In the last decade, the Socially responsible investing funds market registered, at the Italian and European level, a steady growth trend in both the number of existing funds and the entity of assets under management. On this basis, this study, after providing a theoretical framework of the characteristics and pricing of these instruments, pursues a twofold objective: it aims to check, first the level of ethical behaviour in Italian Sri funds by applying a model of ethical rating, secondly to analyse the relations of interdependence between the level of ethicality of these funds and their pricing, synthesized by a new cost indicator. The study shows, first, that the process of ethical management does not affect the overall price of the instrument, second, that the ethical funds are less expensive than traditional ones.This means that pricing is a distinctive feature of these financial instruments as well as a strategic driver to promote them on the market.

The remuneration committees have currently undergone an important reform which has made them the focal point in the governance of Top management incentive- payments. The aim of this work is to investigate the scope of this change in the banking sector and to verify, by means of an «effectiveness rating», how those bodies are improving their operation. The analysis shows the high diffusion of such committees, despite their yet strongly improvable effectiveness. At the same time the study shows which characteristics of committees mainly affect the effectiveness rating and which economic dimensions are associated with a higher quality of their action.

Abstract Purpose – Following the subprime crisis and the detrimental role played by remuneration practices, an important reform concerned bank remuneration committees, especially in “significant financial institutions”. In light of this consideration, this paper aims to investigate the scope and format of this renewal in order to verify whether and how those bodies are conforming to the new regulatory framework while improving their efficiency and functionality. Design/methodology/approach – The study was carried out on 30 top European banks through the elaboration of a qualitative analysis model that takes into account both the procedural and the compositional aspects of remuneration committees. The model was used as a benchmark for assessing the effectiveness of the remuneration committees operating within a sample. This assessment was carried out according to the content analysis approach. Findings – The results show a high diffusion of these bodies within the banks and a gradual expansion, during the time under investigation (three years 2008-2010), of the information provided by them on their tasks and decision-making. In the same time, the study highlights some important criticalities concerning both the composition of the banks’ remuneration committees, how they carry out their functions, and the level of disclosure addressed to shareholders and the market in order to formalize the results of their work. Originality/value – The added value of the analysis is related to the implementation of an “effectiveness remuneration committee rating” applied to a sample of top European banks during the financial crisis.