Monash Business School

Department of Banking and Finance

BFF5916: International Banking and Finance

Semester 2- 2016

What you should do first?

Form a group of maximum of 4 people and fill up the DECLARATION ON

DESIGNATION OF GROUP MEMBERS form.
Submit the form to your lecturer before the given deadline

ASSIGNMENT TYPE:

GROUP WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT

DUE DATE/TIME:

On or before: 19 September 2016 by 5PM

PENALTIES:

MARKS WILL BE DEDUCTED FOR LATE SUBMISSION OF

WORK.

LENGTH:

Maximum of 2500 words. Include a computer word count on the

cover page and at end of your assignment.

GRADING:

Marking of the assignment will follow the grading scheme described

on the last two pages of this assignment (as far as it applies).

GROUP WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT

(i)

The group assignment contributes 15% to total assessment for this subject.

(ii)

The written assignment must be completed by groups of no more than four (4) students.
When students complete this assignment in groups of THREE, TWO or ALONE, they
will NOT be entitled to any special considerations/treatments as compared to a group of
FIVE students.

(iii)

A statement (Statement of Participation of Group Assignment attached to this document) that

all students in the group (with names and ID numbers) have contributed equally to the group
assignment is required to be submitted together with the assignment. When there are no equal
contributions, please indicate the level of contribution and marks will be allocated based on
the level of contribution. It is the responsibility of students to form and coordinate the group
work.

ASSIGNMENT ISSUE
The Asia-Pacific region hosts a number of the largest banks in the world. Whilst many European
and US banks have been withdrawing from the international banking markets, we have seen
particularly Chinese and Japanese banks increasing their investments. After the Asian Financial
Crisis of 1996/1997 calls were made to develop the bond markets in the Asia Pacific region. The
integration of banking in the region is now receiving attention (e.g. Debelle, 2015) with the 2015
ASEAN Banking Integration Fund (ABIF).
The global financial crisis highlighted the risks involved with very large banks. The Basel
Committee identified globally systemically important banks (G-SIBs) based on five indicators
including size, interconnectedness, substitutability, complexity and cross-jurisdictional activity.
Their 2015 list of globally systemically important banks can be found at: http://www.fsb.org/wpcontent/uploads/2015-update-of-list-of-global-systemically-important-banks-G-SIBs.pdf
A listing of the top 50 banks worldwide, based on total assets can be access via the Accuity website.
http://www.accuity.com/useful-links/bank-rankings/
Required:
1. Define the term G-SIB? List the G-SIBs in the Asia Pacific. (5 marks)
2. Should regulators in the Asia Pacific region, impose any additional regulatory requirements
for banks that may be considered regionally systemically important (i.e. R-SIB)? (10
marks)
3. Define the credit risk of a bank in regards to their loan portfolio. (5 marks)
4. Explain the difference between a loan loss reserve and an impaired loan. (5 marks)
5. For five of the largest banks in the Asia Pacific (across at least 2 countries) graph the
following: (i) the loan loss reserve to gross loans; (ii) impaired loans to gross loans; and (iii)
impaired loans to equity. (5 marks)
6. Interpret the results from the graphs produced in Point 5 and suggest which of the largest
banks in the Asia Pacific region have the highest credit risk. Wider reading is expected in
order to provide a full answer.
(15 marks)
Please use citation support but demonstrate your own understanding. Professional presentation is
expected. Marks will be deducted if this criteria is not met.
Total marks available: 45
Overall value for the unit assessment: 15%

