How Public Trust in the Global Banking Industry Was Affected by the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2008 - Research Paper Example

TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 ABSTRACT 3 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 4 Major Research Problem 4 Research Questions 5 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 6 Broad Research Themes 6 Global Financial Crisis 7 Banking Industry 8 Regulation and Financial Supervision 9 Response to the Global Financial Crisis 9 Impact of Global Financial Crisis 9 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 10 Data Analysis 11 CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION AND PRESENTATION 12 Results of the survey 13 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 25 Conclusion 25 Recommendations 26 REFERENCES 27 APPENDIX 1: 29 RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE 29 ABSTRACT Public trust in financial institutions is a fundamental requirement for their success. This is equally important when the entire global banking sector is involved. However, the way the general public perceives the global banking industry has been subject to frequent changes throughout the history of banking. These changes have been necessitated by the financial and general economic trends that have altered the way the public perceives banking institutions in general. The recent global financial crisis of 2007–2008 put the issue of public trust in the banking sector in the spotlight. This research sought to examine the effect of the global financial crisis of 2007-2008 on public trust, United Kingdom will be the case for this study. The general effects caused by the global financial crisis will eventually have a larger effect in the lives of the public and therefore making the study significant to study. The effects on trust well understood and the likely economic effects on the lives of the public particularly on banking industry examined. This was achieved by conducting a survey of 30 respondents from the banking industry to find out how public trust in the global banking industry was аffесtеd by the global finаnсiаl crisis of 2007/2008. The findings showed that the effects are considerable but severely high because there are still avenues to improve. The paper is divided in to five sections; the first is introduction which is an overview of the survey. The second part is the literature review which looks in to other literature on the issue of global banking industry and global financial crisis as well as effects on public trust. The third section gives the methodology of research. The fourth part is the interpretation and analysis of results. Finally the last section gives recommendations and conclusion; here the strategic options to mitigate the effects are highlighted. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION The global economic crisis was one of the worst things the economy faced since the great depression of encountered in 1930s. The united kingdom just like any other economy in the world was greatly affected by the global financial crisis in 2008/2009. Yilmaz (2008). The main objective of any economy is to have an effective and efficient banking industry that is in a position to constantly spar econimomic growth and development for the whole public. However the global financial crisis whose roots is the US and Europe spread to the whole world and bungled the confidence that investors, depositors and members of the public had in the banking industry. The broad objective of the survey was to find out how public trust in the global banking industry was аffесtеd by the global finаnсiаl crisis of 2007/2008 using a саsе of United Kingdom. This survey was to determine how UK banks customers and members of the public trust was affected by the crisis and how the banks structured themselves to get through the global financial crisis which was at its peak in the year 2008/2009. The survey is expected to add to the body of knowledge a new knowledge on how the public trust in the global banking industry was affected by the crisis. Major Research Problem The question of public trust in specific sectors of the economy has received considerable academic attention. Many of these studies have varied in terms of the reasons for changes in the perceptions of the public towards different sectors of the economy as well as the reasons that necessitate such changes. For instance, Di Piazza Jr. and Eccles (2002) examine the impact of corporate scandals on the changing levels of trust towards capital markets (p. 5). It is observed that following the much publicised Enron scandal, the trust of the public in corporate reporting declined considerably. Research Questions The following questions will be used in the proposed research: 1. What were the general perceptions of the public towards the banking sector prior to the global financial crisis? 2. How did the general public perceive the role of the banking sector during the global financial crisis? 