Report on Aspects of the Contemporary Banking Sector - Risk and Essay

Report on Aspects of the Contemporary Banking Sector - Risk and Profitability Analysis - Essay Example According to the Sunday Times, HSBC’s commitment to sustainability has been recognized thus listed in the Best Green Companies List (2010). RBS is a retail banking institution under the RGS Group; it provides banking services including loans, deposits accounts and insurance. It is the largest bank in UK and the fourth largest bank globally. RBS is listed as the second best for customer satisfaction among the major high street banks. Barclays bank is another major bank having the largest network of ATMs in the region. It is the first UK bank to give local business customers access to online banking services to check their supplier credit ratings as well as the first bank to announce mass crush of contactless- enabled debit cards in the UK banking sector. The retail banking sector of Barclays offers loans, deposits accounts, insurance as well as Forex trading services for its customers. Lloyds TSB, a major banking network in the UK is a merger between Lloyds Bank and TSB thus fo rming one of the largest domestic banking forces in UK. The bank has over 3000 branches globally and are authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Lloyds TSB retail banking services include credit cards, deposit accounts, credit cards, and loans. b. By using at least 4-5 years of financial data, identify, calculate and interpret key profitability and risk ratios. Perform the analysis for each individual bank and then compare their performances and explain which bank has been the most effective in effectively managing profitability and exposure to risk. Modern banks focus on two important areas of revenue generation; loan provision to customers for an interest rate and providing other services including money transfer or exchange rates for a certain commission and other non-interest incomes and fees. This paper analyses the shareholder’s economic value creation using the four major banks; Barclays plc, HSBC, Lloyds TSB and RBS within a 5 year period. In ord er to analyze the business practices and activities of the banks and how they influence shareholder’s stock market value, we use both the external and internal information including the auditor’s annual financial reports, stock market data, and designed control variables. By applying the traditional accounting; ROA and ROE together with the innovative EVA methods to measure each bank’s prospective performance, and regress it against the stock market returns and other control values, one can be able to understand their explanatory power more so with regards to individual shareholder’s economic value. The results obtained were both traditional and innovative accounting methods and they explain the variations of the stock returns for the four British banks. Over the half year decade, there are signs of revenue reduction in the major banking industries. Lloyds TSB trades at a 4 per cent premium over the book value whereas RBS and Barclays trade at a discount to the book value of 32 per cent and 54 per cent, respectively. HSBC is the only UK rival trading at a premium to the book value. However, HSBC is physically diversified, and generates majority of its income outside Europe, more so in Asia. Since many American and European banks have their balance sheets significantly overstuffed with intangible goodwill and assets, tangible book value is of more relevance for comparing against the individual banks' market capitalizations. During the last half of 2008, market turmoil

Computer supported collaborative learning Literature review

Computer supported collaborative learning - Literature review Example The emergence of new technologies in the 21st century is forcing educational institutes to work out new patterns of learning where computers can play vital roles. In order to cope with the modern world requirements Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) systems concentrate on refining, facilitating and incorporating the learning process with the support of collaborative partners (Kobbe et al, 2007). CSCL has now become an essential component of the learning environment. CSCL could be defined as a system promising innovations and tools for restructuring teaching-learning processes to prepare students for the emerging knowledge society (Stahl et al, 2006, p409). CSCL has aim to improving the process of teaching and learning through the use of modern communication technology. CSCL is an instructional technology that encourages students to learn together and jointly solve problems. It is the opposite of the traditional concept of learning where learners are solitary receivers of knowledge. CSCL ensures that students are learning in a vigorous, stimulating and socially enriched framework (Nelson and Ketelhut, 2008). CSCL technology focuses on collaborative learning support, to enhance peer interaction and working in groups; to facilitate sharing and distributing knowledge and expertise among community members. CSCL address the issues of concept learning, problem solving and designing (Ioannidou et al., 2010). The system not only functions to communicate ideas and information but also works to impart feedback on problem solving activities. The technology is based on the belief that computer supported systems can effectively work to achieve objectives which may not be possible in face-to-face communication. CSCL concentrates on refining and incorporating the learning process of collaborative partners in a technology-based environment. It allows students to