Alina Sargu - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Alina Sargu

Annales Universitatis Apulensis Series Oeconomica, 2011

and Romania) have registered a fast growth of the households indebtedness, which has lead to the ... more and Romania) have registered a fast growth of the households indebtedness, which has lead to the extension of the vulnerabilities of this sector in front of some macroeconomic shocks. In this context, our research aim to especially comparatively underline the stylised facts about the indebtedness degree of the households from the analysed countries and the main effects generated by the fast growth of the banking debts of this sector. Through the undertaken analysis in our research we aim at underling the major importance which the insurance of a sustainable household's indebtedness level has for the macroeconomic and financial stability of a country.

Annals of Faculty of Economics, 2013

The European integration process has a direct impact on all the components of the macroeconomic e... more The European integration process has a direct impact on all the components of the macroeconomic environment. The existence of a well functioning and sound banking sector becomes of great importance for the integration process as the European Union economy is financed especially through this channel. The banking sectors of the new EU member countries have undergone through tremendous changes in the last decade, both from an ownership and also from a business strategy point of view, these changes having a direct impact on their financial soundness. Thus, the aim of our research is to empirically examine the financial soundness of the banks operating in Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Romania, three EU members countries from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE-3). In order to achieve this we have employed a combine quantitative analysis based on the CAMELS framework (namely Capital Adequacy, Asset quality, Management soundness, Earnings, Liquidity, Sensitivity to market risk) and the Z-score, thus being able to underline simultaneously the financial soundness and the possibility of default for the banks from our sample. The analysed period is 2004-2011 providing us with an evaluation of the impact that the EU ascension and also the global financial crisis had on the financial soundness of the analysed banks. Our sample is composed from 40 commercial banks that operate in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Romania, that overall own over 75% of the total banking assets, making this study one of the most comprehensive undertaken to this date. The data that we have employed in our research is obtained from the Bureau Van Dijk Bankscope database and the annual financial statements of the banks from our sample. The paper through its original dual approach contributes to the academic debate by providing not only insight into the financial soundness of the banks operating in the CEE-3 countries but also underling their financial strength through the usage of the Z-score. Thus, the topic of the paper is focused on a subject of great importance for the European integration process.

Revista Economica, 2012

In the last two decades the usage of innovative financial instruments has increased in the Europe... more In the last two decades the usage of innovative financial instruments has increased in the European banking sector. Traditional instruments like loans sales have been complemented by new ones like the credit derivatives instruments. In this context, the aim of our research is to test if and how the usage of the credit derivatives instruments and the loans sales operations can be influenced by a series of banks characteristics. In order to achieve this we have used a multiple linear regression analysis, where the independent variables were represented by a series of banks characteristics, like banks size, their profitability or capitalisation ratio and the dependent variables were represented by the estimations made regarding the major European banks presence on credit derivatives and loans sales markets. The sample used was comprised from the major 20 banking groups located in the European Union and the analysed period was 2007-2009. The obtained results suggest that larger banks, well capitalised and strongly geographically diversified tend to be the most active in credit derivatives instruments operations, while loans sales operations tend to be dominated by the banks well diversified, highly capitalise and that have very good loaning opportunities.

Risk in Contemporary Economy, 2011

The aim of our paper is to underline the main characteristics of the business and economical envi... more The aim of our paper is to underline the main characteristics of the business and economical environment and emphasise the negative implications of the recent economic crisis on a panel of EU member countries, namely:Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania. The results of our research are pointing out the challenges and difficulties that the business environment from the panel countries is facing and also the need for the decision and policy makers to intensify their preoccupations and efforts in order to help and stimulate the enhancement of the business environment and thus achieve a sustainable long term economic growth.