3. How did the general perceptions of the public towards banks change after the global financial crisis? CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW There have been several research studies that have been carried out to determine the impact of the global financial crisis of 2007–2008 on public trust in the banking sector. Many of the studies have focussed on how public perceptions toward the banking sector have changed in local situations. For instance, Sanusi (2010) evaluated the impact of the crisis on the overall confidence of the public towards the banking sector in developing countries, specifically in Nigeria. It is observed that many banking institutions of the countries in the developing countries were ill prepared to deal with the effects of the global financial crisis. As a result, the perception of the public towards their role in the crisis was shaped by how well they responded in mitigating the effects of the crisis in their local economies (pp. 4–5). Additionally, Surresh and Paul (2010) observe that following global financial crisis, public trust in the banking sector in India was negatively affected (p. 4). This is because perceptions of the public were based on the perceived failure of the sector to tackle different issues such as availability of information about risks, overall regulation and cyclical practices prior to the crisis. On the other hand, Bennett and Kottasz (2012, p. 128) evaluated how public interest towards the UK banking sector has been affected by the global financial crisis. It is observed that changes in the level of trust for banking institutions in the United Kingdom were as a result of changes in the perceptions of both individuals who were directly affected by the activities of the financial institutions and those who were not (p. 132). It can be seen that although there has been a number of different studies to evaluate changes in public trust towards the banking industry as a result of the global financial crisis, the studies so far have sought to establish perceptions towards the local banking sectors. The proposed study will address this gap in research by addressing the general question of how public trust in the United Kingdom in the global banking industry has been affected by the global financial crisis of 2007–2008. Broad Research Themes The global financial crisis of 2007–2008 was characterised by large scale failure of financial markets in their roles of mitigating financial risks as well as allocating capital in the markets (Allen & Carletti, 2009, p. 5). With this failure of the markets, the role of governments and other regulatory institutions was also brought into focus. Although the impact of the crisis has largely been seen in economic terms, the crisis has had an impact on the overall public trust in the banking sector. This has been shaped by changes in the perceptions of the public about what role the banking industry played prior to and during the crisis. On the other hand, the subject of public trust in financial institutions has received considerable attention. Tonkiss (2009) identifies the key elements that define the level of trust of the public towards financial institutions (p. 198). The author notes that trust for financial institutions is built on general confidence about the overall state of the economy and its ability to guarantee prosperity to individuals. In order to maintain such a relationship with financial institutions, the public depends on the information provided, contracts made and the overall regulatory environment at play (p. 201). Moreover, according to a research carried out by the University of Cambridge (2013), there are wide variations in the level of public trust towards banking institutions in the world (p. 4). Essentially, the level of trust for banking institutions is based on how the public perceives their efficiency in providing different types of services. Issues such as small business lending, mortgage lending and professional standards were found to rank highly as determinants of the perceptions of the public towards the banking sector (p. 14). These issues are complimentary to other aspects like how stable, transparent and safe the banking sector is perceived to be. Global Financial Crisis Global financial crisis does not just occur; factors such as oil price, housing bubble, inflation, lack of consumer confidence and global economy are responsible. According to Chan Lau (2008), the global financial crisis was highly caused by inefficient banking industry regulation and government slow response or intervention. During the early stages, the financial crisis manifested fairly well in prime mortgages where households had much more hard times paying more on adjusted mortgages (Soludo, 2009). Banking Industry Bank performance can be determined in various ways, the measure of its ability to maximize returns of fund invested, lending rates, and rate of deposit and market structure. For an economy therefore to maintain an effective banking system, both bank management and regulating institutions should work hand in hand. This is why the United Kingdom government played a major role during the financial crisis. Banking industry operations During the Global financial crisis, the banks and their customers were greatly affected especially in February when the government took over some banks. The borrowing was tight with demand for 20% down payment being common, the interbank lending was equally hard. Regulation and Financial Supervision The