Potential renewable energy sources for kuwait

Potential renewable energy sources for kuwait RENEWABLE ENERGY Potential Renewable Energy Sources for Kuwait Kuwaits solution to providing enforcement to the current grid capacity and reliability is by exploring the various available options of renewable energy. Some of the major renewable forms of energy being utilized all over the world include solar, geothermal, wind and hydro energy. Based on the countrys climatic conditions, the potential sources of energy available for Kuwait are as follows. Solar Energy A key source of energy that Kuwait could utilize is solar energy. Solar energy involves converting the freely available and abundant sunlight to electrical power. The country experiences high temperatures and very sunny days between June and September (Salam Mazrooei, 2007). Kuwait can therefore comfortably sustain solar power production throughout the summer. Solar as a form of energy can be looked at from two angles: thermal-where solar energy is used for heating and photovoltaic (PV) which involves solar energy being used for power production. The first form of energy involves converting the heat from the sun into electricity, which is used in homes for water heating and desalination. Utilization in this way would result in much saving in terms of expenditure on energy. This form of energy can be used to cater for all household energy needs. It can also be used in street lighting as well as in industries for food production. It requires little cost to set up and maintain a solar energy system in your house. Apart from this being a cheaper option, it is environmental friendly in that it does not emit any harmful gases. The second option of utilizing sunlight, photovoltaic, would require more complex system put in place. This option is in fact under consideration by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to be implemented in Kuwait. Plans are underway to invest $3.6 billion in Kuwait alone to achieve photovoltaic energy in the country (Alnaser 2008). Using solar energy is expected to reduce the contribution of Kuwait to the worlds emission of Carbon Monoxide which currently stands at about 0.2% (Alnaser, 2008). Alnaser (2008) has further argued that globally, there has been an average increase of 40% in terms of the volumes of energy produced from solar. There is still more room for improvement because the amount of energy produced in a single day is enough to sustain life for years. Solar as a source of energy has a major shortcoming in that it is susceptible to interruption and thus not stable (ABB, 2011). The supply may be low during the cloudy and rainy days. The power produced may thus not be efficient and reliable for critical uses such as in production industries. Advances in technology should however be able to solve this problem in future. A more complex system that is able to store the solar energy and giving the user the control of the units being consumed is being explored. ABB (2011) has explained how lithium-ion batteries can be integrated with solar energy to provide back up during low production periods. Previous attempts by the Kuwait government to embark on solar energy project were thwarted by sand storm and the prevailing large amount of dust on potential tapping areas. The government has at times appeared not to be too enthusiastic to the idea as it â€Å"fails to give financial incentives to those willing to pursue such projects.† (Hashem, 2011). There is a renewed effort by the countrys government to invest in exploring the solar energy options. Recently, the countrys Chamber of Commerce and Industry, (KCCI), revealed a government-lead project that would cost $120bn. The project is to be implemented within the next five years. It involves the government embracing solar energy as part of its development plans. (Hashem, 2011). The government has also shown interests by partnering with other countries governments to implement solar projects all over the country. Fortune CT from UK and Toyota T Suchu Corporation from Japan are some of the international companies actively participating in implantation of solar energy in different regions in Kuwait. Solar energy has little effect on the environments as not gases are emitted. The costs of acquiring a solar system are also cheaper compared to geothermal and hydro. Maintaining the system costs almost nothing as no fuel is used. Wind Energy Wind energy involves utilizing the strength of wind to move large treadmills which in turn rotate to produce power. Just like solar energy, this form of energy is renewable and has little harm to the environment. Already, countries like Brazil are utilizing this form of energy ABB (2011). Brazil utilizes the offshore wind to generated energy which is then transmitted in the normal power lines for hundreds of kilometers. Countries with similar weather patterns including North African and other Middle East countries are in the process of implementing wind power use. It is projected that in years to come, wind energy will be used to produce about 12% the global energy and in the process a significant alternative energy source in the coming years (Alnaser, 2008). Kuwaits wind speed is above the 1400 per hour threshold which is considered as the minimum wind speed that can sustain economically viable wind production. Salam Mazrooei (2007) have noted that in recent years, Kuwait has been experiencing increasing wind speeds. There has been an increase of wind speeds of up to 0.21 ms-1 between 1999 and 2004. The country could look at the positive side of this effect. Windmills could be set up at strategic places to help trap the wind energy and convert it to electrical energy. Alnaser (2008) has projected that Kuwait would be generating a significant amount of wind and solar energy by the year 2015. For Kuwait to achieve this form of energy, a complex system made up of several wind turbines will have to be put in place at strategic areas. An ideal area would be on the sea shore to capitalize on the sea breeze common in such places. The acquisition of these turbines as well as setting up the plants will cost quite a lot. The government has to therefore provide some funding or offer incentive to private investor who