Contemporary Issues in Financial Institutions and Markets

This book brings together academic work on contemporary issues in financial institutions and markets. The general theme is designed to allow for a wide range of topics, covering the diverse nature of academic enquiry in banking and finance. The contributions thus address a broad spectrum of contemporary issues including bank diversification and securitization activities; bank regulatory reforms and competition; the performance of mutual funds and alternative asset classes; role of liquidity in price discovery for credit derivatives; and the existence of the compass rose pattern within option contracts market.

1. Introduction: Contemporary issues in financial institutions and markets John O.S. Wilson, David G. McMillan and Barbara Casu 2. Does securitization reduce credit risk taking? Empirical evidence from US bank holding companies Barbara Casu, Andrew Clare, Anna Sarkisyan and Stephen Thomas 3. Bancassurance efficiency gains: evidence from the Italian banking and insurance industries Franco Fiordelisi and Ornella Ricci 4. Financial deepening and bank productivity in Latin America Georgios E. Chortareas, Jesús G. Garza-García and Claudia Girardone 5. Islamic mutual funds' financial performance and international investment style: evidence from 20 countries Andreas G.F. Hoepner, Hussain G. Rammal and Michael Rezec 6. The effect of liquidity on the price discovery process in credit derivatives markets in times of financial distress Sergio Mayordomo, Juan Ignacio Peña and Juan Romo 7. Return reversals and the compass rose: insights from high frequency options data Thanos Verousis and Owain ap Gwilym