References:
Debelle, G. (2015) Remarks from the financial integration in the Asia Pacific. Speech at the launch
of the Australian Centre for Financial Studies report on financial integration in the Asia Pacific,
Sydney, 16 June. Available at: http://www.rba.gov.au/speeches/2015/sp-ag-2015-06-16.html
The assignment must be word-processed on A4 paper, printed on single side and presented in business
report format. It should include in the following order: a letter (or a memo) of transmittal
(addressed to the lecturer stating that the group assignment report is being submitted and also
briefly describing in one or two sentences the significance of the issue/s addressed in the report),
executive summary, table of contents, footnotes, appendices and bibliography or list of
references. Your report must have a Conclusion but not Recommendations. Please avoid
incorporating sub-sections for Purpose, Scope, Methodology, Assumptions, Limitations and
Recommendations in your report. All BFF5916 students should read very carefully the Q-Manual
at:

http://www.buseco.monash.edu.au/publications/qmanual/, in particular, Chapters 5 (Assignment

Writing - An overview), 6 (Report Writing), 9 (Plagiarism), 10 (Referencing) and follow very closely
the guidelines given there.
The number of words used in the letter of transmittal, the executive summary, the table of
contents, footnotes, appendices and bibliography or list of references is excluded from
maximum word limit of 2500 words.
All assignment reports should have the enclosed assignment cover sheet (duly filled up and signed
by each member of the group on a separate cover sheet) as required by the Faculty of Business and
Economics. Non-compliance with this requirement will result in loss of marks. Note that this
assignment cover sheet is in addition to the Statement of Participation of Group Assignment
mentioned earlier.
Students need to read the University's regulations regarding cheating. Plagiarism or extensive
paraphrasing will result in zero marks.
All BFF5916 students (each group member) must retain a copy of the assignment for their
future reference.
Submission details:
One printed copy, printed on single side, of the assignment should be submitted via the department
assignment box at Level 3, Building H, Caulfield campus and one electronic copy should be submitted to
the email address: global-finance@monash.edu . Failure to submit your electronic copy, to the given email
address, before the deadline, may incur penalty marks of 50% of your total marks.

WARNING: Your electronic report will be text matched with already published material.

LATE SUBMISSION
As stated earlier, all assignments received after the deadline will be subjected to a penalty of two
marks per day up to two weeks late (including weekends and Monash University holidays if any).
Assignments received later than two weeks after the due date will not normally be accepted.

GRADING SCHEME FOR AFF5050 ASSIGNMENT

HD

HIGH DISTINCTION (80 marks and upward)

The student demonstrates the competencies in distinction standard, and in addition, she or he:

Demonstrates originality and initiative;

Demonstrates an awareness of limitations

DISTINCTION (70 - 79 marks)

The student:

Provides evidence of analysis and critical thinking;

Demonstrates an ability to evaluate;

Demonstrates a progressive, convincing and clear argument throughout the work;

Demonstrates selectivity and judgement in determining the importance of readings and

ideas;

Shows evidence of wide reading and synthesis of ideas;

Utilises additional material to supplement information provided.

CREDIT (60 - 69 marks)

The student:

Demonstrates an understanding of concepts, theories and issues;

Is able to identify strengths and weaknesses in theories/readings; and use these as a

basis for evaluation;

Is able to apply information to practices/situation;

Develops a clear recommendation with rationale for assumptions;

Integrates writing and demonstrates links between components;

Will rarely, if ever, show evidence of original work;

Provides a structured, sourced and referenced work;

Expresses himself/herself concisely and clearly, and exhibits relatively error free
writing;

May rely heavily on the text and assigned readings; and

May sometimes lapse into description rather than providing analysis and evaluation;

PASS (50 - 59 marks)

The student essentially demonstrates an understanding of concepts, theories and issues

but will tend to restate rather than evaluate;

Does not transform data in terms of structure, synthesis or application;

Relies heavily on text, or text and limited readings;

May demonstrate coverage, which is sparse in places;

Provides little or no evidence of critical analysis;

Provides little or no evidence of research;

Tends to use one limited approach, possibly with a narrow focus; and

Provides an acceptably sourced and referenced work but improvement may be

necessary in structure and grammar.