may be willing to undertake the venture. Wind plans have also been known to have a negative effect on the wildlife in the surrounding area especially the birds. The construction sites of wind power plants require an area that is free from wind obstruction. With buildings built across the country, finding such a place may be a bit hard. Economically sustainable production of wind power requires that there be windy conditions throughout which might not always be the case. Geothermal energy Geothermal energy involves utilizing the heat on the ground to yield energy. Kuwait has the potential of creating geothermal energy that is yet to be fully exploited. Plans are underway to increase this option of energy generation. The Kuwait government has given a go ahead to contractor to construct a water plant, Al-Zour North power plant that is expected to produce about 4,800 megawatts of power (Izzak, 2010). The government is also planning to increase production in existing plants by replacing old systems with more efficient ones. Izzak, (2010) has explained that the government of Kuwait intends to replace about 18 percent of the transformers currently being used with more efficient ones. Other Countries in the Middle East have also been toying with the idea of geothermal energy. In UAE for example, Masdar, a pro environment conservation company has been carrying tests on how to implement a geothermal project in Abu Dhabi since 2009. The implementation was expected to start immediately after the testing. A major set buck to geothermal energy is that the process is a bit expensive to implement as compared to implementing solar energy. This is because geothermal electricity generation depends on water; yet this water has to be gotten through desalination of seawater, which is a costly process. Initial set up of the plant is also costly. Another problem is that Kuwait is quite hot. Achieving the geothermal energy requires some form of cooling. This cooling is quite impossible to achieve without emitting harmful gases to the environment. The depths at which the hot rocks are located vary from place to place. Geologists have to do thorough study to establish such facts and also to evaluate whether such a project is economically feasible in Kuwait. Once a geothermal plant is up and running, maintenance and running costs are relatively low. Hydroelectricity Hydroelectric power productions involve large volumes of high pressure water being used to turn large turbines to produce energy. Kuwait experiences a low amount of rainfall with the average being about 115 mm (Salam Mazrooei, 2007). The country is generally dry with few rivers. For the country to sustain an economical level of hydroelectric energy production, it must utilize other sources: primarily seawater. For this to happen, a fuel consuming process of salination has to be carried out which might be expensive to undertake. Just like the other aforementioned options, Hydro plant set up requires a lot of resources to set up. Such a project would therefore require substantive funding from either the government or private sector. This form of energy would require building of dams. This would result in interfering with the wildlife existing in the rivers as well as the surrounding area. Bio Fuel Another potential source of renewable energy is bio fuel. This is a kind of fuel that is obtained from biomass. The energy produced can be used for heating and lighting in the rural areas. It can be also used for cooking at both rural and urban setting. Bio Fuel energy offers the only alternative to fossil fuel as a renewable carbon based source of fuel that exist is significant quantity (Klass, 2004). Klass, (2004) has argued that the levels of natural gas would not be sufficient to sustain the demand during the beginning of the 21st century. Such a situation would force the world to look elsewhere for their energy supply. This could require the stakeholders in the sector to shift to unexploited biomass as the alternative source of energy. Kuwait can position herself for such an eventuality by investing in the relevant biomass conversion technologies. The country could, for instance, invest in power plants which use wood energy which is burned to generate steam. This steam is in turn channeled to turbines to produce energy. To sustain this way of energy production, there requires a sufficient supply of biomass. Breeding plants that produce high amount of biomass can achieve this. Klass, (2004) has identified particular plant species that can achieve help achive this. Such plants include the unique herbaceous biomass plants and other hybrid flora, which he refers to as ‘energy plants. Klass, (2004) has explained a way of ensuring a constant supply of biomass for biofuel. This is by ensuring that a new growth of biomass will readily come up in place of the biomass collected for energy production. Bio fuel use has an additional advantage in that it has does not pollute the environment and displaces the use of fuel. When used in conjunction with coal or wood, bio fuel reduces the amount of harmful gasses released to the environment. Bio fuel use could also reduce the rate at which fossil fuel is being depleted from earth. Ethanol fuel Closely related to bio fuel is use of ethanol. This ethanol as gotten from plants such as sugarcane, wheat and corn and can be used for fueling vehicles. Setting up plants for ethanol harvesting is relatively cheap. However, getting a constant supply of ethanol producing plants would require a considerable resource allocation. The process of production of energy is also quit costly, as it requires fuel. The fuel used in producing ethanol may also result in production of gases, which may pollute the environment. Conclusion The potential is there for Kuwait to explore other option of energy production. The underlying factor in all these options is some sort of funding for research as well as initial set up. The government of Kuwait can do this either directly or by offering financial incentive. Exhaustive cost-benefit analysis is also necessary to establish the viability of each option. Any option that Kuwait takes would an important enforcement to the current grid capacity which is dominated by natural gas and oil.

