International Journal of Finance & Banking Studies

The purpose of this article was to assess the impact of financial market liquidity on international capital flows in emerging markets. Specifically, the research investigates the effect of bond market liquidity and stock market liquidity on foreign portfolio investments using data for five emerging African countries, being Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria and South Africa, for the period 2000 to 2020. The data was sourced from the Bloomberg and World Bank (WDI) databases. Panel data analysis (fixed effects model) was undertaken using three different liquidity measures: the effective spread; Amihud’s (2002) illiquidity measure; and market impact as measured by trading volume. Our findings revealed mixed results. It was found that stock market liquidity attracted foreign portfolio investments. Although bond market liquidity, as measured by the volume of trade, promoted foreign portfolio investment, it was different for the effective spread, as the higher the effective spread, the higher the inward FPI flows, and vice versa. Results on the effects of the bond effective spread on FPI show that as long as the bonds are above the investable grade, investors are not discouraged by the cost of trading. Our findings thus confirm that FPI inflows are predisposed on liquid and efficient host country financial markets. Further, the entrance of foreign investors in the host country’s domestic financial markets, leads to the enhancing of liquidity in the local market, thus increasing risk sharing between local and foreign investors.

This study tests for the applicability of the Adaptive Market Hypothesis (AMH) and Bounded rationality theories on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). This is in order to determine the influence of behavioural risk factors on the efficiency of the stock market. Behavioural theories show a gap in the theory of Efficient Market Hypothesis. Using quantile regression, our study established the applicability of the Adaptive Market Hypothesis on the JSE. Past market returns were shown to be significant in predicting future returns and thus did not follow a random walk. The lagged return increased at higher quantiles and differed with changes in market conditions (i.e. pre-financial crisis, financial crisis and post-financial crisis).  Thus, the predictability of returns varies with a change in market conditions. This paper is focused on only on the Johannesburg stock exchange in South Africa, more specifically the movement is the all share index. The findings should be able to be applied to emerging and developed economies. Business confidence is found to have a negative relationship with returns showing a lag in time for sentiment to be incorporated in prices. In contrast, consumer confidence is found to have a positive relationship with returns. In summary, investors are shown to be influenced by fundamental and behavioural factors.

In the preceding decade, the South African economy has experienced challenges due to global disruptive events, hence, the implementation of risk mitigation strategies becomes a priority in volatile markets. Stable distributions account for skewness and heavy-tailed behaviour which are frequently observed in financial data. This study aims to investigate the fit of stable distributions for three FTSE/JSE indices and the USD/ZAR currency exchange rate. The maximum likelihood method was applied to fit Nolan’s -parameterization stable distribution. Value at Risk (VaR) is measure assessing market risk, therefore, VaR estimates and Kupiec likelihood test are applied to evaluate the extreme tail behaviour of the fitted stable model. Results show the robustness of stable distributions in the long and short position for each daily returns. This research validates the use of stable distributions aimed at capturing the characteristics financial data. Those concerned with curtailing losses and investigating alternatives for financial modeling in the South African financial industry may benefit the most by using stable distributions.

The paper focuses on a scantly researched phenomenon, namely, the extent to which financial inclusion is influenced by corporate governance practices. The question that normally arises is whether corporate governance practices are tailored to supporting the financial inclusion mandate. The other question is whether there are certain corporate governance practices that advance financial inclusion. This paper reviews extant empirical literature on these matters with a view of stimulating debate on the subject. Cognisant that institutions that advance financial inclusion are largely financial institutions, the starting point is relating to contemporary corporate governance practice in financial institutions. We know that financial institutions belong to a specific class of corporations whose failure affects society at large because of the financial services they provide. As a result, they are heavily regulated and their corporate governance structures are bound to differ from those of conventional firms. Similarly, we know that financial inclusion institutions are special types of financial institutions with mandates to provide financial services to underserved population segments which equally require special treatment. The scant literature available shows, albeit not conclusive, some evidence of a positive relationship between sound corporate governance and financial inclusion. However, more research on how corporate governance affects different dimensions of financial inclusion is recommended.

The purpose of the study is aimed at determining the financial socialisation of accounting students at South African universities and the factors that influence financial socialisation. The research used statistical techniques such as the structural equation modelling methodology to identify financial socialisation influencers and regression analysis to analyse associations between financial socialisation and socio-demographic variables among 1582 students. The study's results indicate that financial socialisation agents such as relatives, friends, and social media have little impact on most students' financial decisions. The majority of accounting students are often found to be financially socialised by their immediate family members rather than peers or social media factors. The regression analysis results confirmed this observation, revealing a statistically significant association between the parents' level of education and the students' financial socialisation. This study recommends that financial socialisation can be greatly improved by raising parents' educational levels and instilling financial education in university students' curricula, especially in South Africa.

