operating in well-developed financial markets. This paper addresses a problem faced by smaller institutions operating in...

The Cyprus crisis is one of the most complex in the Eurozone -although in absolute terms it is a minor crisis. An analysis of the ongoing developments from different perspectives leads to the conclusion that we are witnessing a perfect storm of a financial crisis at the confluence of sovereign...