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The development of financial technology has promoted the innovation and digital transformation of commercial banks. Through digital transformation, commercial banks can improve bank efficiency and operational capabilities. Through empirical analysis, this study explored the relationship between digital bank transformation and commercial bank operating capabilities and how COVID-19, bank categories, and enterprise life cycles affect the relationship between digital bank transformation and commercial bank operating capabilities. This study selected data from China's commercial banks from 2011 to 2021 and used the regression method of fixed effects to conduct an empirical analysis. The research results show that the digital transformation of banks has improved the operational capabilities of commercial banks. Further analysis showed that the emergence of COVID-19 has negatively affected their relationship. At the same time, compared with rural commercial banks and commercial banks in the recession and phase-out periods, non-rural commercial banks and commercial banks in the growth and maturity stages play a more vital moderating role in the impact of the digital transformation of banks on the financial performance of commercial banks. The main research object of this study is Chinese commercial banks, and this study examines the results of banks' digital transformation and enriches the research on digital transformation. At the same time, this study is helpful to investors who like investment banks and has good practical significance.
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Using IMF's World Economic Outlook (WEO) data for the macroeconomic variables, this study comparatively examines the sovereign debt crises in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It identifies different macroeconomic factors related to the sovereign debt crisis, investigates their interrelations, and explores if their debt crises are similar. It shows that the general revenue to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratios of Sri Lanka degraded to converge with the upgrading status of Bangladesh during the Covid-19 period. Since 2010, Sri Lanka has maintained a well-off economic status with per capita GDP, while Bangladesh has a long way to go yet. The general expenses to GDP ratio of Sri Lanka shows stresses on its GDP, while that of Bangladesh is more relaxed. Sri Lanka has overstressed debt to GDP ratio along with Balance of Payments (BOP) deficits, while Bangladesh has continued traces of managed debt to GDP ratio along with BOP surpluses. Bangladesh has taken enough precautions in their sovereign debt management, compared to Sri Lanka. Even in 2020, Bangladesh maintained progressive investment track over the threshold limit of 30%, while Sri Lanka fell into a debt trap. Following the pandemic, Bangladesh has enjoyed a gross national savings to GDP ratio of above the threshold of 25%, while Sri Lanka is going through a critical phase. It shows governance myopia of Bangladesh regarding its imbalanced current account positions, while governance myopia of Sri Lanka exists with reference to its imbalanced current account positions, adverse gross debts, and government borrowing as well.
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Digital nomads live a new way of life that creates an ideal balance of work and leisure. Research on the phenomenon of digital nomads is still in its early stages and is not fully framed as a proper research category. Therefore, the present research aims to explore research on digital nomadism by study leading countries, authors and themes that can become a foundation for future research. This study is exploratory and interpretive - using bibliometrics, we systematically searched all articles indexed in the Web of Science database. The study presents the evolution of scholarly production, and identifies key authors and countries that have the potential to become pioneers in digital nomad research. We identified 17 core concepts of digital nomad research as well as concepts that have not yet received much attention from scientists. Additionally, our study provides a framework for research on digital nomadism and presents topics for future research: we determine how the 17 core concepts identified in this study affect the lives of digital nomads, research into legislation that directly affects digital nomads, study how COVID-19 has changed working styles, and offer a bibliometric analysis of data on digital nomads from other databases.
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PurposeThis study aims to investigate the relationships between loan growth, loan losses and net income after the 2008 global financial crisis. This study further conducts a comparative analysis by considering the period of COVID-19. Design/methodology/approachThis study uses panel data models such as one-step system GMM, random effects, fixed effects and OLS, with a data set of 131 Chinese commercial banks from 2009 to 2020. FindingsThe study finds no significant relationship between loan growth and future loan losses. However, after adjusting loan loss by net interest income (NII-adjusted loan loss), the study reveals that loan growth in the subsequent year decreases if NII-adjusted loan loss increases. The study also demonstrates the positive effect of loan growth on net income as newly expanded loans are funded at similar costs but offered at a lower rate compared with existing loans. During COVID-19, loan growth and net income were higher than in previous years. Originality/valueThe findings suggest that Chinese banks can increase lending to support the economy without sacrificing loan quality, emphasizing the importance of maintaining and enhancing credit policies and practices. Chinese banks should also continue to refine their pricing strategies for loans and deposits. The findings also imply that China's policy responses to the impact of COVID-19 could serve as lessons for future policy decisions.