goal of the UK government was to have a stable economy that is growing steadily. The government has tried severally to re-shape the UK financial powers by fist establishing a monetary policy committee together with financial services authority to regulate financial services in UK. Response to the Global Financial Crisis The UK government in its effort to bail out the banking industry from the tough times of financial crisis made available over 500 billion pounds as a bailout package. These included several support to boost short term loans guarantees to enable banks increase their lending. This was announced by the Prime Minister Gordon brown. The Prime Minister Gordon B. and Exchequer Chancellor Alistair Darling brokered a deal to sell HBOS to Lloyds TSB bank in order to avoid the bank collapsing. The bank was priced at less than a fifth its actual price. In October Brown and Darling confirmed that the government was willing to do its best to buy preference shares from Britain’s banks in order to stabilize their capital base and revive inter-banking loans. Though the plan was accepted by many, it was a bit slow as expected. Impact of Global Financial Crisis There was tremendous reduction in saving and banking in general, this was because the bank industry customers especially the depositors develop cold feet due to the increased failure by the banks in performing their traditional service of taking and lending. The Gross Domestic Income (GDP) which for the last sixteen years had risen started dropping within the second half of the financial year. By the end of that year, the rate of unemployment had risen to 6%. Even the property price such as housing had fallen by an average of 20%, this is irrespective of the peak price that 2007 year had achieved. The share price main index had greatly dropped by 31%. Even the renowned businesses and companies closed shop due to the crisis. An example is the Woolworths which had 800 general stores that formed a major company in almost every street for decades. The capital base enhancement by selling of shares was not easy; banks like Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) in July issued £4 billion in new shares, however only 8% was bought by investors. There was a financial turmoil freeze in the liquidity of the Europe financial markets. This stopped the free capital flow. (World Bank, 2008). The public had raised fears that there might be currency liquidation shortage leading to their own currency depreciating. There are also fears of high interest rates, termination of short term loan dang drop in the assets prices. CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY A qualitative approach was used to carry out the research. A qualitative questionnaire was developed with appropriate questions to measure how the public perceives the global banking sector in general following the global financial crisis of 2007–2008. This formed the main tool of collecting the data required for the research. Online survey by ‘Survey Monkey’ was also used to acquire relevant information concerning public views on effects of global financial crisis on their banking culture. The questionnaires were administered to a sample of 30 respondents who were a representative of the United Kingdom public. These included bank management, major customers, regulating agencies, institutions and business group. The respondents were selected during the survey as follows:- Groups No. of responses Bank management 12 Institutions 5 Business group 8 Regulating agencies 5 Total 30 Target population Data Analysis The data collected, was analyzed, presented and interpreted to reveal trends and patterns in the responses given. This included tables, and percentages to represent the response rate and information on variables. The findings of the survey were compared with the findings of secondary research presented in the literature review. Since reference to the literature review was based on the research questions, its use sought to corroborate the findings of the research about the changes in public trust in global banking sector prior to, during and after the global financial crisis of 2007–2008. The data was further analyzed using descriptive statistics where data was coded, processed and analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). This consisted mainly of information from the closed ended questions in the questionnaire. Information from the open ended questions was analyzed through narrative analysis and listing. CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION AND PRESENTATION This chapter is a presentation of results, interpretation and analysis of the research carried out. The target population was studied, questionnaires distributed and collected, the questionnaires returned were 87% of the distributed questionnaires see the table below:- Groups Issued Returned Percentage Bank management 12 11 92% Institutions 5 4 80% Business group 8 6 75% Regulating agencies 5 3 60% Total 30 24 80% Issues vs Returned questionnaires Results of the survey Each of the research questions is discussed in this chapter. The respondents filled questionnaires based on their opinions and attitude towards the effect of global financial crisis on public global trust on