The September 2024 issue of the Financial and Economic Review is now published

The Our Vision column in the September issue of our scientific journal reviews the topic of accelerating green transition. The published studies are about innovation-driven enterprises, the introduction of IFRS 17, payment habits, stock market returns and leadership behaviour. An essay presents compliance as business development potential. The feature articles examine the Green Preferential Capital Requirement Programmes and the role of financial information.

In his essay, Ralph De Haas essay points out that access to bank credit and the quality of firms’ management both play important roles in determining how much businesses invest in energy efficiency and pollution reduction. He finds that firms with better green management practices – as measured by their environmental objectives, targets and monitoring systems – are more likely to invest in a wide range of green projects. Based on a survey of the literature, the author argues that policies aimed at facilitating access to green finance should be combined with initiatives to help business leaders become better green managers.

In his study, Mihály Szoboszlai demonstrates that the distribution of innovation-driven enterprises (IDEs) in Hungary shows territorial concentration, dominated by the capital and counties with university towns. Taking into account business demographic characteristics, the probability of occurrence of IDEs in six counties was similar to that in Budapest. Of these, three are knowledge regions (Baranya, Csongrád-Csanád, Hajdú-Bihar), indicating that the presence of IDEs is not necessarily higher in counties with universities with multiple faculties. It is important what type of enterprise operates in a region from which IDEs can emerge.

Hungarian innovation-driven enterprises (HIDEs) play a prominent role in economic development and breaking out of the middle-income trap. In their study, Stefan Kovács and András Nemeslaki examine the innovation capabilities of small and medium-sized enterprises and their export market competitiveness. They adapt the experience of the MIT REAP (Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program) to the Hungarian environment, pointing out that HIDE enterprises contribute to sustainable growth. They highlight the importance of access to financial resources and the development of technological and human resources.

The new standard of the international accounting system applicable from 2023 is IFRS 17. The standard defines a uniform methodology based on fair valuation for the settlement of insurance contracts. Its application primarily affects insurance companies and is resource-intensive both at the IT and expert levels. In the Hungarian market, three insurance companies prepare their accounts according to IFRS, but the majority of insurance companies belonging to the group also perform IFRS calculations for their consolidated accounts. The study by Zsófia Szikráné Lindner, Beatrix Dénes, Gabriella Kosztik, Gabriella Merész and Mária Somogyvári Sándorné examines the main impacts of the transition to IFRS 17 for both types of institutions.

Financial institutions and regulators play a key role in shaping household payment habits and enhancing instant payment systems. In their study, Péter Antal, Cserne Panka Póta and Patrícia Becsky-Nagy analyse the payment habits and instant payment systems of the V4 countries in a comparative way, examining what factors influence the public’s payment habits and according to what operating parameters the instant payment systems of the V4 operate. In the answers, the authors reveal the similarities and differences between the countries and their reasons.

Seasonal depression reduces investors’ willingness to take risks. Although many previous studies have investigated the phenomenon, due to the sometimes contradictory results, no clear conclusion can be drawn. Virág Kégl and Dóra Gréta Petróczy examine the degree of seasonal depression and stock index returns in two US and five European stock exchanges. Their analysis finds a statistically significant relationship between the change in returns and the development of seasonal depression on three large stock exchanges (NASDAQ, the United Kingdom, Germany).

There are few industries that use the word trust more often in their communication than the financial sector. In their research, based on the anonymous responses of 556 employees of four financial organisations, Emőke Nyéki and Márta Juhász investigate what affects employees’ trust, what line and executive managers can do to ensure that their subordinates are committed to their leaders and the organisation. Although employees expect different things from the line manager and the executive manager, the researchers nevertheless find a significant correlation between commitment and the perception of leadership behaviour that is important to the employees.

The essay by Andrea Pelei, Ferenc Bognár and Petra Benedek shows how regulatory compliance can drive business development. Effective compliance management that integrates risk management and innovation can increase stakeholder trust, improve customer experience, and boost product development. The authors emphasise the adaptation of international good practices to the local context, such as the Hungarian and EU environment. The results point to a change in attitude: compliance and rule-following corporate operations are not only a requirement, but also a tool for business excellence.

The Green Preferential Capital Requirement Programme for credit institutions is less known to the general public, but at the same time, it is a flagship for encouraging banking green frameworks and product development. In their feature article, Donát Kim, Eszter Raciborski and Várgedő Bálint comprehensively describe the mechanism of the programme, and its impact on financial stability and lending.

In her feature article, Éva Kissné Ladányi presents the FINREP reporting system, which was introduced in the European Union just 10 years ago. In addition to the supervisory use of the financial information reported by banks with a uniform content and format, the author draws attention to the examples of utilisation for statistical and analytical purposes and to the still unexploited opportunities.

In addition to the above, the September issue of the Financial and Economic Review includes four book reviews.

The publication can be viewed on the website of our Journal:

https://en-hitelintezetiszemle.mnb.hu/

We wish you a very pleasant reading.

Editorial staff of the Financial and Economic Review