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In developing countries like Pakistan, mostly the public sector departments give not as much of focus on the performance / capacity building as well as the satisfaction of the employees, the research was conducted to know the influence of the factors perceived on the performance of public sector employees by increasing satisfaction and for this purpose the Civil Defence Department was selected. The study was conducted on the mixed method approach in which both qualitative and quantitative methodologies were adopted to know the responses of the employees of the Civil Defence Department regarding research objectives. Questionnaires, both in open ended and close ended format were distributed among 100 employees of the Civil Defence Department as per the availability of the skeleton staff during COVID-19. The hypotheses were equipped to recognize the significance relationship of variables as well as statistical analysis was applied through SPSS to examine the acceptance or rejection of the hypothesis. Hence, the result instigated that factors perceived in this study have significance influenced on the performance and satisfaction of the public sector employees.
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To establish a method for simultaneous detection of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) and porcine circovirus type 3 (PCV3), specific primers and TaqMan probes were designed after sequence alignment according to the specific sequences of PCV2 Cap gene and PCV3 Cap gene on GenBank. By optimizing the reaction conditions, a duplex fluorescence quantitative PCR detection method for simultaneous detection of porcine circovirus type 2 and 3 was established, and the specificity, sensitivity, and reproducibility were tested. Specificity test results showed that in addition to the positive test results for PCV2 and PCV3, tests for PRRSV, CSFV, PPV, PRV, PEDV, and TGEV were all negative with no cross-reaction, indicating its good specificity. Sensitivity test results showed that the minimum detection limit for detection of PCV2 and PCV3 can both reach 10 copies.L-1, indicating its high sensitivity. The coefficient of variation within and between groups of this method was less than 2%, indicating its good stability. A total of 181 pork and whole blood samples collected from Zhejiang Province were tested using the detection method established in this article and the standard common fluorescent PCR detection method. The results showed that the positive rate of PCV2 was 50.83% (92/181), the positive rate of PCV3 was 37.57% (68/181), and the co-infection rate of PCV2 and PCV3 was 12.15% (22/181). The above detection results of ordinary fluorescent PCR were 50.28% (91/181), 36.46% (66/181), and the co-infection rate was 11.60% (21/181). The coincidence rates of the two methods for PCV2 and PCV3 can reach 98.91% and 97.06%, and the coincidence rate for PCV2 and PCV3 mixed infection were 95.45%. In summary, the duplex fluorescence quantitative PCR detection method established in this experiment can distinguish PCV2 and PCV3 rapidly, which can be used for pathogen detection and epidemiological investigation.
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Bitcoin has become quite known after the 2008 economic crisis and the COVID-19 health crisis. For some, these cryptocurrencies constitute rebellion against the existing system as governments encourage uncontrolled expansions in the money supply;for some others, it is a quick source of income. Undeniably, the volume of the crypto money market has grown considerably in recent years, regardless of the reasoning of the people who invest and trade in this field. At this point, one of the most important questions to be investigated is "what variables have caused the tremendous growth in the crypto money quantities in recent years?" This study tests the assumption that changes in cryptocurrencies are affected by changes in national currencies. Thus, the Bitcoin price is the dependent variable, and M1 monetary supply changes in the USA, European Union and Japanese economies are considered independent variables. The variables in this study were tested using the time-varying Granger causality method. The results obtained from this study confirm the philosophy of Bitcoin's emergence and the possibility that it can be a hedge against the inflationary effects of money, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The main purpose of this research is to analyze the using of bank loans provided by the banking sector in accommodation companies traded in Borsa Istanbul in terms of type, maturity and cost. The study also examined the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the accommodation companies' use of bank loans. In this context, the level of bank loan usage, the type of bank loans, interest rates, maturity and their distribution in currency between the years 2009 and 2021 were tried to be determined by ratio and document analysis. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that 10,84% of the assets in accommodation companies are financed by bank loans, the use of bank loans in total liabilities is 19.92% and short-term bank loans are preferred. It was also detected that accommodation companies mainly benefit from business loans, daily spot loans, revolving loans, current account loans, foreign exchange earning loans, vehicle loans and investment loans in Turkish Lira, Dollar, Euro and Sterling with interest rates varying every year. However, compared to the pre-Covid-19 outbreak period, it was observed that the level of bank loans used by accommodation companies first decreased, but then increased again.