Japan social aspects Essay -- essays research papers

The Japanese culture is unlike any other in the world. It has long been known for it’s excellence in education and it’s strong background of family and religion. The Japanese way of life is an assortment of art, literature, music and more; it is nothing short of spectacular. I will explain about some of the different aspects of the Japanese life style as well as take a cultural look into the life of the Japanese.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Finding a place to live in Japan isn't easy. Limited supply and high demand result in tiny, hutch size homes with high rent rates. On average, dwellings in Japan have 91.92 square meters (about 989 square feet) of floor space, which is not very much compared to the average house sold in the United States. By Western standards, the Japanese home is very small. In the major cities, most families live in tiny apartments. One third of the housing in Tokyo averages only 121 square feet while the average Japanese home is 989. Land is hard to find and thus extremely expensive. For this reason there are many cultural differences between west and east.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Japanese do not entertain in their homes as they feel that their houses are not worthy enough to bring in visitors. In fact, typical entertaining for men is in a convenient city location, generally, close to where they work. In the cities, it is not at all unusual for people to travel at least one and a half hours to work in each direction.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Good table manners and good manners in general is a key to the Japanese lifestyle. Eating is considered a very formal activity and is treated with the greatest amount of prestige. Just after you sit down at a table, you are given a hot (or sometimes in the summer cold) damp, white towel called an o-shibori. In a restaurant it is generally wrapped in plastic or is often served on a small oblong tray specifically made to place the o-shibori on. The towel is used to wipe your hands. In less formal situations, Japanese men often wash their faces with the towels, but it is best not to do this. After use, the towel is placed back on the tray. The o-shibori does not stay on the table throughout the meal and often napkins are not supplied. It is customary to keep a tissue or a handkerchief with you at all times.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Japan, homes are very private and it i... ...;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Japan's national police agency recorded 2.85m crimes last year, a 60% increase from a decade earlier and the highest number reported since the end of the second world war. Although less than 1% of those were classified as â€Å"heinous crimes†Ã¢â‚¬â€such as murder, rape, arson, kidnapping and armed robbery—the incidence of such violent offences has also risen sharply, increasing 75% between 1998 and last year. Even more alarming than the numbers, to some Japanese, is the sense that the most visible perpetrators—foreigners and young people with different values—represent a threat to the safe society they have grown to expect.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Of course, in Japan, as elsewhere, apparent trends in crime can be misleading. Although ghastly killings such as those in Nagasaki and Fukuoka are bound to gain national attention, murders remain rare in Japan, both by international and historical standards. The homicide rate has hardly changed since the mid-1990s, and remains much lower than it was in the 1960s. Nevertheless, prominent murders tap into broader Japanese fears about a wave of violent crimes and other offences, which have indeed been rising sharply.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Globalization on South Africa

Globalization is the â€Å"shrinking† of the world and the increased consciousness of the world as a whole. It is a term used to describe the changes in societies and the world economy that is a result of dramatically increased cross-border trade, investment, and cultural exchange. Globalization has been dominated by the nation-state, national economies, and national cultural identities. The new form of globalization is an interconnected world and global mass culture, often referred to as a â€Å"global village. â€Å"(Bhagwati,2004). Globalization is perhaps the central concept of our age (Bhagwati, 2004). Developing country refers to the countries which are economicaly and technologically undeveloped. South Africa stands as a semi-sephere nation making it differ from the rest of the developing world although it has party some charectateristics of a deceloping world. For South Africa to be the strongest African economy and attenting positions such as being a member of the g8 as been a clearl work of globalization making it at the center of the Africa. Globalization has managed to have an impact on the economy ,politics and social nature bringing about positive results for South Africa. In this essay;The situation during economicec sunctions and its leberisation is clear evidance to economic libirazation I am going to illustrate how this process has had a positive impact in South Africa as a whole. primarly focusing on the positive impact globalization has had on South Africas economy . Through the broad and economic lebarization with other counties. The phenomeanall of globalization states that The integration of South Africa into an increasingly integrated world economy has encouraged closer economic, political, and social interaction. In South Africa it has given companies access to wider markets and consumers access to a greater variety of goods and services. It has manifests itself in various forms such as an increase in international trade, financial flows, and foreign direct investment (Smith,2001). This has resulted in South African economy