UK financial services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

UK financial services - Essay Example This in turn led to a sequential inductive effect on other countries’ economies, which eventually caused a global financial crisis. This shows the power that that the United Kingdom’s financial services sector wields. This paper will discuss various aspects of the financial services sector in the UK, including the main financial services product types and their functions; financial advice; UK taxation and social security systems; and inflation, interest rate volatility and other relevant socio-economic factors. By the end of this paper, I hope to have examined, evaluated, and discussed the United Kingdom’s financial services sector with regards to these aspects. Key words Financial services; interest rate volatility; inflation; social security systems i) The Main Financial Services product types and their Functions Banking UK banks are generally public limited companies (plcs) that are owned by shareholders.The banking sector in the UK has the second largest asse ts in the world ($11 trillion). It offers borrowing and lending services, corporate financing, financial advice, and other financial services. The Bank of England regulates lending and borrowing rates by setting interest rates. By doing this, it also regulates foreign exchange services, cost of goods and services, the money market, and the cost of doing business. When it comes to international banking, the UK is the largest individual market for bank borrowing and lending. Approximately 20% of cross-border trading and 22% of borrowing is organized in the UK. The county also has a long tradition of well-developed systems for processing complex transactions, as well as a strong regard for corporate activity. The UK banking industry is very diverse, and this is shown by the presence of over 551 international banks in London alone in 2007. By comparison, New York has 250, Paris 271, and Frankfurt 280 (British Invisibles 2009, pg. 22). The UK also has very dynamic money markets which cat er for institutional/corporate customer activity in forward and spot markets as well as the proprietary trading activities of banks. In April 2009, the United Kingdom estimated to have a 36% share of the total worldwide foreign exchange turnover with around $1.7bn daily. Local retail banking is entrenched in the UK, with 5 big banks leading the way. These are Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, HSBC, Santander, and RBS Group. Together, these banks control around 65% or more of the total retail banking market in the UK (Copperfield 2010, pg. 27). There are about 52 building societies which complement banks. The largest of these are Yorkshire, Skipton, Coventry, and Nationwide. There are also a couple of retail groups (Marks & Spencer, Tesco and Sainsbury’s) which provide a variety of financial services products ranging from current accounts to credit cards and insurance (Copperfield 2010, pg. 33). Capital Markets Securities trading and issuance (including trading of commodities an d derivatives) is done by more than 170 firms headquartered London, and is dominated by international banks like Barclays Capital, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, and JP Morgan. It is a sub-sector that is also consolidated since 60% is controlled by the top seven entities. The UK accounts for about 25% of the total banking fee revenues in the Europe, while London

Distance Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Distance Learning - Essay Example The online enrollment estimations made in the late 1990s have been exceeded and continues to grow at amazingly high rates. Thus, the number of online students reached 2.6 million in the fall of 2004 (Allen, and Seaman, 2004). Despite the tremendous success of distance technology-mediated learning (this term covers not only fully online courses, but also various blended approaches that integrate online components into traditional classes), experts suggests that it still remains at an early stage of development (Smart, and Cappel, 2006). The conventional concepts and theories of education were reported to retain their suitability in the web-based learning environment. Numerous research studies demonstrated that cognitive factors such as performance, learning, and achievement in distance education classes are comparable to those observed in traditional classes (Russell, 1999). ... s enrolled in an introductory psychology course performed better in distance education courses, although the level of their satisfaction with them was lower. Students in the web based course consistently scored an average of five percentage points higher on the final exam than did those in the lecture course, but they consistently reported less satisfaction than the students in the lecture course (Hagel, and Shaw, 2003). Student satisfaction is currently believed to be one of the major indicators of student development in conventional higher education. The mission of higher education is not only to impart knowledge but also to enhance the student's total development (Astin, 1993). One of the ways higher education institutions accomplish this mission is by continuously collecting information on student satisfaction, defined by various authors as an "everpresent campus variable" (Betz, Menne, Starr, and Klingensmith, 1971: 99), the key outcome of higher education (Astin, 1993), and the 'quality enhancement tool designed to improve the quality of the student experience' (Harvey, Plimmer, Moon, and Geall, 1997: 3). Traditionally, the institutions of higher education have used the data on student satisfaction to improve understanding of the educational environments. This understanding, it its turn, allowed to create settings more conducive for student development. Student satisfaction is an indicator of higher education institutions' responsiveness to the needs of students. Also it is a measure of institutional effectiveness, success, and vitality. Measuring student satisfaction is also important for maintaining and increasing enrollment, managing attrition and retention problems, and making better-informed decisions in the area of student affairs (Beltyukova, 2002).