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Federally funded Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) aims to improve nutrition equity through hunger relief setting. However, little is known about TEFAP disbursement method (choice, modified choice, and no choice) to pantries or the quality received by pantries. Food inventory data from 239 pantries in 2020 were used to assess the association between TEFAP quality and type of disbursement methods longitudinally. While no significant differences were observed in quality across disbursement types and months. Our study suggests there are tradeoffs across different methods. TEFAP for the most part is a healthy food source that should be maximized by food pantries.Copyright © 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
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The world has been affected badly by Covid-19 in 2020. Taiwan, fortunately, has not been that badly affected by the virus. However, there are questions surrounding how the pandemic has impacted Taiwanese food banks so far and whether Taiwanese food banks have experienced any crisis caused by the pandemic or gained momentum owing to the relatively safer circumstances. Based on practices, interviews, and questionnaires, this research aims to answer them. The results show most food banks were more or less impacted by the coronavirus between February and early May. The majority of food banks reported an increase in the recipients of their help and did not report a shortage of volunteers. In 2020, more food banks have been established and many existing food banks have expanded their services. Food Banking is gaining popularity and recognition in Taiwan. © 2023 Author(s).
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Donated human milk is the best substitute for breast milk in the case when the mother cannot feed her baby. Human milk banks provide safe and high quality donated human milk. That was the reason why the Human Milk Bank was established in the Croatian Tissue and Cell Bank at the Zagreb University Hospital Centre in January 2020. The Bank works in accordance with the Law on the Application of Human Tissues and Cells. In this paper, we present the results of the Bank work since from its opening until June 2020. Due to logistic reasons caused by the COVID-19 epidemic and the earthquake in Zagreb, the Human Milk Bank did not collect milk for 43 days. Milk was donated by 31 mothers. Their median age was 31 years and 81% of them had high education level. In 52% of cases, mothers started donating milk three months after giving birth. Most donors donated milk only once (45%). The median period of donation was 46 days. The majority (52%) of donors gave birth for the first time, in the expected term of childbirth (94%), birth weight was >2500 g. Only three of donors' children (9%) were in intensive care. A total of 175.5 L of milk were collected (mean 5.7 L per donor), of which 151.5 L met the requirements of input quality control, and 141 L were pasteurized. A critical number of viable aerobic and facultative bacteria were identified in 32.6% of milk pools prepared for pasteurization, and 8.9% after pasteurization. For clinical use, 78.7 L were dispensed in three neonatal intensive care units. The Human Milk Bank has already shown the importance of its activities during the first months of operation. In order to be able to meet the needs for donated human milk at the national level, it is necessary to constantly inform mothers about the importance of human milk and to promote its donation.Copyright © 2020 Croatian Paediatric Society. All rights reserved.
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Two major economic crises in the early twenty-first century have had a serious impact on monetary policy and CB independence. Disruption in financial intermediation and associated deflationary pressures caused by the global financial crisis of 2007–2009 and European financial crisis of 2010–2015 pushed central banks (CBs) in major currency areas towards adoption of unconventional monetary policy measures, including large-scale purchase of government bonds (quantitative easing). The same approach has been taken by CBs in response to the COVID-19 crisis in 2020 even if the characteristics of this crisis differ from the previous one. As a result of both crises, CBs have become major holders of government bonds and de facto – main creditors of governments. Against rapidly deteriorating fiscal balances, CBs have become hostages of fiscal policies, which compromises their independence. Risks to the CB independence also come from their additional mandates (beyond price stability) and populist political pressures.