managing to emerge its market status. Its economy has been the centre of Africa and one of the strongest in the world and its economic realisation has been due to its effective and successfully eco integration with other parts of the world. The economic growth has been due to the global economy (Smith,2001). Politically, globalization has resulted in the affluent and efficient government system adapted through integration of political systems party which holds fair economies making the government of South Africa, accountable and durable to stable economies . For instance, ANC leaders chucked decades of rhetoric and opened the South African economy to the rest of the world (Smith,2001). From my own personal perspective and experience in a â€Å"global village†. Globalization has had positive impact in South Africa’s production of goods and services. For instance, the franchise of MacDonald’s has led to production aiming to maintain the global standard of the franchise producing standard global quality of production in South Africa (Ritzer,2000). Globalization has had a positive impact on the South African society . Myopic mindedness has been dealt away with and they have been set a more affluent and integration of ideas from different parts of the world which has helped the society in general. For instance the AIDS awareness has become a global theme and has encouraged South Africa to get more involved in its Aids awareness which has primarily not been as successful in the past and due to the integration this has been possible. Different cultural ideas and tradition have also been interlinked and have asses to explore the world they leave in improving knowledge (Ritzer,200) In conclusion to my argument, globalization has had a more positive impact on South Africa. They has been economic, political, technology and social integration (Bhagwati,2004) . They have been open trade improving the economy of the South Africa. Influence in the politics and technology helping develop new innovations helping the county. The global perspective of the society has since grown to be smaller, allowing different cultural integration and eliminating isolation and living the society prom to more knowledge.

Impact Of Financial Crisis On Bank In Bahrain Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 14 Words: 4170 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? The main purpose of the study is to understand the problems faced by bank in Bahrain as a result of the financial crisis. After a lasting time of instability, the global economy finally started to stabilize in 2009 with the assistance of a considerable amount of intervention from the public which resulted in a mount in output and financial market bounce back amidst superior levels of confidence and certainty. All through 2009, world output decreased by 0.6% and was predicted to pick up during 2010 to 2.3% and developing economies by 6.3%. With inflation issues controlled and commodity prices rebounding from the previous low levels, the globe recovery was expected to continue in 2010, even though at varying speeds around regions. During 2009, inflation for highly developed economies recorded a minor 0.1% growth, in spite of slack monetary policy and near zero interest rates. Consumer prices in emerging and developing markets had an inflation of 5.2% during the same year (2009). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Impact Of Financial Crisis On Bank In Bahrain Finance Essay" essay for you Create order Background of the study: The impacts of the financial crisis on the Bahraini economy were more visible in 2009. The GDP recorded negative growth. Moreover, real GDP growth decreased to half the rate attained in 2008. On the other hand, in real terms, GDP sustained to rise during 2009, even though at half the speed compared with 2008. Real GDP recorded a growth rate of 3.1% back in 2009, down all the way from 6.3% in 2008. Regardless of the slowdown in the financial sector, it remains one of the largest single contributors to GDP. By the end of the year 2009, the financial sector accounted for 25.1% of real GDP, down from 26.6% in 2008. As a result of the intervention procedures taken by the authorities to sustain growth, the overall fiscal balance of the GCC countries reduced rapidly during 2009 to achieve an estimated 5.3% of GDP. barrel in 2010.Statement of the problem: The motto of the study is to understand the impact of global financial crisis on Bahrain banks. This can be understood from the answer to three key questions: What impact did the bank face due to the crisis? How is it affected their investor base? What are the steps taken to ensure stability during such crisis? Definition of the problem: Global crisis began in the late 2008 owing to drastic rise in the defaulter numbers to housing loans in US. This shattered economies everywhere as investors in housing and real sector found their land values depreciating due to the depreciation of dollar. In order to clear debts, many companies were granted aid which finally resulted in banks requiring bailout from the crisis. On the contrary very few economies survived the crisis with proper hedging of funds via bonds, shares, debentures, etc. Hypothesis of the study: The study will help analyze the steps to be taken in order to withstand and ensure stability in times of crisis in Bahrain banks. Significance of the study: The study is essential in the face of global crisis which had doomed many companies and moreover banks too. Bank in Bahrain too did not miss to be a target of this crisis. By the end of 2009 fiscal, the bank had been exposed to various challenges of crisis like drying up of credit, drastic fall in its corporate earnings and moreover failure to lure investors out of their market owing to price volatility after the dollar depreciation. The bank however worked on its strategies for crisis like focusing on matching its