Annals of Faculty of Economics, 2012

have recorded a significant expansion of lending in foreign currency, which was one of the major ... more have recorded a significant expansion of lending in foreign currency, which was one of the major factors of the accelerated growth of loans to economy. Such developments have led to an increase of indebtedness in foreign currency of the non-financial private sector, especially of the households and of the accumulation of major macroeconomics and financial imbalances. The extremely negative implications of lending in foreign currency on financial stability in most countries under review, outlined clearly in the context of the current crisis, determined the focus of the policymakers concern, both at European and national level, regarding the issue of foreign currency loans, which became one of the most discussed issues on the agenda of the monetaryfinancial authorities. The aim of our research is to comparatively underline, based on the example of the panel countries, a few stylized facts about lending in foreign currency, and also the main factors which determined the growing share of loans in foreign currency, the risks for financial stability generated by the loans denominated in foreign currencies and the challenges that arise for the monetary-financial authorities, both at national and European level, in the current context and in the post crisis period. The methodology used in our paper starts with an extensive literature review in order to underline the importance of the research theme approached. The analysis is based on information and statistical data provided mainly by the official statistics of the ECB, IMF, EBRD, Raiffeisen Research, different reports, studies and researches. Through the content of our research we want to underline the crucial importance of a rigorous monitoring of the foreign lending activities undertaken by the central banks and the supervisory authorities in order to limit the risks and to ensure the financial stability at EU level.

In recent years, pre-crisis years, the loans granted to household experienced an extremely accele... more In recent years, pre-crisis years, the loans granted to household experienced an extremely accelerated dynamic in most new EU member states. Such a development has led to an increase in the degree of bank indebtedness of the households and to considerable macroeconomic and financial imbalances. The current crisis has stopped the rapid growth of the loans granted to households and has led to worsening financial situation of households and a significant deterioration of the soundness bank indicators. In this context, the purpose of our paper is a comparative analysis of the main characteristics of the evolution of bank loans granted to household in the new EU member states (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania), of the vulnerabilities caused by the fast increase of the bank indebtedness of the households, and the implications of the current crisis..

Over the last decade, in the context of a favorable international and national economic environme... more Over the last decade, in the context of a favorable international and national economic environment, most of the European countries, and especially the new EU member states, have known an accelerated expansion of the banking loans. The significant foreign capital inflows to the banking sector, the increase of the foreign banks position on the national banking markets, have led to an intensified competition, the diversification of the range of banking products and services as well as to the orientation of the banks activity towards new market segments, respectively the households loans market, which has experienced an accelerated dynamic growth. The extremely accelerated dynamic growth of the loans to households and the increased rate of the loans denominated in foreign currency have determinate a significant increase of the households indebtedness and has triggered major macroeconomic and financial imbalances. These vulnerabilities have amplified in the light of the global economic ...

The European integration process has a direct impact on all the components of the macroeconomic e... more The European integration process has a direct impact on all the components of the macroeconomic environment. The existence of a well functioning and sound banking sector becomes of great importance for the integration process as the European Union economy is financed especially through this channel. The banking sectors of the new EU member countries have undergone through tremendous changes in the last decade, both from an ownership and also from a business strategy point of view, these changes having a direct impact on their financial soundness. Thus, the aim of our research is to empirically examine the financial soundness of the banks operating in Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Romania, three EU members countries from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE-3). In order to achieve this we have employed a combine quantitative analysis based on the CAMELS framework (namely Capital Adequacy, Asset quality, Management soundness, Earnings, Liquidity, Sensitivity to market risk) and the Z-score,...

The banking system represents the main channel through which most of the European Union economies... more The banking system represents the main channel through which most of the European Union economies are financed, this being the case especially for the new EU member states. Thus it becomes important to analyse and understand the way in which the efficiency and productivity of this sector evolves and is influenced by both, internal and external factors. In this context, the aim of our research is to analyse the changes occurred in the productivity of the banks operating in Romania, a new European Union member country. In order to achieve this we have chosen a sample of 25 commercial banks that together own over 90% of the total banking assets from Romania, the analysed period being 2003-2010. We employed a two stage approach, estimating in the first stage the efficiency scores for the banks from our sample using a non-parametric approach, namely the Data Envelopment Analysis, while in the second stage we estimated the changes in productivity with the help of the Malmquist index. By c...