banking industry. The respondents were to give their rating on how much they agree or disagree with an opinion. Each of the rating was assigned some weight with three being the highest and 1 being the lowest. Question 1: Gender From the study, 33.3% of the respondents were female while 66.75 were men. These points out that most of the male respondents returned the questionnaires. Gender Responses Percentage Female 8 33.3% Male 16 66.7% Total 24 100% Gender Gender Question 2: Kindly indicate your age bracket Age Responses Percentage Below 20 6 25% 20 to 40 10 41.7% Above 40 8 33.3% Total 24 100% Age The results indicated that 25% of the respondents were below 20 years, 41.7% were 20 to 40 years and 33.3% were over 40 years. The highest percentage was 41.7%, therefore most of the respondents were 20 to 40 years. Age Question 3: For how long have you been working in the banking industry? Length of service Responses Percentage 0-10 Years 9 37.5% 10-20 Years 10 41.7% Over 20 Years 5 20.8% Total 24 100% Length of service From the research conducted, the results indicated that 41.7% of the respondents were less than 10 years old working in the organization, 37.5% were 10 to 20 years old in the banking industry while only 20.8 % were over 40 years old working. The highest percentage is 41.7%. This means that most of the respondents were 10 to 20 years working for the banking industry. This therefore means the workers in UK are old enough to give a reasonable judgment on the state of the economy both before and after the financial crisis. Length of service Question 4: How would you rate the banks performance in UK before the global financial crisis? Strongly Agree [3 ] Agree [ 2 ] Don’t Agree [ 1] Average Rating Mean I will recommended my friends to bank 19 4 1 66 2.8 The banks cared about public interests 15 0 9 54 2.3 Banks improved people’s lives 0 18 6 42 1.8 Banks operated within regulations 10 10 4 54 2.3 Offered high quality products and services 0 14 10 38 1.6 Overall mean 2.1 Banks performance rating before the GFC The results of the research conducted indicated that the respondents who were comfortable referring their friends for banking had a mean of 2.8, Those who thought the bank cared for the public inters had a mean of 2.3. The respondents who had the opinion that banks improves peoples livelihood had a mean of 1.8 while those who felt banks operated within the regulations had a mean of 2.3. Finally the respondents who felt the banks are offering quality service had a mean of 1.6. The overall mean for this rating was 2.1, this therefore means that most of the respondents agreed that banking industry performance before the crisis was good and they had confidence in its services. Banks performance rating before the GFC Question 5: Was your organization affected by the global financial crisis? Responses Percentage Yes 20 83.3% No 4 16.7% Total 24 100% Affected by the global financial crisis The results from the research conducted indicated that 83.3% of the respondents agreed that their organizations were affected by the global financial crisis. Only 16.7% of the respondents did not agree that their organizations were affected by the global financial crisis. This therefore mean most of the organizations were affected by the global financial crisis in the United Kingdom. Affected by the global financial crisis Question 6: How would you rate the banks effort to reinstate normalcy? Responses Percentage Highly satisfied 1 4.2% Satisfied 16 66.7% Not satisfied 7 29.2% Total 24 100% Rating of the banks effort to reinstate normalcy The results obtained from the research indicated that 4.2% of the respondents were highly satisfied with the banks effort to reinstate normalcy during the global financial crisis. Similarly 66.7% of the respondents were just satisfied whereas 29.2% were not satisfied at all. This therefore means that in the United Kingdom, bank’s effort efforts to reinstate normalcy during the global financial crisis was average. Rating of the banks effort to reinstate normalcy Question 7: How would you rate the government effort to reinstate normalcy? Responses Percentage Highly satisfied 14 58.3% Satisfied 9 37.5% Not satisfied 1 4.2% Total 24 100% Rating of the government’s effort to reinstate normalcy The research findings results obtained indicated that 58.3% of the respondents were highly satisfied with the government efforts to reinstate normalcy during the crisis; while 37.5% were just satisfied. Only 4.2 % of the respondents were not satisfied with the government’s effort to reinstate normalcy. This therefore means that most of the people were highly satisfied with the government’s effort to reinstate normalcy during the global financial crisis in the United Kingdom. Rating of the government’s effort to reinstate normalcy Question 8: How would you rate the banking industry performance in the UK after the global financial crisis? Strongly Agree [3 ] Agree [ 2 ] Don’t Agree [ 1] Average Rating Mean I will recommend my friend to bank 3 11 10 41 1.7 The banks care about public interests 1 11 12 37 1.5 Banks improves people’s lives 3 10 11 40 1.7 Banks operate within regulations 2 7 15 35 1.5 Offers high quality products and services 4 6 14 38 1.6 Overall rating 1.6 Banks performance