The 2014 Arcturus Christmas Banking Quiz 

So you think you know about banking? Just for fun, test your knowledge with this quiz. If you are a regular reader of this blog and My World of Plastic, you won't have any trouble!

All the answers are given at the end of the quiz, but no peeping!

1          In Banking parlance, what do the initials NSFR stand for?        .

2          In which country was the world's oldest bank founded?

3         What was the name of the so-called ‘Crystal Methodist’, the disgraced Non-Executive Chairman of the Co-op Bank who was forced to resign his post in June 2013 after a sex and drugs scandal involving cocaine, methamphetamine, rent boys and sex in a public toilet?

4          What do the letters ATM stand for?

             

5          What well-known Hollywood actor played the part of disgraced banker Jordan Belford in Martin Scorsese’s movie the Wolf of Wall Street?

6          What term is used to describe the monetary practice, sometimes resorted to by central banks in times of crisis, to to kick-start a flagging economy with a cash injection?

7          One of the first acts by new Bank of England governor Mark Carney was to announce a new design for the British £10 note. Which famous novelist is to replace Charles Darwin in the design?

           

8          What is the connection between the carob bean and banking regulation?

           

9          Who is the current Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

           

10        In Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome, which one of the three friends works in a London bank?

    

11        In a banking context, what do the letters LCR stand for?

           

12        What is the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, President Obama's financial reform bill of 2010, more commonly known as?

           

13        What American bargain-store chain was infamously hit by a massive data security breach on Black Friday in 2013?

    .

14        In the classic Frank Capra Christmas movie It’s a Wonderful Life, what is the name of the family-run bank that nearly goes under, when loyal but absent-minded employee Uncle Billy manages to lose the day’s takings on the same day as the Bank Examiner turns up to look at the books?

   

15        And, in the same film, what are the two alternative names of the small town where the action takes place?

           

16        When the United Kingdom banking regulator the Financial Services Authority was disbanded following recommendations by the Vicker’s Report, what two new bodies replaced it?

           

17        What is the name of the central bank for the USA?

           

18        In Islamic Law, Muslims are forbidden to make unjust profit in trade or business. What term is used to describe this sin, often translated into English as ‘usury’?

           

19        Founded in 1857, it was renamed BSCH in 1999. What has this well-known financial institution been known as since 2007?

20        In 1995, which bank collapsed in a scandal involving rogue trader Nick Leeson?

Answers

1         Net Stable Funding Ratio.  A Basel Committee standard, the Net Stable Funding Ratio seeks to calculate the proportion of a bank's long term assets which should be funded by long term, stable funding

2          Italy: Monte dei Paschi di Siena

           

3          The Reverend Paul Flowers. In the wake of this scandal the fortunes of the Co-op bank plummeted, and when Euan Sutherland took over as the new Chairman he found a £1.5 billion hole in its finances

4          Automated Teller Machine.  Also commonly known as a cash point machine.  If  you also know that it was invented in England in the 1960s by John Shepherd-Barron, give yourself an extra pat on the back. If not, read more about it in this posting from My World of Plastic   

5          Leonardo di Caprio. Jordan Belford was a real person, a Long Island penny stockbroker who served 36 months in prison for defrauding investors in a 1990s securities scam that involved widespread corruption on Wall Street and in the corporate banking  world  

6          Quantitative Easing

7          Jane Austen.  The announcement followed weeks of protest by feminists after Elizabeth Fry was banished from the £5 note in favour of a portrait of Winston Churchill

  

8          We still reckon the weight and value of gold in units known as ‘carats’.  Can you guess where that word originated? Yes, that’s right, the good old Carob bean!  It played a significant role in the currency of the Roman Empire, too, where the gold coin known as the solidus was measured at 24 carobs, or around 4.5 grams.  Read this blog posting for the full story

          

9          Christine Lagarde, French lawyer and Union for a Popular Movement politician has held the post since 2011

10        George. From Two Men in a Boat:

George goes to sleep at a bank from ten to four each day, except Saturdays, when they wake him up and put him outside at two…

11        Liquidity Coverage Ratio; a standard set up by the Basel Committee defining how much liquidity a financial institution must hold

  

12        Dodd-Frank

13        Target. The retailer admitted that as many as 40 million credit card and debit card accounts may have been compromised during Black Friday weekend, making it a real-life Nightmare Before Christmas for the Target management team. Information stolen included customer names, credit or debit card number, the card’s expiration date and CVV (card verification value), and 40 million in fact turned out to be somewhat of an under-estimate           

14        Bailey Building and Loan

15        Bedford Falls and Pottersville. After Clarence the guardian angel grants George’s wish to see how things would be if he had never been born, the town falls into the evil clutches of Machiavellian business man Mr Potter, and takes on his name.

16        The Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority

  

17        The Federal Reserve, AKA ‘the Fed’

18        Riba. Most modern, Western-style bank accounts pay interest, which is a complete ‘no-no’ for any practicing Muslim; hence the increasing requirement for a Shari’ah-compliant alternative, often referred to as ’Islamic Banking’

  

19        Santander

20        Barings. From 1992, Leeson made unauthorised speculative trades that at first made large profits for Barings: £10 million, which accounted for 10% of Barings'  annual profit and earned him a bonus of £130,000. However, his luck soon ran out and he used one of Barings' error accounts to hide his losses. The account was numbered 88888 – 8 being a number considered to be very lucky in Chinese numerology.  Until its unseemly demise Barings was the oldest-established investment in the UK.