Procedia Economics and Finance, 2015

The recent economic and financial crisis has had a tremendous impact on the banking system, raisi... more The recent economic and financial crisis has had a tremendous impact on the banking system, raising key questions about liquidity risk. Its management is seen to be of paramount importance, receiving great attention from policymakers, researchers and practitioners, taking into consideration that a liquidity shortage at a single so called "too big to fail" financial institution can lead to systemic contagion and instability. In this context, the aim of the paper is to analyse a significant issue that needs to be tackled when promoting financial stability, more exactly the determinants of the liquidity risk of a sample of banks operating in a series of CEE countries (Bulgaria,

Journal of Economics Studies and Research, 2012

The academic literature suggests that the European integration process enhances the development o... more The academic literature suggests that the European integration process enhances the development of the economic environment in the case of the candidate countries. The banking sector represents, especially in the case of the new EU member countries, the backbone of the economy, as it is the main channel through which the economic undertakings are financed. Thus, in this context, the aim of our research is to analyse if the ascension to EU membership and the preparation for the adoption of the European single currency, in the case of Bulgaria and Romania, the two countries that have joined the EU in 2007, have determined an enhancement of the overall estimated efficiency of their banking sectors. In order to achieve this we have employed a non-parametric analysis, namely the Data Envelopment Analysis, using one of the most comprehensive samples of banks for this type of researches. The obtained results suggest that during the analysed period of time 2003-2010, the overall estimated banking efficiency for these countries has registered a slight improvement.

The current financial crisis has had a severe impact on the European financial systems, reinforci... more The current financial crisis has had a severe impact on the European financial systems, reinforcing the ongoing discussion about the scale, scope, performance, safety and soundness of the financial system and its institutions. In this context, the purpose of this research is to highlight, using an empirical approach and a quantitative analysis, the vulnerabilities accumulated by the financial systems from

Procedia Economics and Finance, 2014

Procedia Economics and Finance, 2013

The Romanian banking system has undergone through tremendous changes in the last decade, its fina... more The Romanian banking system has undergone through tremendous changes in the last decade, its financial soundness and performance being paramount in the achievement of a stable and sustainable economic growth. Thus, the aim of our research is to comparatively analyse the financial soundness of the commercial banks that operate in Romania. In order to achieve this we have used one of the most popular methods for the analysis of the financial soundness of banks, namely the CAMELS framework. The obtained results highlight the strengths and the vulnerabilities of the analysed banks, underlining the need to strengthen the concerns of the decision makers from banks to improve and increase their soundness.

Ovidius University Annals, Economic Sciences Series, 2010

As the European financial markets suffered substantial structural changes in the least decades, u... more As the European financial markets suffered substantial structural changes in the least decades, under the influence of the financial innovation process, the question regarding the efficiency of an integrated supervision model rather than a specialised one becomes ...

STUDIES AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHES. ECONOMICS EDITION, 2010

The study presents in a comprehensive way the effects that deregulation, internationalisation, in... more The study presents in a comprehensive way the effects that deregulation, internationalisation, integration, financial innovation and the development of the institutional investors have had on the Romanian stock market. Using dates provided by several relevant sources on the field, like the Bucharest Stock Exchange or Intercapital, we have established in which extent these tendencies emerged on the Romanian stock market and if our stock market has already reached the point where it will be able to fully integrate itself in the European financial system.

Procedia Economics and Finance, 2015

The modernization of the banking sector has been a defining trend in new EU member state economie... more The modernization of the banking sector has been a defining trend in new EU member state economies over the last decade. Financial innovations in particular have provided banks with the necessary tools to obtain competitive advantages. In this context, the aim of our research is to analyze the way in which the financial innovation represented by Internet banking services can contribute to the enhancement of the overall efficiency of Romanian banks. We apply DEA to compute the aggregate efficiency score for each of the 24 banks in our sample and, in addition, we utilize PCA to classify the banks into different operational strategies groups based on their relative efficiency scores. The results show that there are very few banks in our sample that have utilized Internet banking services in their production process to increase their level of efficiency and thus the research proposes a series of solutions and recommendations.