rating after the GFC The research findings indicated that after the crisis, respondents who were comfortable referring their friends for banking had a mean of 1.7, similarly those who thought the bank cared for the public inters had a mean of 1.5. Respondents who had the opinion that banks improves peoples livelihood had a mean of 1.7 while those who felt banks operated within the regulations had a mean of 1.5. Finally the respondents who felt the banks are offering quality service had a mean of 1.6. The overall mean for this rating was 1.6, this therefore means that most of the respondents did not agreed that banks industry performance after the crisis was good and therefore they had lost that trust on the products and services. Banks performance rating after the GFC Question 9: To what extent did the global financial crisis affect public trust in the banking industry? Responses Percentage Very large extent 14 58.3% Large Extent 8 33.3% No extent 2 8.3% Total 24 100% Extent of the GFC affect on public trust in the banking industry The results from the research findings obtained indicated that 58.3% of the respondents agreed that global financial crisis affected the public trust in the banking industry to a very large extent. 33.3% felt that the effect was average while only 8.3% felt there was no effect at all. This therefore means that the effect of global financial crisis to the public trust on the banking industry was significant and the public in the United Kingdom felt it. Extent of the GFC affect on public trust in the banking industry Question 10: How would you rate the extent to which the global financial crisis affected the public trust on the following:- Very Large Extent [3 ] Large Extent [ 2 ] Low Extent [ 1] Average Rating Mean a. Government policies 16 5 3 61 2.5 b. Unemployment 12 8 4 56 2.3 c. Interest Rates 10 6 8 50 2.1 d. Inflation 12 7 5 55 2.3 e. Retrenchment 6 3 13 37 1.5 f. Salary reduction 15 2 7 56 2.3 g. Low investment Return 11 4 9 50 2.1 h. Organizational goals 17 3 4 61 2.5 Overall rating 2.2 Rating of the extent to which the GFC affected the public trust The results of the research conducted indicated that the respondents who felt the government policies contributed to the global financial crisis had a mean of 2.5, those who thought unemployment contributed to it had a mean of 2.3. The respondents who had the opinion that interest rates contributed to the crisis had a mean of 2.1 while those who felt inflations was a factor had a mean of 2.3. Similarly respondents who felt low investment return contributed to the crisis had a mean of 2.1. The overall mean for this rating was 2.2; this therefore means that the public trust on banking industry was affected to a large extent in the United Kingdom. Rating of the extent to which the GFC affected the public trust CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Conclusion The purpose of the research was to determine how the global financial crisis of 2007–2008 affected overall public trusts in the United Kingdom towards the global banking sector. In order to accomplish its purpose, the research attempted to answer three key questions: first, was determining what the general perceptions of the public towards the banks were prior to the crisis; second, was determining what the public perception towards the role of banks during the crisis was; and finally, was determining how public trust in banking institutions changed after the crisis. Qualitative data was collected using questionnaires. The questionnaires were used to collect information about how the perceptions of the public in the United Kingdom towards the global banking industry changed following the effect of the global financial crisis of 2007–2008. The data was then processed and presented using appropriate methods. The research indicates that the public view the banks not working hard to assist in getting UK and its citizens out of the crisis hence seen as actually holding back the economy. The slow in economic growth and rising unemployment is a risk that may lead to low family income hence inability to meet basic needs. The respondents observed that there was a very high rate of unemployment, retrenchment and salary reduction. The property return on investment was very low. The building material prices also went up; this compromised the quality of housing. The housing availability was also very scarce. Similarly due to upward inflation, imported materials were expensive; this made the imported products expensive and unattainable. Most of the respondents also consider banking industry unsafe. The banking industry is seen as having high public risk due to failure to comply with the government regulations. Some respondents also consider banks as being unfair, the majority few banks as greedy looking for avenues to make profit without looking at the interest of the public. It was during this period of the crisis that the ability to purchase had reduced making property owners find a lot of difficulty selling their property. Recommendations Restoring back the public trust is not an easy task. The members of the public will be skeptical until they see some changes that befit them. It is the responsibility of the banking industry players to find ways of hiring