liabilities to maturity profile of assets thereby protecting their balance sheets. The bank moreover started supporting the financing needs of the portfolio owing to banks pulling out from the system. Major factors that act as an immunity in times of crisis include proper governance, timely action to identify defaulters and effective tactics to identify genuine investors. The strategies used by banks in their core areas to fight crisis gives an idea as to how to tackle the crisis challenges. In 2009, the financial sector sustains to be the major contributor to Bahrains economy, accounting for 25.1% of real GDP. The total assets of retail banks stood at BD 22.5 billion as at 31 of December of the same year. Total outstanding credit facilities enlarged by retail banks to the diverse sectors of the domestic economy continued to be stable and amounted to BD 5,884.9m at end-2009, compared to BD 5,887.6 million at end-2008. Even without the financial crisis, the real estate and construction sector remained embarked on and persisted many projects with a total of 9,928 construction permits issued in the same year. Several real estate projects continued to grow in 2009 Diyar Al Muharraq, Amwaj Islands and Durrat Al Bahrain. The root for all these success in handling the crisis can be attributed to the carefully cultivated corporate culture that supports teams to work with quality, dedication, innovative thinking and coordinated decision-making. This has helped the bank to develop and maintain a conservative capital thereby helping mitigating risks. Scope and limitations: A major part of the study was based on the strategies to be undertaken in the wake of economic crisis. The strategies used by few banks are also applicable to other banks. Moreover effective co-ordination among investors and employees help ensure stability in operations. The study also focuses on strategies focused by banks on each of its diverse business areas with the advantage of giving diverse investment options to customers. Major limitation included considering only bank in Bahrain for the impact of global crisis on banks in Bahrain. Another limitation is the timing. The researcher has limited time to fulfill this research and deliver it to the course mentor to pass the requirement of the degree. Hence the researcher will try to get as much related data as possible. 2 Chapter Literature Reviews 1. Indirection: 1.1 History of banking and its growth: Kiyotaki and Moor (1997), and Bernanke, Gertler and Gilchrist (1999) introduce financial frictions into business cycle models. Thus, we had the models which help us understand the financial frictions on just non financial institutions. Later, Albuquerque and Hopenhaya (2004), Alvarez and Jermann (2000), Jerman and Quadrini (2011) and Miao and Wang ( 2011 a,b,c) introduced a model to introduce financial frictions into the banking sector in the form of endogenous borrowing constraints or Islamic banking and financing. According to John F. Dix (July, 2009), there is no debate that the current troubled economic conditions were in large part caused by taking unreasonable and undefined risks. The role of excessive risk and the consequences that behavior caused has likely resulted in management taking a new and perhaps leery view of undertaking opportunities that are at all risky. Following are some thoughts concerning approaches to risk taking that allows risks to be taken with the assurance that the consequences are not fatal to the company and that an atmosphere of reasonable risk taking is indeed encouraged among the managers of the company. When these two conditions are imbedded in the culture of the company then risk taking becomes a powerful tool for growth and leadership. Therefore in our model household put deposits in a bank and deposits become liabilities of the bank. Now if the bank chooses to default, then the depositors can seize a fraction of bank capital. Instead of liquidating seized bank capital, deposit repayments. The threat value to depositors is the stock market value of the bank with seized bank capital. 1.2 Background of the financial crisis: The existing financial crisis faced by the banks is proving a challenge to the macroeconomists. Actually the traditional macroeconomists believed in the perfect market situation and did not recognize the financial frictions as observed in the last decade. Therefore the traditional models are not so helpful in understanding the present day financial crisis which has resulted in the fall of great economies of the world, especially the European countries. The fall of the global banks like Lehman brothers, Franklin Templeton and Barclay, followed by the fall of economies of Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Spain Slovenia, Italy, Ireland, Slovakia, Malta, Belgium and now France, Austria and Germany joining the show. 1.3 How the financial crisis affected the banks performance: As in Kocherlakota (2009), and Miao and Wang (2011a), we construct a third type of equilibrium in which households believe that banking bubbles may burst in the future with some probability. We show that even though there is no shock to the fundamentals of the economy, changes in confidence trigger a financial crisis. We show that immediately following the collapse of the banking bubble, deposit shrink, lending falls and credit spreads rise, causing real investment and output to fall. Following Gertler and Karadi (2011) and Gertler and Kiyotaki (2010), we model this inefficiency as a deadweight loss of output. We also follow their studies and assume that the size of direct lending responds to credit spreads according to a feedback rule. In our model, credit spreads rise sharply at the onset of a crisis. The central bank then injects credit in response to movements in credit spreads, according to the feedback rule. We show that this credit policy can mitigate economic downturns. The net effect on welfare trades between this benefit and efficiency costs. 