Annales Universitatis Apulensis Series Oeconomica, 2011

and Romania) have registered a fast growth of the households indebtedness, which has lead to the ... more and Romania) have registered a fast growth of the households indebtedness, which has lead to the extension of the vulnerabilities of this sector in front of some macroeconomic shocks. In this context, our research aim to especially comparatively underline the stylised facts about the indebtedness degree of the households from the analysed countries and the main effects generated by the fast growth of the banking debts of this sector. Through the undertaken analysis in our research we aim at underling the major importance which the insurance of a sustainable household's indebtedness level has for the macroeconomic and financial stability of a country.

Annals of Faculty of Economics, 2013

The European integration process has a direct impact on all the components of the macroeconomic e... more The European integration process has a direct impact on all the components of the macroeconomic environment. The existence of a well functioning and sound banking sector becomes of great importance for the integration process as the European Union economy is financed especially through this channel. The banking sectors of the new EU member countries have undergone through tremendous changes in the last decade, both from an ownership and also from a business strategy point of view, these changes having a direct impact on their financial soundness. Thus, the aim of our research is to empirically examine the financial soundness of the banks operating in Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Romania, three EU members countries from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE-3). In order to achieve this we have employed a combine quantitative analysis based on the CAMELS framework (namely Capital Adequacy, Asset quality, Management soundness, Earnings, Liquidity, Sensitivity to market risk) and the Z-score, thus being able to underline simultaneously the financial soundness and the possibility of default for the banks from our sample. The analysed period is 2004-2011 providing us with an evaluation of the impact that the EU ascension and also the global financial crisis had on the financial soundness of the analysed banks. Our sample is composed from 40 commercial banks that operate in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Romania, that overall own over 75% of the total banking assets, making this study one of the most comprehensive undertaken to this date. The data that we have employed in our research is obtained from the Bureau Van Dijk Bankscope database and the annual financial statements of the banks from our sample. The paper through its original dual approach contributes to the academic debate by providing not only insight into the financial soundness of the banks operating in the CEE-3 countries but also underling their financial strength through the usage of the Z-score. Thus, the topic of the paper is focused on a subject of great importance for the European integration process.

Revista Economica, 2012

In the last two decades the usage of innovative financial instruments has increased in the Europe... more In the last two decades the usage of innovative financial instruments has increased in the European banking sector. Traditional instruments like loans sales have been complemented by new ones like the credit derivatives instruments. In this context, the aim of our research is to test if and how the usage of the credit derivatives instruments and the loans sales operations can be influenced by a series of banks characteristics. In order to achieve this we have used a multiple linear regression analysis, where the independent variables were represented by a series of banks characteristics, like banks size, their profitability or capitalisation ratio and the dependent variables were represented by the estimations made regarding the major European banks presence on credit derivatives and loans sales markets. The sample used was comprised from the major 20 banking groups located in the European Union and the analysed period was 2007-2009. The obtained results suggest that larger banks, well capitalised and strongly geographically diversified tend to be the most active in credit derivatives instruments operations, while loans sales operations tend to be dominated by the banks well diversified, highly capitalise and that have very good loaning opportunities.

Risk in Contemporary Economy, 2011

The aim of our paper is to underline the main characteristics of the business and economical envi... more The aim of our paper is to underline the main characteristics of the business and economical environment and emphasise the negative implications of the recent economic crisis on a panel of EU member countries, namely:Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania. The results of our research are pointing out the challenges and difficulties that the business environment from the panel countries is facing and also the need for the decision and policy makers to intensify their preoccupations and efforts in order to help and stimulate the enhancement of the business environment and thus achieve a sustainable long term economic growth.

