Financial Conglomerates

1. Defining financial conglomerates Combining economic and legal approaches.- 1.1. The essential elements that constitute a financial conglomerate.- 1.2. Defining a group of enterprises.- 1.3. Defining financial institutions and financial activities.- 1.4. What distinguishes a financial conglomerate from a financial institution?.- 1.5. Complementarity between the activities and institutions involved.- 1.6. A financial conglomerate is not really a conglomerate in the economic sense of the word.- Appendix 1.A. Relevant definitions.- A.1. Defining a group.- A.2. Defining a daughter company or subsidiary.- A.3. Defining a participation.- A.4. Defining an associated or related enterprise.- A.5. Defining a financial conglomerate.- 2. Defining financial conglomerates; Discussion.- 2.1. Discussion by dr.A.J.Vermaat.- 2.2. Discussion by Drs.J.H. Holsboer.- 2.3. Discussion by dr. K.W. Knauth.- 2.4. Discussion by P.Pearson.- 2.5. The case Norway by S. Simonsen.- Appendix 2.A.- A.1. Financial institutions.- A.2. Financial groups.- 3. Application of the most relevant definitions to the relational database.- 3.1. The collection of the data.- 3.2. The results.- 4. Financial conglomerates; Risks?.- 4.1. What are the potential risks in relation to financial conglomerates ?.- 4.2. The supervision of financial conglomerates.- 5. Solvency regulations for financial conglomerates.- 5.1. Calculation of the required level of solvency for credit institutions and for insurance companies.- 5.2. Calculation of the solvency fund for credit institutions and insurance companies.- 5.3. Other elements that must guarantee the stability and confidence in the financial and insurance sector.- 5.4. Philosophy behind the solvency requirements for credit institutions and insurance companies.- Appendix 5.A. Credit institutions.- A.1. What is the minimum level of solvency?.- A.2. Components of solvency.- A.3. Risk weighting factors.- Appendix 5.B. Insurance companies.- B.1. What is the minimum level of solvency.- B.2. Components of solvency.- B.3. List of symbols.- Appendix 5.C. Comparison of own funds.- 6. Research into the possibility of a global approach for the calculation of the solvency requirements of financial conglomerates.- 6.1. Some theoretical remarks.- 6.2. Simulations of the combined solvency.- 6.3. Analysis of the need for an actualisation of the minimum solvency requirements.- Appendix 6.A.Theoretical problems in the application of the banking rules to insurance companies.- A.1. Definition of the solvency needed: the weighting factors.- Appendix 6.B. Simulation exercises.- B.1. Calculation of the solvency required according to the banking directives.- B.2. Combining solvency requirements according to insurance and banking rules.- Appendix 6.C. Correction: minimum solvency levels.- C.1. Correction on the European level.- C.2. Corrections for the Dutch market.- 7. Financial conglomerates, solvency and risks.- 7.1. Discussion by S. Simonsen.- 7.2. Discussion by Ø. LØining.- 7.3. Risk-based capital in the United States, discussion by J. Roos.- 7.4. Discussion by drs.J.H. Holsboer.- 7.5. Discussion by dr. K.W. Knauth.- 7.6. Discussion by R Pearson.- Appendix 7.A.Thresholds and minimum guarantee funds.- 8. Why financial conglomerates? Strategic Issues.- 8.1. What is the reasoning behind the formation of a financial conglomerate ?.- 8.2. Financial conglomerates: new wave strategic thinking?.- 8.3. Strategy at the limits of the possible: the management recipe of the nineties.- 8.4. Strategy at the limits of the possible goes further than internal creativity.- 8.5.The formation of financial conglomerates can be a strategy at the limits of the possible.- 8.6. Conclusions.- 9. Summary and Conclusions.- 9.1. Part 1 — Definitions.- 9.2. Part II — Regulating financial conglomerates.- 9.3. Part III — Strategic issues.