1.4 Effects of the financial crisis on Bahrain: Bahrain is a small island-kingdom in the Middle East. Beside the oil and gas sector, the financial services sector is among the highest contributors to the countrys overall GDP. According to the Central Bank of Bahrains (CBB) annual report 2011, the sector contributed 25% to GDP of the country in 2010. Up to June 2011, the number of financial institutions in the country is 411 and the total financial sector workforce is 14,137. The banking system in the Kingdom of Bahrain is considered as being the largest component of the financial system. Bahrains banking sector has remained to be a cornerstone for growth of the domestic economy. The banking sector represents over 85% of total financial assets (El-Quqa et.al, 2007). Furthermore, the banking system compromises both Conventional and Islamic banks. The Conventional sector includes retails banks, specialized banks, wholesale banks and representative offices of overseas banks. On the other hand, the Islamic sector consists of retail banks and wholesale banks which offer as host of Sharia compliant products and services. The sole regulator for financial system in Bahrain is the CBB. Up to December 2010, there are 6 Islamic retail banks and 18 Islamic wholesale banks operating in the kingdom (Hidayat, 2010). The high numbers of Islamic banks shows high profile of the country as the leading Islamic financial center in the region. In 2011, Islamic banks accounted for around 12% of Bahrains banking sector (Winton, 2011) 1.5 Financial performance of Banks: Bank capital requirements ensure that banks are not participating or holding investments that increase the risk of default and that they have enough capital to sustain operating losses while still honoring deposit withdrawals. In our model, there is no uncertainty about fundaments and hence there is no issue of risk-taking behavior. However, it should be kept in mind that the bank is an Islamic bank, and in Islamic financing the real-estates are vital investment instruments which underlay an inherent Shin (2012) and Bruno and Shin (2012) focus on the role played by large European banks. These banks are not only systemically important. These studies allude to three factors that fueled a lending boom accompanied by greater risk taking. The factors are easy monetary policy that lowers funding costs for banks, adoption of a regulatory structure that allows higher leverage, and an asset price boom and real appreciation of the currency that strengthens the balance sheet position of borrowers. Evidence for this for funding is provided by Baba, McCauley, and Ramaswamy (2009), who find that by mid-2008, justbefore the collapse of Lehman Brothers, over 40 percent of the assets of U.S. prime money market funds were short-term obligations of foreign banks, with obligations of global European banks representing the largest share. Pornrojnangkool (2009), Hellman, Lindsey and Puri (2008), and Uchida, Udell and Yamori (2008)], and the borrowers choice of debt and lenders [e.g. Kwan and Carleton (2009)], there are relatively few studies on the effects of the lenders financial conditions on loan pricing. Berger and Udell (2004) used the same kind of data as in this paper to link portfolio performance to the tightening of bank credit standards and lending volumes, referring to their findings as the institutional memory hypothesis. Murfin (2009) studied the supply-side effects on loan covenants and found evidence that banks wrote tighter loan contracts than their peers after suffering defaults to their own portfolios, even when defaulting borrowers were in different industries and geographic regions than current borrowers. For modern crises, the practical problem is that understanding crises by outsiders relies on observed events such as firm failures or government actions, and government statistics. This problem is manifest in defining and dating crises. In the modern era the determination of whether an event is a crisis and when it starts and ends, is based on governments actions because these are readily observable. Boyd, De Nicol and Loukoianova (2011) study the four leading classifications and dating of modern crisis events.ÂÂ  They show that for many crises the dating of the start and end dates differ quite significantly.ÂÂ  There is also some disagreement on which events are crises. Further, they show that the start dates are late.ÂÂ  This is because the government actions follow the crisis which has already begun, often in the form of a quiet run (Gorton (2012). The dating of the start and the end of a crisis is largely based on contemporary accounts of the crisis, and there is ambiguity 2. Financial performance of Banks: 2.1 How they measured performance: Bank capital requirements ensure that banks are not participating or holding investments that increase the risk of default and that they have enough capital to sustain operating losses while still honoring deposit withdrawals. In our model, there is no uncertainty about fundaments and hence there is no issue of risk-taking behavior. However, it should be kept in mind that the bank is an Islamic bank, and in Islamic financing the real-estates are vital investment instruments which underlay an inherent Shin (2012) and Bruno and Shin (2012) focus on the role played by large European banks. These banks are not only systemically important. These studies allude to three factors that fueled a lending boom accompanied by greater risk taking. The factors are easy monetary policy that lowers funding costs for banks, adoption of a regulatory structure that allows higher leverage, and an asset price boom and real appreciation of the currency that strengthens the balance sheet position of borrowers. Evidence for this for funding is provided by Baba, McCauley, and Ramaswamy (2009), who found that by mid-2008,justbefore