Annals of Faculty of Economics, 2012

have recorded a significant expansion of lending in foreign currency, which was one of the major ... more have recorded a significant expansion of lending in foreign currency, which was one of the major factors of the accelerated growth of loans to economy. Such developments have led to an increase of indebtedness in foreign currency of the non-financial private sector, especially of the households and of the accumulation of major macroeconomics and financial imbalances. The extremely negative implications of lending in foreign currency on financial stability in most countries under review, outlined clearly in the context of the current crisis, determined the focus of the policymakers concern, both at European and national level, regarding the issue of foreign currency loans, which became one of the most discussed issues on the agenda of the monetaryfinancial authorities. The aim of our research is to comparatively underline, based on the example of the panel countries, a few stylized facts about lending in foreign currency, and also the main factors which determined the growing share of loans in foreign currency, the risks for financial stability generated by the loans denominated in foreign currencies and the challenges that arise for the monetary-financial authorities, both at national and European level, in the current context and in the post crisis period. The methodology used in our paper starts with an extensive literature review in order to underline the importance of the research theme approached. The analysis is based on information and statistical data provided mainly by the official statistics of the ECB, IMF, EBRD, Raiffeisen Research, different reports, studies and researches. Through the content of our research we want to underline the crucial importance of a rigorous monitoring of the foreign lending activities undertaken by the central banks and the supervisory authorities in order to limit the risks and to ensure the financial stability at EU level.

In recent years, pre-crisis years, the loans granted to household experienced an extremely accele... more In recent years, pre-crisis years, the loans granted to household experienced an extremely accelerated dynamic in most new EU member states. Such a development has led to an increase in the degree of bank indebtedness of the households and to considerable macroeconomic and financial imbalances. The current crisis has stopped the rapid growth of the loans granted to households and has led to worsening financial situation of households and a significant deterioration of the soundness bank indicators. In this context, the purpose of our paper is a comparative analysis of the main characteristics of the evolution of bank loans granted to household in the new EU member states (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania), of the vulnerabilities caused by the fast increase of the bank indebtedness of the households, and the implications of the current crisis..

Over the last decade, in the context of a favorable international and national economic environme... more Over the last decade, in the context of a favorable international and national economic environment, most of the European countries, and especially the new EU member states, have known an accelerated expansion of the banking loans. The significant foreign capital inflows to the banking sector, the increase of the foreign banks position on the national banking markets, have led to an intensified competition, the diversification of the range of banking products and services as well as to the orientation of the banks activity towards new market segments, respectively the households loans market, which has experienced an accelerated dynamic growth. The extremely accelerated dynamic growth of the loans to households and the increased rate of the loans denominated in foreign currency have determinate a significant increase of the households indebtedness and has triggered major macroeconomic and financial imbalances. These vulnerabilities have amplified in the light of the global economic ...

The European integration process has a direct impact on all the components of the macroeconomic e... more The European integration process has a direct impact on all the components of the macroeconomic environment. The existence of a well functioning and sound banking sector becomes of great importance for the integration process as the European Union economy is financed especially through this channel. The banking sectors of the new EU member countries have undergone through tremendous changes in the last decade, both from an ownership and also from a business strategy point of view, these changes having a direct impact on their financial soundness. Thus, the aim of our research is to empirically examine the financial soundness of the banks operating in Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Romania, three EU members countries from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE-3). In order to achieve this we have employed a combine quantitative analysis based on the CAMELS framework (namely Capital Adequacy, Asset quality, Management soundness, Earnings, Liquidity, Sensitivity to market risk) and the Z-score,...

The banking system represents the main channel through which most of the European Union economies... more The banking system represents the main channel through which most of the European Union economies are financed, this being the case especially for the new EU member states. Thus it becomes important to analyse and understand the way in which the efficiency and productivity of this sector evolves and is influenced by both, internal and external factors. In this context, the aim of our research is to analyse the changes occurred in the productivity of the banks operating in Romania, a new European Union member country. In order to achieve this we have chosen a sample of 25 commercial banks that together own over 90% of the total banking assets from Romania, the analysed period being 2003-2010. We employed a two stage approach, estimating in the first stage the efficiency scores for the banks from our sample using a non-parametric approach, namely the Data Envelopment Analysis, while in the second stage we estimated the changes in productivity with the help of the Malmquist index. By c...