The article seeks to provide innovative measures aimed at addressing the delivery of affordable housing market in South Africa in view of diminishing fiscus and rising interest rates. It defines the mortgage finance trends in South Africa through analysis of primary data from financial institutions to establish the level of activity and contrarians. Upon understanding the market challenges, the author recommends sound proposition with respect to engineering responsive interventions diversify with respect to demand and supply side blockages in the Affordable Housing Market in South Africa. Based on the findings, the author has found that interest rate increases have hurt the property market activity greatly and lenders in turn also apply very stringent underwriting standards at the height of high interest rate cycles. Furthermore, it has been established the mortgage credit impairments have increased resulting in significant credit loss as the majority of low- and middle-income households are overindebted and mortgage debtors are on the verge of being foreclosed on due to the risk of default. The article concludes by providing recommendations as interventions and measures aimed at upscaling the delivery of affordable housing in South Africa. 

This study tests for the applicability of the Adaptive Market Hypothesis (AMH) and Bounded rationality theories on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). This is in order to determine the influence of behavioural risk factors on the efficiency of the stock market. Behavioural theories show a gap in the theory of Efficient Market Hypothesis. Using quantile regression, our study established the applicability of the Adaptive Market Hypothesis on the JSE. Past market returns were shown to be significant in predicting future returns and thus did not follow a random walk. The lagged return increased at higher quantiles and differed with changes in market conditions (i.e. pre-financial crisis, financial crisis and post-financial crisis).  Thus, the predictability of returns varies with a change in market conditions. This paper is focused on only on the Johannesburg stock exchange in South Africa, more specifically the movement is the all share index. The findings should be able to be applied to emerging and developed economies. Business confidence is found to have a negative relationship with returns showing a lag in time for sentiment to be incorporated in prices. In contrast, consumer confidence is found to have a positive relationship with returns. In summary, investors are shown to be influenced by fundamental and behavioural factors.

The paper’s objective was to investigate the relationship between COVID-19 and South Africa financial stock markets. The pandemic worsened South Africa's unstable financial condition and societal problems: business was severely disrupted, as were the travel industry, hospitality, food security, small businesses, and many other sectors. The results show that the COVID-19 pandemic triggered high and longer-lasting financial volatility in the markets. The higher level of volatility persistence suggests a prolonged period of increased uncertainty. Overall, the uncertainty about the vaccine's effectiveness towards the pandemic provides low expectations about the future of the stock market, since there are variants that are still being discovered.

In the preceding decade, the South African economy has experienced challenges due to global disruptive events, hence, the implementation of risk mitigation strategies becomes a priority in volatile markets. Stable distributions account for skewness and heavy-tailed behaviour which are frequently observed in financial data. This study aims to investigate the fit of stable distributions for three FTSE/JSE indices and the USD/ZAR currency exchange rate. The maximum likelihood method was applied to fit Nolan’s -parameterization stable distribution. Value at Risk (VaR) is measure assessing market risk, therefore, VaR estimates and Kupiec likelihood test are applied to evaluate the extreme tail behaviour of the fitted stable model. Results show the robustness of stable distributions in the long and short position for each daily returns. This research validates the use of stable distributions aimed at capturing the characteristics financial data. Those concerned with curtailing losses and investigating alternatives for financial modeling in the South African financial industry may benefit the most by using stable distributions.

This study aimed to investigate economic growth (RGDP) and its determinants such as internal debt (INDT), external debt (EXDT), interest rate (RINR), exchange rate (REXR) and trade openness (OPEN). Quarterly data from 1986-2021 used for this investigation were extracted from Central Bank of Nigeria.  Exploratory data analysis (EDA) revealed linear dependence of RGDP and the aforementioned determinants. The EDA and the variance inflation factor revealed the presence of multicollinearity caused by the INDT. As a result of this, the ridge regression method was used and it was found that the multicollinearity problem was addressed with appropriate ridge constant K= 0.29. Hence, ridge regression technique with constant K= 0.29 was a robust method to predict economic growth in Nigeria using the explanatory variables under consideration. Thus, served as a great benefit to the policy makers as the study provided a better understanding of the economic growth and the aforementioned determinants in terms of relationship and in particular the set back caused by EXDT on the economy of Nigeria. Also, the researchers benefited from this study as it engendered the understanding of the appropriate estimation technique to be used when the presence of multicollinearity was established in fitting a linear model.