--%>

Commercial Banking Assignment

Part I

Guidelines and requirements: The questions in Part I of this assignment are based on the materials covered in Units 1 and 2. Please write a short-essay answer to each question.

Question 1

You have just been hired as a branch manager for a large bank in Hong Kong. You were told that the bank is going to open a new branch at the Island Learning Centre of the Open University of Hong Kong in Sheung Wan. The management of the bank is concerned that the new branch may not be able to attract enough customers to meet its profit projection. Your task is to recommend the various services the bank should offer initially to build an adequate customer base. The following is a list of the services the branch could offer:

  • current accounts
  • savings deposits
  • security underwriting
  • personal trust management services
  • retirement savings plans
  • venture capital loans
  • plant and equipment loans
  • automobile loans
  • residential real estate loans
  • home improvement loans.

a List five types of information you will need about the local community to help you decide which of many possible services are likely to have sufficient demand to make them profitable. Explain

your answer briefly. b Divide the possible services into two groups: those you think should be offered opening day and those you believe can be offered later as bank grows. Explain your answer. 2 FIN B381 Commercial Banking

 

Question 2

For a better understanding of banking industry, it is important to look at the environment in which commercial banks operate. Production expansion and globalization are two major forces reshaping the banking industry today. The following two questions are related to these two issues. a Describe one of the new banking services offered to customers by many local banks. Discuss the potential benefits and challenges to these banks that are brought about by the introduction of this new service. (15 marks)

b Hong Kong is an international financial centre and many foreign banks want to establish their presence in the city. In view of public welfare, should the government impose more restrictions against? the entry of foreign banks into Hong Kong? Explain the rationale behind your answer. 

Part II

Guidelines and requirements: There is only one question in this part. The question is designed to provide a platform not only to show that you know and understand the material, but that you can use it to analyse situations. Therefore, your answer will be graded on the basis of completeness, justification and presentation skill. So be sure you keep these criteria in mind as you prepare your answers. Good luck!

 

Question 3

Read the article 'Back in expansion mode' on the following pages and answer the following questions:

a List out five business areas that local banks are turning to in search of profits. Describe each business area briefly and evaluate the prospect of growth in each area critically.

b In the article, Monica Ng, Assurance Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers Hong Kong said, 'the smaller banks are at risk of losing out to their larger counterparts.' Please explain the challenges faced by smaller banks and suggest way to overcome these challenges. 

   Related Questions in Corporate Finance

  • Q : What is the current example of a value

    What is the current example of a value company and would you buy it as an investment. Why or why not?

  • Q : What is Regular meeting of day-to-day

    Regular meeting of day-to-day commitments: The estimation of WCR also helps to ensure that there is positive WC existence. This proves helpful in meeting requirements which are regular in nature such as payments of salaries, wages, rental charges etc.

  • Q : Weighted return and simple return to

    What is the difference between weighted return and simple return to shareholders?

  • Q : Who explained put–call parity Who

    Who explained put–call parity?

  • Q : Who was the first to quantify the idea

    Who was the first to quantify the idea of Brownian motion?

  • Q : Active versus Passive fund managers

    Active vs. Passive fund managers: Passive fund managers adopt a long term buy and hold strategy. Usually, stocks are purchased so that the portfolio’s returns will track those of an

  • Q : Estimate stock's current price A

    A company currently pays a dividend of $3.75 per share, D0 = 3.75. It is estimated that the company's dividend will grow at a rate of 15% percent per year for the next 2 years, then the dividend will grow at a constant rate of 7% the

  • Q : What is Project Budget Project Budget :

    Project Budget: Collecting all costs related with completing a project is budget process. The Project Management Institute states that "aggregating the predictable costs of individual actions or work projects (establishing) an authorized cost baseline

  • Q : How much confidence can an investor

    I heard conversation of the Earnings Yield Gap ratio, that is the difference among the inverse of the PER and the TIR on 10-year-bonds. This is said that if this ratio is positive then this is more advantageous to invest in equity. How much confidence can an investor

  • Q : Why required return cannot computed by

    Why can we not compute the required return (Ke) by the Gordon-Shapiro model [P0 = Div0 (1+g) / (Ke – g)] in place of using the CAPM? As we identify the current dividend (Div0) and the current share price (P0), we can acquire the growth rate of the dividend by th