In this paper, we contribute to the literature by examining the determinants of net interest margin (NIM) of European and US banks in a zero lower bound situation while controlling for important institutional design factors. We analyse a large sample of annual data on 629 European banks and 526 US during the 2011–2016 period, which also covers periods of zero and negative rates in many of the observed countries. We test three hypotheses and come to three main conclusions. First, NIM is significantly influenced by the different institutional designs of capital‐based (the UK and the US) and bank‐based financial markets (continental Europe). Second, there are differences in NIM caused by bank size. Finally, we show significant differences by bank type: savings banks, real estate and mortgage banks, and cooperative banks report consistently lower NIMs than commercial banks and bank holdings. Contrary to other researchers, we observe a negative relationship between NIM and the yield curve slope.

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This article presents the role of mind maps in creating well-structured elearning materials and courses, which has become very important with increasing influence of new technologies and alternative study modes. The basic principles of mind mapping are described, including structural components of mind maps, and examples of practical use cases. Based on the identified lack of existing methodical frameworks for creating interactive mind maps for e-learning, we present a set of rules and metrics, which can help to identify points of ineffectiveness, and eliminate redundancies. This framework for creating effective mind maps and its implications are described in details with help of illustrative figures and textual description. The maps that has been created in accordance with this methodology are clear and comprehensible.