New Distribution Capability (NDC) and its Effects on Travel Industry in Oman

Purpose of study The objectives of the study were to analyze the effects of transformation from GDS to NDC from the perspectives of the travel agencies in Oman; to find out the concerns of the travel agencies in Oman with regards to the implementation of NDC and to compare the benefits of NDC content with GDS from the perspectives of the travel agencies in Oman. Design/Methodology/Approach A questionnaire survey, telephone, and personal interview were conducted with 19 top leading travel agencies in Muscat region, Oman. Each Travel agent manager was given the questionnaire through google forms for the questionnaire. The telephone/ personal interview was also conducted. Around 78 employees were targeted out of which only 13 responded. The data collected was analyzed using Statistical package. Findings The findings support the fact that Oman being a small market with many small and medium players’ implementations of NDC is slow. The current pandemic has slowed it down even further. But their help being offered in terms of training and awareness by the NDC platform and some major airlines to speed up the adaptation. The study showed that the high cost of technological implementation is going to be one of the major barriers to complete switch to NDC system. As of now, the travel agents will be settling for GDS with NDC. Research Implications The adaptation by NDS has been slow especially by airlines. With IATA pushing the implementation, major airlines are slowly but surely adapting it as they can see the benefits they can derive. The customers too are benefiting from direct buying. The travel agencies in Oman especially small and medium-sized travel agencies are the ones who are most affected and there is not enough research being done to find what is it that is stopping them from adapting. Social Implications The pandemic has devastated the travel industry overall. Many small and medium businesses have been forced to shut due to lockdowns. Further, more people becoming comfortable with online shopping and willing to spend less, it will be a while before travel agents can start earning the same level of revenue they were enjoying before the pandemic. This will have an impact on unemployment as well as the inability to meet loan commitments. This can have a ripple effect. Originality/Novelty Few academic research has been carried out on NDC, especially in the Middle East. This research is the first of its kind which is dedicated to travel agents from Oman. The fact that NDC is set to revolutionize the shopping experience for the consumer one cannot ignore the fact that it is set to blow a dent in the revenues of the Travel agents.

HISTORY OF NOTARY IN UKRAINE IN THE PRE-REFORM PERIOD

The article considers the process of evolution of notarial work in Ukraine during the second half of the XVIII – XIX centuries. The legal framework, which was the basis for the activities of notaries in the specified period of time, is studied. The contribution of merchants to the development of the institution of notary as a component and then a separate part of the judicial system of the empire is analyzed. This state was leading in the position of notaries in the second half of the XVIII –XIX centuries. Notaries prepared and certified various legal acts, giving them the meaning of public acts, engaged in the issuance of various types of evidence, compiling descriptions of property, public sales. The activities of the notary in each region were controlled by the provincial court, which checked the qualifications of the «applicant», appointed a person to the position of notary, checked his work. In the counties with the vacant position of notary, his functions were performed by a justice of the peace. The Regulations on the Notarial Part» of April 14, 1866 defined the rights and duties of a notary. It is investigated that the management of the notarial part under the supervision of judicial places was given to notaries and senior notaries who were at the notarial archives. In cities and towns where notaries were absent, attendance certificates were provided to justices of the peace. Notaries were appointed and dismissed by the senior chairman of the court chamber. The dismissal could not have taken place without a trial. Notaries were considered in the civil service with the assignment of the eighth grade, but they were not entitled to ranks or a pension for this title. It is noted that notaries appointed by the government had the right to enjoy the same rights as assistant secretaries of the district court. It was emphasized that they performed their functions only within the district to which the district court was assigned. In other regions, the act they carried out had no legal force. In all acts, notaries carried the secret of storage and non-disclosure, except for exceptions specified by the state. Notaries were required to keep a register of all acts, protests and certifications, as well as loan commitments and agreements. They had to carry out various acts at the request of the population: to issue extracts from act books and copies of acts, to accept for storage from individuals various documents. The senior notary had the same rights as members of the district courts. Senior notaries had the right to certify acts on the transfer of real estate, to approve acts and to make notes in the register of serfdom on the restriction of ownership of real estate.

Methodological assistance of estimation of potential borrower’s creditworthy by microfinance organization

The article substantiates the possibility of assessing the creditworthiness of a potential borrower with the helping of the methodology of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development by a microfinance organization. For that is very important to have objective information for forecasting financial difficulties of potential borrowers. These factors effect to performance of loan commitments and to have to take into consideration the real conditions of Russian economic, sectored or territorial features of business and other conditions.

Liquidity, Synergy and Winner-take-all Effect

The synergy between deposit-taking and lending is the specialness of banking institutions as financial intermediaries. The activities from both balance sheet and off-balance sheet could share the cost of holding liquid assets, which is based on the fact that draw-downs on loan commitments and withdrawals on deposits are not perfectly correlated. However, it matters to reveal the dynamic connections between the two sources of liquidity risk for the purpose of analyzing the real impact on individual banks from a more microscopic perspective. As the evidence shows in this study, a winner-take-all effect is hidden in the synergy and could cause local double cash outflow from particular banks. It also provides new insights on liquidity management of commercial banks.

Greek debt deal may split Syriza leading to elections

Significance After months of trying to abide by its election promises to end six years of austerity, the Syriza-led coalition government has capitulated to creditor demands and proposed 8 billion euros (9 billion dollars) in new fiscal measures. The initial reaction of Eurogroup partners was positive but pragmatic, and the proposals have been referred to technocrats from the European Commission, ECB and IMF to examine the details. Impacts A final bailout tranche of 7.2 billion euros may be released together with other monies allowing Greece to meet immediate loan commitments. The EU heads of government conference on June 25-26 will have to sign off on any deal. Despite recent convergence, there are still objections primarily from the IMF concerning the mix of policies in the latest proposals. Key for breakthrough and for Syriza to market the deal internally will be whether it includes commitment to tackling Greece's debt issue.

Off-balance sheet activities and community bank performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine loan commitments and lending patterns of community banks. The authors also test for shifts in these relationships in the period unwinding the subprime crisis. Design/methodology/approach – Standard panel fixed-effect models as well as hierarchical (mixed) regression models are estimated given that banks operating in a specific geographic market may vary systematically with differences in firm-level characteristics. Hierarchical (mixed) regression models can control for within-counties and within-banks similarities. The authors also employ pooled estimations with clustered standard errors at the bank level as robustness check. Findings – The empirical results show that the use of loan commitments is generally associated with moderate increase in profitability and higher insolvency risk. However, during the recent financial crisis, the use of loan commitments becomes safer. The use of loan commitments is more risky for community banks that concentrate more on loans that focus on real estate, while it is safer for community banks with higher equity. In regards to the performance of community banks’ balance sheet loan activities, a more concentrated loan portfolio results in lower return and higher insolvency risks. High loan growth generates higher return and higher risks. Originality/value – Prior to the 2008 credit meltdown, community banks significantly increased their issuance of off-balance sheet loan commitments. While the ratio of loan commitments to total loans has come down in recent years it continues to exceed the levels reached in the 1990s. This evolution has, however resulted in little research regarding its implications on community bank profitability and risk.