employees of high integrity that can work together as an integrated team. Every financial institution needs to restore the trust and confidence of its customers. All the employees should develop a culture that foster public trust and confidence. Some of the failures of the banking industry noted include poor interest rates, big bonuses and failure to put the interests of the customer at the middle of banking operational plan. Public trust can easily be restored if transparent reporting is adopted in order to present to the public that the standards required are actually followed. According to data collected, some of the effects of global financial crisis were caused by banks, here the respondents felt that that banking no longer gave preferred interest rates, the rates were high and period reduced. This made borrowing very difficult. The banks therefore need to find ways of serving the public and preventing the chances of holding back the economy in order to reduce the huge lose of repute. REFERENCES Allen, F. & Carletti, E. (2009). The global financial crisis: causes and consequences. Retrieved 9 March 2014, from http://www.bm.ust.hk/gmifc/Prof.%20Allen%20&%20Carletti_The%20Global%20Financial%20Crisis.pdf Bennett, R. & Kottasz, R. (2012). Public attitudes towards the UK banking industry following the global financial crisis. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 30(2), 128–147. Chan-Lau J. A, (2008), The globalization of Finance and its Implications for Financial stability, International Journal of Banking, Accounting and Finance, Vol 1., pp.3-29. Di Piazza Jr. S. & Eccles, R. G. (2002). Building public trust: The future of corporate reporting. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Donald, H. M. & Theresa, L.W. (2007). Research Methods. India: Akash Press, Delhi. IEG (Independent Evaluation Group). 2010. The World Bank Group’s Response to the Global Economic Crisis—Phase I. Washington, DC: Independent Evaluation Group, the World Bank Group. Oyesiku. (2009). Global Economic Recession, the Environment and Sustainable Development in Nigeria. Annual Lecture Series, College of Management and Social Sciences, Osun State University, Oshogbo held on 28th April, 2009. Sanusi, S. L. (2010). Global financial meltdown and the reforms in the Nigerian banking sector. Retrieved 9 March 2014, from http://www.bis.org/review/r110124c.pdf Soludo, C. (2009) Global Financial and economic crisis: How vulnerable is Nigeria? CBN monthly publication. Retrieved 12th April, 2014, from www.cenbank,org. Surresh, P. & Paul, J. (2010). Management of banking and financial services. New Delhi: Dorling Kindersley. Tonkiss, F. (2009). Trust, confidence and economic crisis. Retrieved 9 March 2014, from http://www.ceps.eu/system/files/article/2009/09/196-202-Tonkiss.pdf University of Cambridge (2013). Public trust in banking. Retrieved 9 March 2014, from http://cdn.yougov.com/cumulus_uploads/document/ylf7gpof19/Public_Trust_in_Banking_Final.pdf Yilmaz K.(2008), Global Financial crisis and the volatility spillovers across stock markets, Research Note 08-01, Economic Research Forum, Tusiad University APPENDIX 1: RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE PART ONE: PERSONAL DETAILS 1. Gender Male  Female  2. Kindly indicate your age bracket in the categories below: Below 20  20-40  Above 40  3. For how long have you been working in the banking industry? 0 – 10 Years  10-20 Years  Over 20 Years  PART TWO: PERCEPTION BEFORE THE FINANCIAL CRISIS 4. Using the following, how would you rate the banks performance in UK before the global financial crisis? Strongly Agree [3 ] Agree [ 2 ] Don’t Agree [ 1] I will recommended my friends to bank [ ] [ ] [ ] The banks cared about public interests [ ] [ ] [ ] Banks improved people’s lives [ ] [ ] [ ] Banks operated within regulations [ ] [ ] [ ] Offered high quality products and services [ ] [ ] [ ] PART THREE: PERCEPTION DURING THE FINANCIAL CRISIS 5. Was your organization affected by the global financial crisis? Yes  No  6. How would you rate the banks effort to reinstate normalcy? Highly Satisfied  Satisfied  Not Satisfied  7. How would you rate the government effort to reinstate normalcy? Highly Satisfied  Satisfied  Not Satisfied  PART FOUR: PERCEPTION AFTER THE FINANCIAL CRISIS 8. Using the following, how would you rate the banks performance in UK after the global financial crisis? Strongly Agree [3 ] Agree [ 2 ] Don’t Agree [ 1] I will recommend my friend to bank [ ] [ ] [ ] The banks care about public interests [ ] [ ] [ ] Banks improves people’s lives [ ] [ ] [ ] Banks operate within regulations [ ] [ ] [ ] Offers high quality products and services [ ] [ ] [ ] 9. In your own opinion, to what extent did the global financial crisis affect public trust in the banking industry? A very large extent  A large extent  No extent  10. How would you rate the extent to which the global financial crisis affected the public trust on the following:- Very Large extent [3 ] Large extent [ 2 ] Small Extent [ 1] a. Government policies [ ] [ ] [ ] b. Unemployment [ ] [ ] [ ] c. Interest Rates [ ] [ ] [ ] d. Inflation [ ] [ ] [ ] e. Retrenchment [ ] [ ] [ ] f. Salary reduction [ ] [ ] [ ] g. Low investment Return [ ] [ ] [ ] h. Organizational goals [ ] [ ] [ ] Read More