Procedia Economics and Finance, 2015

The recent economic and financial crisis has had a tremendous impact on the banking system, raisi... more The recent economic and financial crisis has had a tremendous impact on the banking system, raising key questions about liquidity risk. Its management is seen to be of paramount importance, receiving great attention from policymakers, researchers and practitioners, taking into consideration that a liquidity shortage at a single so called "too big to fail" financial institution can lead to systemic contagion and instability. In this context, the aim of the paper is to analyse a significant issue that needs to be tackled when promoting financial stability, more exactly the determinants of the liquidity risk of a sample of banks operating in a series of CEE countries (Bulgaria,

Journal of Economics Studies and Research, 2012

The academic literature suggests that the European integration process enhances the development o... more The academic literature suggests that the European integration process enhances the development of the economic environment in the case of the candidate countries. The banking sector represents, especially in the case of the new EU member countries, the backbone of the economy, as it is the main channel through which the economic undertakings are financed. Thus, in this context, the aim of our research is to analyse if the ascension to EU membership and the preparation for the adoption of the European single currency, in the case of Bulgaria and Romania, the two countries that have joined the EU in 2007, have determined an enhancement of the overall estimated efficiency of their banking sectors. In order to achieve this we have employed a non-parametric analysis, namely the Data Envelopment Analysis, using one of the most comprehensive samples of banks for this type of researches. The obtained results suggest that during the analysed period of time 2003-2010, the overall estimated banking efficiency for these countries has registered a slight improvement.

The current financial crisis has had a severe impact on the European financial systems, reinforci... more The current financial crisis has had a severe impact on the European financial systems, reinforcing the ongoing discussion about the scale, scope, performance, safety and soundness of the financial system and its institutions. In this context, the purpose of this research is to highlight, using an empirical approach and a quantitative analysis, the vulnerabilities accumulated by the financial systems from

Procedia Economics and Finance, 2014

Procedia Economics and Finance, 2013

The Romanian banking system has undergone through tremendous changes in the last decade, its fina... more The Romanian banking system has undergone through tremendous changes in the last decade, its financial soundness and performance being paramount in the achievement of a stable and sustainable economic growth. Thus, the aim of our research is to comparatively analyse the financial soundness of the commercial banks that operate in Romania. In order to achieve this we have used one of the most popular methods for the analysis of the financial soundness of banks, namely the CAMELS framework. The obtained results highlight the strengths and the vulnerabilities of the analysed banks, underlining the need to strengthen the concerns of the decision makers from banks to improve and increase their soundness.

Ovidius University Annals, Economic Sciences Series, 2010

As the European financial markets suffered substantial structural changes in the least decades, u... more As the European financial markets suffered substantial structural changes in the least decades, under the influence of the financial innovation process, the question regarding the efficiency of an integrated supervision model rather than a specialised one becomes ...

STUDIES AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHES. ECONOMICS EDITION, 2010

The study presents in a comprehensive way the effects that deregulation, internationalisation, in... more The study presents in a comprehensive way the effects that deregulation, internationalisation, integration, financial innovation and the development of the institutional investors have had on the Romanian stock market. Using dates provided by several relevant sources on the field, like the Bucharest Stock Exchange or Intercapital, we have established in which extent these tendencies emerged on the Romanian stock market and if our stock market has already reached the point where it will be able to fully integrate itself in the European financial system.

Procedia Economics and Finance, 2015

The modernization of the banking sector has been a defining trend in new EU member state economie... more The modernization of the banking sector has been a defining trend in new EU member state economies over the last decade. Financial innovations in particular have provided banks with the necessary tools to obtain competitive advantages. In this context, the aim of our research is to analyze the way in which the financial innovation represented by Internet banking services can contribute to the enhancement of the overall efficiency of Romanian banks. We apply DEA to compute the aggregate efficiency score for each of the 24 banks in our sample and, in addition, we utilize PCA to classify the banks into different operational strategies groups based on their relative efficiency scores. The results show that there are very few banks in our sample that have utilized Internet banking services in their production process to increase their level of efficiency and thus the research proposes a series of solutions and recommendations.