FAIL (Less than 50 marks)

Specific problems, which the student may demonstrate as follows: The student
misunderstands the question;

Fails to demonstrate understanding of theory and concepts;

Fails to identify the problems or issues;

Does not provide any evidence of having covered the minimum readings; and

Does not write to an acceptable academic and professional standard.

Globally Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs)

Total Assets
mil USD
Last avail. yr
3,421,363

Bank Name
Industrial & Commercial Bank of China
(The) - ICBC

City
BEIJING

Country
code
CN

2.

China Construction Bank Corporation

Joint Stock Company

BEIJING

CN

2,826,695

3.

Agricultural Bank of China Limited

BEIJING

CN

2,740,721

4.

Bank of China Limited

BEIJING

CN

2,590,402

5.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group IncKabushiki Kaisha Mitsubishi UFJ

Financial Group

TOKYO

JP

2,566,480

6.

HSBC Holdings Plc

LONDON

GB

2,409,656

7.

JPMorgan Chase & Co

NEW YORK

US

2,351,698

8.

BNP Paribas

PARIS

FR

2,171,141

9.

Bank of America Corporation

CHARLOTTE

US

2,144,316

10.

Crdit Agricole-Crdit Agricole Group

PARIS

FR

1,849,602

11.

Wells Fargo & Company

SAN FRANCISCO

US

1,787,632

12.

Deutsche Bank AG

FRANKFURT AM MAIN

DE

1,773,685

13.

Citigroup Inc

NEW YORK

US

1,731,210

14.

Mizuho Financial Group

TOKYO

JP

1,675,046

15.

Barclays Plc

LONDON

GB

1,659,769

16.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc

TOKYO

JP

1,491,812

17.

Banco Santander SA

SANTANDER

ES

1,459,183

18.

Socit Gnrale SA

PARIS LA DEFENSE CEDEX

FR

1,452,794

19.

BPCE Group

PARIS

FR

1,270,044

20.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (The)

EDINBURGH

GB

1,208,370

21.

UBS AG

ZRICH

CH

950,767

22.

UniCredit SpA

MILANO

IT

936,781

23.

ING Bank NV

AMSTERDAM

NL

912,932

24.

Goldman Sachs Group, Inc

NEW YORK

US

861,395

25.

Credit Suisse Group AG

ZRICH

CH

827,341

26.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA

BILBAO

ES

816,634

27.

Morgan Stanley

NEW YORK

US

787,465

28.

Nordea Bank AB (publ)

STOCKHOLM

SE

704,266

29.

Standard Chartered Plc

LONDON

GB

640,483

30.

Bank of New York Mellon (The)

NEW YORK

US

319,258

31.

State Street Corporation

BOSTON

US

245,192

1.

Source: Bankscope database

This form (once duly filled and properly signed) should be attached to the assignment. Failure
to do so may incur penalty marks.
BFF5916 International Banking and Finance
STATEMENT OF PARTICIPATION IN GROUP ASSIGNMENT

The following names and signatures appearing below serve to verify that all members have
contributed equally and meaningfully to the preparation of this assignment and are satisfied with
one anothers contribution*.
Member 1:

Name:
________________________________
Student I/D: ________________________________
Signature:
________________________________
Level of contribution (equal or %):________________

Member 2:

Name:
Student I/D:
Signature:

________________________________
________________________________
________________________________

Level of contribution (equal or %):________________

Member 3:

Name:
Student I/D:
Signature:

________________________________
________________________________
________________________________

Level of contribution (equal or %):________________

Member 4:

Name:
________________________________
Student I/D: ________________________________
Signature:
________________________________
Level of contribution (equal or %):________________

* If you have not contributed equally, please indicate your level of contribution and marks
will be allocated based on each students level of contribution.

DEPARTMENT OF BANKING AND FINANACE

ASSESSMENT COVER SHEET

Students name

(Surname)

(Given names)

ID number
Unit name

Phone
International Banking and Finance

Unit code

BFF5916

Title of assignment
(Name of the bank)
Lecturer/tutor
Is this an authorised group assignment?