the collapse of Lehman Brothers, over 40 percent of the assets of U.S. prime money market funds were short-term obligations of foreign banks, with obligations of global European banks representing the largest share. Pornrojnangkool (2009), Hellman, Lindsey and Puri (2008), and Uchida, Udell and Yamori (2008)], and the borrowers choice of debt and lenders [e.g. Kwan and Carleton (2009)], there are relatively few studies on the effects of the lenders financial conditions on loan pricing. Berger and Udell (2004) used the same kind of data as in this paper to link portfolio performance to the tightening of bank credit standards and lending volumes, referring to their findings as the institutional memory hypothesis. Murfin (2009) studied the supply-side effects on loan covenants and found evidence that banks wrote tighter loan contracts than their peers after suffering defaults to their own portfolios, even when defaulting borrowers were in different industries and geographic regions than current borrowers. For modern crises, the practical problem is that understanding crises by outsiders relies on observed events such as firm failures or government actions, and government statistics. This problem is manifest in defining and dating crises. In the modern era the determination of whether an event is a crisis and when it starts and ends, is based on governments actions because these are readily observable. Boyd, De Nicol and Loukoianova (2011) study the four leading classifications and dating of modern crisis events.ÂÂ  They show that for many crises the dating of the start and end dates differ quite significantly.ÂÂ  There is also some disagreement on which events are crises. Further, they show that the start dates are late.ÂÂ  This is because the government actions follow the crisis which has already begun, often in the form of a quiet run (Gorton (2012). The dating of the start and the end of a crisis is largely based on contemporary accounts of the crisis, and there is ambiguity 3. Impact of financial crisis on bank performance: The central irony of the governance failures of 2007-2008 was that many took place in some of the most sophisticated banks operating in some of the most developed governance environments in the world. A number of countries in different continent faced debt crisis. The examples of failures of major financial institutions in different continents and countries include the followings. Europe United Kingdom: United States: The major reasons that were concluded as the cause of such failure and crisis are categorized as follows. Risk Governance. Incapability of many boards to posess a comprehensive understanding. Senior management failure to adopt the necessary part in the report. Risk management is done in a visible manner. Remuneration and alignment of incentive structures. A good governance practice requires the alignment of executives and board renumeration with the long term interest of the company. This will decrease skepticism of the companies over incentive system and compensation. Broad independence, qualifications, and composition. Ensuring broad terms objectives with goal of preserving a balance of power will certainly help in productive tension among the board of directors. Thus after decreasing in productive tension, the ability to react the rising risk increases. Shareholder engagement. The right to appoint directors and to make key corporate decisions inform their decision making and prevent management from taking such decisions. 3. Studies and discussions: 3.1 Related Studies Kassim and Majid, (2010) conduct a study aimed to arrive at empirical evidences on the impact of financial shocks (the 1997 and the 2007 financial crises) on the Islamic banks vis-a-vis the conventional banks in Malaysia. The study finds mixed evidences on the impact of the macroeconomic shocks on the Islamic and conventional banks. While the results based on the descriptive statistics indicate that the Islamic banks are relatively resilient to the financial shocks, the results based on the more robust econometric analysis reveal otherwise. The results based on the IRF analysis show that the Islamic financing responded significantly to macroeconomic shocks in non-crisis and 2007 crisis periods. The VDA results suggest that both Islamic and conventional banks are vulnerable to financial shocks. Hassan and Dridi (2010) compare the performance of Islamic banks (IBs) and conventional banks (CBs) during the recent global crisis by looking at the impact of the crisis on profitability, credit and asset growth, and external ratings in a group of countries where the two types of banks have significant market share. The study suggests that IBs have been affected differently than CBs. Factors related to IBsbusiness model helped limit the adverse impact on profitability in 2008, while weaknesses in risk management practices in some IBs led to a larger decline in profitability in 2009 compared to CBs. IBs credit and asset growth performed better than did that of CBs in 2008-09, contributing to financial and economic stability. External rating agencies-assessment risk was generally more favorable.