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Ivan Marinov
BANKING CONSUMER CREDIT –
A COMPONENT OF THE “RETAIL BANKING” BUSINESS SEGMENT
Summary:
The topic of bank financing of consumption is widely discussed in the studies of a number of researchers in the field of banking. The loans by which banking companies meet the personal needs of individuals and households have long been an integral part of people's lives and have had a significant role in the economies of most countries around the world.
This paper aims to clarify the essential characteristics and specificities of banking consumer credit in Bulgaria. To implement the goal set by the author, the texts of the legal framework on consumer lending in the country are considered, and also the positions of Bulgarian and foreign authors on the definition of the term “consumer credit” and practically applied manifesta-tions of individual types of loans for current purposes, offered by commercial banks in Bulgaria.
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Meriem Chafik, Mohammed Nabil El Mabrouki
OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF CROSS-BORDER BANKING: FOCUS ON PAN-AFRICAN BANKS
Summary:
There has been a remarkable increase of the regional banking operations across the African continent over the past two decades. This resulted from macroeconomic improvements and economic growth. As a result, African banks increased their geographical operations to emerge as regional groups holding a considerable market share compared to their historically predominant competitors. However, the literature on the pan-African banking industry to understand better this phenomenon is still scarce, which limits having a bigger and inclusive picture of all the key elements influencing this noteworthy growth. This research paper articulates a review based on previous academic research works, and highlights the most important opportunities that regional banks seized, as well as the challenges they faced in order to lead their cross-border banking operations successfully across the region.
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Rumen Vyrbanov, Krasimir Shishmanov
NEW GENERATION SYSTEMS FOR ELECTRONIC BUSINESS
AND ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS
Summary:
The concept of new generation electronic business (e-Busi¬ness 2.0, Social Business) refers to companies which integrate social technologies and instruments in all business processes, i.e. internal as well as external ( clients, suppliers, business partners), and in this way overcome many of the traditional organisational barriers which slow down the exchange of information and collaboration.
The first part of the article studies the basic characteristics of the new generation of electronic business systems which were formed under the influ-ence of Web 2.0, social media, mobile technologies and cloud calculations. The article also tries to outline the changes in the three main spheres of elec-tronic business: the use of Web 2.0 technologies for managing internal corporate communication, the design and development of new products and knowledge management (the Internet environment), corporate communication and interaction with external partners and clients (Extranet environment, B2M model) and electronic trade (online stores, B2C model).
The second part of the article analyses the possibilities and advantages provided by modern technologies for developing electronic payments, i.e. the use of debit and credit cards, contactless payments, mobile banking and bitcoins.
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Georgi Angelov
A LIQUIDITY ASSESSMENT
OF THE BULGARIAN BANKING SYSTEM (2009–2013)
Summary:
Liquidity is of great significance for the stability of credit institutions and the banking system as a whole. In normal circumstances, the capital adequacy of banks is determined as a key factor for stability. But, during economic crisis, the susceptibility of credit institutions to a shortage of available cash resources in order to cover depositors’ withdrawals is intensified. This directs our attention toward effective liquidity management. Financial cataclysms on a global scale caused by the crisis in the USA during 2007, and the speedy “infection” of the economies of the developed countries showed that gaps in the management of financial institutions can lead to considerable losses on a world-wide scale.
The aim of this study is to assess the liquidity situation of the Bulgarian banking system based on generally accessible (public) information by applying ratio analysis tools. Through the use of key indicators of liquidity assessment, the trends in its development for 2007-2013 are presented. A general assessment of the liquidity situation for banks in Bulgaria is outlined.
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Bozhidar Bozhinov
Prospects for Early Prognosis of Crisis Situations in the Banking Sector
Summary:
The first global financial and economic crisis of the present century has once again reminded the economists of the vulnerability of the banking system as far as outside shocks are concerned. Problems in the banking sector can be measured in expenses worth billions of Euros in order to support and stabilize most affected countries. In this respect the present article aims at analyzing the options for predicting banking difficulties and problems by means of models focusing on those based on the signal approach. On the basis of a conducted research an attempt has been made to create a mechanism for improvement of the signal-based models for forecasting crisis situations in the banking sector.
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Orlin Yapryakov
RESTRUCTURING AND CONSOLIDATION OF BULGARIAN BANKS – SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND ASSESSMENT
Summary:
In a contemporary market structure, the establishment of a successful and efficient banking system is an issue of high priority. One of the most important factors is maintaining stability in the banking business especially when the country belongs to economic unions comprising certain countries; therefore, destabilization in the national sector might erode the European one. The period of joining the EU has a positive impact on the Bulgarian banking sector, which leads to significant intensity in the restructuring and consolidation of banks in the country during the period 2006–2020. On the basis of this, the banking systems in the country decrease from twenty-nine banks in 2007 to twenty-four in 2020. The undertaken solutions favor the trend in the banking system, which throughout the last years has been sustainable and competitive.