Yes

No

Care: each student must attach their own signed cover sheet to the assignment.

Has any part of this assignment been previously submitted as part of another unit/course?
No
Due date: 19 September 2016

Yes

Date submitted

All work must be submitted by the due date. If an extension of work is granted this must be specified with the signature of the
lecturer/tutor.

Extension granted until (date) ................................ Signature of lecturer/tutor .................................................

Please note that it is your responsibility to retain copies of your assessments.
Intentional plagiarism or collusion amounts to cheating under Monash University Statute 4.1 Student
Discipline.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism means to take and use another persons ideas and or manner of expressing them and to pass
these off as ones own by failing to give appropriate acknowledgement, including the use of material from any
source, staff, students or the internet, published and unpublished works.
Collusion: Collusion means unauthorised collaboration on assessable written, oral or practical work with another
person.
Where there are reasonable grounds for believing that intentional plagiarism or collusion has occurred, this will be
reported to the Associate Dean (Education) or nominee, who may disallow the work concerned by prohibiting
assessment or refer the matter to the Faculty Discipline Panel for a hearing.
Student Statement:
I have read the universitys Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedures.

I understand the consequences of engaging in plagiarism and collusion as described in University Statute 4.1
Student Discipline, Part 2 Misconduct http://adm.monash.edu/legal/legislation/statutes/statute4-1-student-discipline.pdf.
I have taken proper care to safeguard this work and made all reasonable efforts to ensure it could not be copied.
No part of this assignment has been previously submitted as part of another unit/course.
I acknowledge and agree that the assessor of this assignment may for the purposes of assessment, reproduce the
assignment and:
i.
provide to another member of faculty and any external marker; and/or
ii.
submit it to a text matching software; and/or
iii.
submit it to a text matching software which may then retain a copy of the assignment on its
database for the purpose of future plagiarism checking.
I certify that I have not plagiarised the work of others or participated in unauthorised collaboration when
preparing this assignment.
Signature .....................................................
Date
* delete (iii) if not applicable
Privacy Statement
The information on this form is collected for the primary purpose of assessing your assignment and ensuring the academic
integrity requirements of the University are met. Other purposes of collection include recording your plagiarism and collusion
declaration, attending to course and administrative matters and statistical analyses. If you choose not to complete all the questions
on this form it may not be possible for Monash University to assess your assignment. You have a right to access personal
information that Monash University holds about you, subject to any exceptions in relevant legislation. If you wish to seek access
to your personal information or inquire about the handling of your personal information, please contact the University Privacy
Officer: privacyofficer@adm.monash.edu.au

BFF5916 GROUP ASSIGNMENT

DECLARATION ON DESIGNATION OF GROUP MEMBERS

(Form submission deadline: 02 September 2016)

(Failure to submit before the deadline could have marking penalties)

We/I have decided to do the above group assignment in a group of FOUR/THREE/TWO or

ALONE. We/I are/am aware that we/I am NOT entitled to any special
considerations/treatments as compared to a group of FOUR/THREE/TWO. We/I are/am
aware that our/my decision CANNOT be changed once this declaration is signed. We/I are/am
aware that a change in group members is NOT allowed once this declaration is signed. I/We
understand that failure to submit this form, before the deadline, could incur penalty marks.

Member 1: Name: _____________________________________________

Student ID: _________________________________________
Signature: __________________________________________
Date: _______________________________
Member 2: Name: _____________________________________________
Student ID: _________________________________________
Signature: __________________________________________
Date: _______________________________
Member 3: Name: _____________________________________________
Student ID: _________________________________________
Signature: __________________________________________
Date:

_______________________________

Member 4: Name: _____________________________________________

Student ID: _________________________________________
Signature: __________________________________________
Date:

_______________________________

Please note that once the form is submitted group member selection
cannot be changed. Any such changes will incur a marking penalty.