ÂÂ   Beck et al (2010) compare the performance of conventional and Islamic banks during the recent global crisis by looking at the impact of the crisis on business orientation, efficiency, asset quality, and stability in countries with data on at least four banks. The study suggests that Islamic banks seem more cost-effective than conventional banks in a broad cross-country sample. On the other hand, conventional banks seem more cost-effective than Islamic banks in a sample of countries with both Islamic and conventional banks. However, conventional banks that operate in countries with a higher market share of Islamic banks are more cost-effective but less stable. There is also consistent evidence of higher capitalization of Islamic banks and this capital cushion plus higher liquidity reserves explain the relatively better performance of Islamic banks during the recent crisis. Haron (2004) found that expenditures (expenses) and profitability measures have a positive relationship. The study also suggests that size of the Islamic banks only had a significant positive relationship with one of performance indicators but was not significant with other profitability measures. Burhonov (2006) found unclear relationship between short-term funding to the profitability indicators. The regression results also show that the impact of macroeconomic variables, GDP per capita on the profitability measures is not conclusive. Alkassim (2007) finds that ROA for Islamic banks in GCC has positive coefficients with total assets and total expenses. Zantioti (2009) found that equity/total assets and GDP per capita statistically give positive significant impacts on Islamic bank profitability. Thus the three important authors and their works and views can be shown in the following table. Name of Author Measurement of Performance Findings Results Kassim and Majid, (2010) Conduct a study aimed to arrive at empirical evidences on the impact of financial shocks (the 1997 and the 2007 financial crises) on the Islamic banks vis-a-vis the conventional banks in Malaysia. The study finds mixed evidences on the impact of the macroeconomic shocks on the Islamic and conventional banks The results based on the IRF analysis show that the Islamic financing responded significantly to macroeconomic shocks in non-crisis and 2007 crisis periods. The VDA results suggest that both Islamic and conventional banks are vulnerable to financial shocks. Hassan and Dridi (2010) Compared the performance of Islamic banks (IBs) and conventional banks (CBs) during the recent global crisis by looking at the impact of the crisis on profitability, credit and asset growth, and external ratings in a group of countries where the two types of banks have significant market share. The study suggests that IBs have been affected differently than CBs. Factors related to IBsbusiness model helped limit the adverse impact on profitability in 2008, while weaknesses in risk management practices in some IBs led to a larger decline in profitability in 2009 compared to CBs. IBs credit and asset growth performed better than did that of CBs in 2008-09, contributing to financial and economic stability. Beck et al (2010) Compare the performance of conventional and Islamic banks during the recent global crisis by looking at the impact of the crisis on business orientation, efficiency, asset quality, and stability in countries with data on at least four banks. The study suggests that IBs have been affected differently than CBs. Factors related to IBsbusiness model helped limit the adverse impact on profitability in 2008, while weaknesses in risk management practices in some IBs led to a larger decline in profitability in 2009 compared to CBs. IBs credit and asset growth performed better than did that of CBs in 2008-09, contributing to financial and economic stability. External rating agencies-assessment risk was generally more favorable. 3.2 Discussion: Creating Responsible Financial Markets The steps to control such as situation were taken as follows. Interventions made by state owned financial institutions. Disclosure and transparency. Redefining shareholders rights and responsibilities. Other suggestions given by the experts to avoid such a situation in future include the followings. The requirement of accountable capitalism. Adding vertical regulations. Considering new approach to regulations. Formation of IOSCO (Global organization of securities.) Thus a formal strategy has been planned which includes taking the following steps. No single strategy. Identifying business characteristics and performance from time to time. Looking for cost efficiencies. Creating suitable business size. Keeping an eye on the throughput and prices. Upgrading current business strategies. Identifying the role of government in normal conditions. The ICGN agenda: core issues to address The crisis has highlighted a number of issues which are relevant to shareholders, particularly institutional shareholders, and these are areas where the ICGN will seek to engage actively in the policy debate. Below is a list of these issues and the ICGNs position on them. Strengthening shareholder rights Strengthening boards Promoting fair and transparent markets Independent accounting standards Remuneration setting Regulating credit rating agencies The corporate governance also has a vital role in overcoming the financial crisis as seen in the last decade. Restoring confidence for the future and preventing regulations will help overcome the needs of the investors and ascertain economic growth in future. This also consists of securing and maintains the rights of the shareholders and other kinds of transparency that helps in keeping a record of healthy financial position of the company, its upcoming goals and capacity to achieve them. Also the shareholders must recognize the share owners rights and responsibilities in the terms of creating a long term wealth for the shareholders and owners of the company. Conclusion: The current financial crisis has differently affected the economies of the various countries. While the capitalist and developed nations faced the financial crisis more severly. While the developing nation under control of the government governance showed lesser affect of the financial crisis. Thus its a good idea to allow the government to work as controlling agent like in China, India and other Asian countries wherein the governments were consistently and confidently trying their best to keep their economies on the right track. The final outcome is that all these countries especially the two mentioned were able to show consistent growth in the last decade while the rest of the world was facing financial crisis.