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The present study aimed to investigate the impact of the Corona pandemic on the performance of Islamic banks in Jordan. The researcher adopted a descriptive analytical approach. This study is a case study on the financial indicators of the Jordan Islamic Bank for the years 2017-2021. As the years 2020-2021 are which the Corona pandemic affected Islamic banks, so these years were chosen in addition to the years 2017-2019 to get a clear idea of the difference between the two periods. The study found that financial indicators and values contained in the Balance Sheet were not significantly affected during the Corona pandemic. The study reported that Net Change In Cash & Cash Equivalents decreased during the year 2020. The study concludes that Islamic banks were not significantly affected during the Corona pandemic, especially as they follow financing formulas that differ from commercial banks. The results of this study have an important implication for the decision makers in Islamic banks, contributing to their guidance about the impact of global crises on the performance of Islamic banks in general. The study recommends conducting more studies on the impact of the Corona pandemic on the performance of Islamic banks. © 2023, Success Culture Press. All rights reserved.
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In response to the Covid‐19 crisis, the European Central Bank (ECB) has relaunched a massive asset purchase programme within its combined‐arms monetary strategy. This paper surveys and discusses the theory and the evidence of the central bank's unconventional monetary tools for the euro area. It analyses the role of the asset purchase programmes in the ECB's toolkit and the associated risks, focusing specifically on the gradual unwinding of these unconventional initiatives. Finally, the paper offers some insight into the possible evolution of the ECB's monetary policy.
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PurposeThis study aims to examine the joint impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the government response on the performance of Islamic and conventional banks. Design/methodology/approachData were collected from a sample of 94 conventional and 14 Islamic banks in Indonesia from March 2020 to September 2021. The system generalized methods of moments estimation is used to analyze the data. FindingsThis study finds robust results regarding the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the positive effects of government responses to COVID-19 pandemic on bank performance in Indonesian banking. Moreover, in line with the rise in confirmed COVID-19 cases, a higher government policy responses index improves bank performance, both in conventional and Islamic banks. Practical implicationsThis paper highlights the importance of the government policy responses index to absorb the negative impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on banking performance. Originality/valueThis paper provides novel insights into the joint impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and government responses to COVID-19 pandemic on bank performance between conventional and Islamic banks.
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PurposeThis paper aims to assess the impact of credit risk on the market values of private banks during the corona pandemic. Design/methodology/approachThis study is identifying critical issues of credit risk at six great private banks. A conceptual framework is designed based on the Tobin Q model for investigating study hypotheses. Quantitative financial analysis methods have been used for processing data, such as financial ratios, arithmetic mean and multiple linear regression. FindingsThe most important result of this study is the lack of influence of credit risk on the market value of selected banks. Because the dimensions of credit risk have critical importance in increasing or decreasing the market value, these banks must continue to adopt quantitative financial analysis to measure credit risks to avoid their risk. Originality/valueThis study elaborates the need for financial indicators to help assess the market value of banks during the economic crises caused by the closure of commercial institutions during the corona pandemic. There is continued increase in bank credit to support these institutions, borrowers and cash withdrawals, which may affect their market reputation.
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This study explores the mediating role of e-satisfaction during the pandemic on the relationship between e-service quality and e-loyalty of banking customers in Pakistan. The data were collected from 442 customers of online banking services in Pakistan during the Covid-19 pandemic, following a survey-based study. Baron and Kenny (J Personal Soc Psychol, 51(6):1173, 1986) and Preacher and Hayes (Behav Res Methods, 40(3):879-891, 2008) mediation technique which utilizes the bootstrapping method has been used to explore mediation. The findings show that e-service quality has a significant positive effect on the e-loyalty of the customers of online banking services. Relationships between e-service quality and e-loyalty of online banking customers in Pakistan are significantly and fully mediated by their online satisfaction in unusual situations. This study would help the bankers to implement more effective marketing strategies to retain their customers and attract potential customers, particularly during non-normal situations like the Covid-19 pandemic. It will help them identify the areas of e-services that need improvement to enhance the satisfaction and loyalty of the customers. The bootstrap method for mediation along with Baron and Kenny (J Personal Soc Psychol, 51(6):1173, 1986) leads to using a more sophisticated methodological technique to explore the mediation. The Oliver Expectancy-Disconfirmation Paradigm (EDP) in electronic banking setup during non-normal situations like the Covid-19 pandemic also served as a unique contribution to this study. Application of Baron and Kenny (J Personal Soc Psychol, 51(6):1173, 1986) mediation along with Preacher and Hayes (Behav Res Methods, 40(3):879-891, 2008) leads to more robust findings for the study in non-normal situations like the Covid-19 pandemic. The study findings add scientific value as they are applicable to the banking sector in particular in non-normal situations like the Covid-19 pandemic and the overall service sector in general. Further, as two different methods of mediation have been employed and this makes the study more rigorous and scientific.
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During the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a rapid shift in global transaction patterns from offline to online digital payment models, along with a growing interest in the development of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) in various countries. This article spotlights the unexamined issue of digital currency regulation by examining the practice and related regulatory rules of the pilot CBDC in China. Beginning with the global design choices of digital currencies, the article comparatively examines the technical design of China's CBDC, known as e-CNY. It further triggers a rethinking of conventional regulations for the protection of digital currency information by investigating the gap between the actual operation and design of e-CNY, as well as the gap between pilot policies and legal provisions such as the Cybersecurity Law, the Data Security Law, and the Personal Information Protection Law. This article argues that, on the one hand, the legislative balance between the protection of personal information and the regulation of illicit financial activities involved in the "loosely coupled account link” system of e-CNY should be reconsidered. On the other hand, the delineation of rights and responsibilities between dissemination institutions, payment service providers, and end-users needs to be further redefined and clarified.
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Background: Cancer is a leading cause of death for people worldwide, in addition to the rise in mortality rates attributed to the Covid epidemic. This allows scientists to do additional research. Here, we have selected Integerrimide A, cordy heptapeptide, and Oligotetrapeptide as the three cyclic proteins that will be further studied and investigated in this context.Methods: Docking research was carried out using the protein complexes 1FKB and 1YET, downloaded from the PDB database and used in the docking investigations. Cyclopeptides have been reported to bind molecularly to human HSP90 (Heat shock protein) and FK506. It was possible to locate HSP90 in Protein Data Banks 1YET and 1FKB. HSP90 was retrieved from Protein Data Bank 1YET and 1FKB. Based on these findings, it is possible that the anticancer effects of Int A, Cordy, and Oligo substances could be due to their ability to inhibit the mTOR rapamycin binding domain and the HSP90 Geldanamycin binding domain via the mTOR and mTOR chaperone pathways. During the calculation, there were three stages: system development, energy reduction, and molecular dynamics (also known as molecular dynamics). Each of the three compounds demonstrated a binding affinity for mTOR's Rapamycin binding site that ranged from -6.80 to -9.20 Kcal/mol (FKB12).Results: An inhibition constant Ki of 181.05 nM characterized Cordy A with the highest binding affinity (-9.20 Kcal/mol). Among the three tested compounds, Cordy A was selected for MD simulation. HCT116 and B16F10 cell lines were used to test each compound's anticancer efficacy. Doxorubicin was used as a standard drug. The cytotoxic activity of substances Int A, Cordy A, and Oligo on HCT116 cell lines was found to be 77.65 μM, 145.36 μM, and 175.54 μM when compared to Doxorubicin 48.63 μM, similarly utilizing B16F10 cell lines was found to be 68.63 μM, 127.63 μM, and 139.11 μM to Doxorubicin 45.25 μM.Conclusion: Compound Cordy A was more effective than any other cyclic peptides tested in this investigation.
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The paper investigates whether credit default swaps (CDSs) spread of Indian banks is a leading indicator for bank default risk. The paper uses Merton-type models to estimate theoretical CDS spread of the sample of Indian banks and then compares it to their balance sheet ratios. Though theoretically, higher CDS spreads indicate higher default risk, the paper finds that in times of shocks, like the present COVID-19 crisis, it becomes difficult to isolate the spread movements due to true default risk versus those based on panic and speculation. The paper then correlates equity premiums and CDS premiums and finds negative correlation. The equity market returns lead the CDS market returns in capturing default risk. As default risk is priced better in equity markets, it is preferable for institutional investors to trade default risk of Indian banks in the stock markets rather than the CDS markets.