Principal-agent relationship issues in Islamic banks: a view of Islamic ethical system

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohd Haniff Zainuldin ◽  
Tze Kiat Lui ◽  
Kwang Jing Yii
Keyword(s):  
Governance Structure ◽  
Islamic Banking ◽  
Principal Agent ◽  
Islamic Banks ◽  
Ethical Considerations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ethical System ◽  
Agency Issues ◽  
Conventional Banks ◽  
Principal Agent Relationship

PurposeThis paper aims to discuss and explore the unique agency issues in Islamic banks which give rise to different agency conflicts exist in Islamic banks as compared to conventional banks. In addition, this paper critically examines agency theory in Islamic banking perspective by incorporating Islamic ethical considerations in the principal–agent setting.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual paper, and the discussions revolve around the review of literature of which important sources have been cited in a way that demonstrates a reasonable understanding of the topic. It attempts to create a discourse around the inclusion of Islamic ethical system in understanding the governance structure of Islamic banks.FindingsThis paper concludes that Islamic ethical system embedded in the Islamic banks business activities shapes Islamic banks into organisations that place higher ethical considerations than conventional banks. Therefore, Islamic banks are likely to have less severe agency problems relative to their conventional counterparts.Research limitations/implicationsBecause of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack generalisability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further.Practical implicationsAs the discourse generated by the paper, it can ultimately enhance the understanding of Islamic governance structure in the perspective of agency issues.Social implicationsAs the discourse generated by the paper, it can ultimately enhance the understanding of Islamic governance structure in the perspective of agency issues.Originality/valueThe paper attempts to bring to attention the important aspect of principal–agent relationship within the Islamic banking structures and explain the role of incorporating Islamic ethical system in enhancing the understanding of the principal–agent relationship.

Is Islamic bank profitability driven by same forces as conventional banks?

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hajer Zarrouk ◽  
Khoutem Ben Jedidia ◽  
Mouna Moualhi
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Panel Data ◽  
Islamic Banking ◽  
Subprime Crisis ◽  
Islamic Banks ◽  
Mena Region ◽  
Bank Profitability ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Large Sample ◽  
Islamic Bank ◽  
Conventional Banks

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to ascertain whether Islamic bank profitability is driven by same forces as those driving conventional banking in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Distinguished by its principles in conformity with sharia, Islamic banking is different from conventional banking, which is likely to affect profitability. Design/methodology/approach The paper builds on a dynamic panel data model to identify the banks’ specific determinants and the macroeconomic factors influencing the profitability of a large sample of 51 Islamic banks operating in the MENA region from 1994 to 2012. The system-generalized method of moment estimators are applied. Findings The findings reveal that profitability is positively affected by banks’ cost-effectiveness, asset quality and level of capitalization. The results also indicate that non-financing activities allow Islamic banks to earn higher profits. Islamic banks perform better in environments where the gross domestic product and investment are high. There is evidence of several elements of similarities between determinants of the profitability for Islamic and conventional banks. The inflation rate, however, is negatively associated with Islamic bank profitability. Practical Implications The authors conclude that profitability determinants did not differ significantly between Islamic and conventional banks. Many factors are deemed the same in explaining the profitability of conventional as well as Islamic banks. The findings reported in the current paper might be of interest for policy makers. It is recommended to better implement non-financing activities to improve Islamic bank profitability. Originality/value Unlike the previous empirical research, this empirical investigation assesses the issue whether Islamic banks profitability is influenced by same factors as conventional model. It enriches the literature in this regard by considering the specificities of Islamic banking to identify the determinants of profitability. Moreover, this study considers a large sample (51 Islamic banks) through a different selection of countries/banks than previous studies. In addition, the period of study considers the subprime crisis insofar it ranges from 1994 to 2012. Hence, this broader study allows the authors to draw more consistent conclusions.

scholarly journals A meta-crisis banking efficiency study in the MENA region

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2087-2112
Author(s):  
Ioannis Anagnostopoulos ◽  
Emmanouil Noikokyris ◽  
George Giannopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Work ◽  
Efficiency Index ◽  
Islamic Banking ◽  
Islamic Banks ◽  
Gulf Region ◽  
Bank Efficiency ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Conventional Banks ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Revenue Efficiency

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to comparatively examine the cost and the overlooked revenue efficiency of Islamic and commercial banks in the aftermath of the crisis, operating in nine MENA-based countries during the 2010-2017 financial period, where the established empirical work is relatively limited. The authors also update the research where they use recent data sets and they provide for a targeted, structured literature review pre- and post-crisis in the Gulf region. Design/methodology/approach The authors examine cost and revenue efficiency of 25 major Islamic banks (IBs) and 25 major conventional banks (CBs). They conduct tests on the determinants of such variables. In the first stage of the analysis, they measure efficiency by using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) technique. The analysis performs regressions where these also reveal that the bank efficiency index is influenced by various bank type-specific attributes. It also seems that tighter restrictions on bank activities are negatively associated with bank efficiency. Second stage analysis, which accounts for banking environment and bank-level characteristics, confirms these results. Findings Conventional banks are both more cost and revenue efficient than Islamic banks over the period under examination. The analysis also reveals that the bank efficiency index is influenced by bank-type attributes. Greater presence of fixed capital resources has positive effects on growth in both Islamic and conventional banking. The major constraints impeding Islamic banking growth include labour costs. The authors examine whether and how bank-type orientation affects the cost and revenue efficiency of conventional and Islamic banks. They find that post-crisis Islamic banks underperform their conventional counterparts on both accounts within a mixed banking system. Research limitations/implications This study did not include comparative data before the 2008 financial crisis. There is also a great deal of heterogeneity among Islamic banks in the samples that have been examined here and by other researchers and the constructed efficiency scores should be interpreted cautiously as divergent Islamic banks are pooled in the same samples. Practical implications This study identified factors that may help bank managers to improve their financial outlook by controlling revenue and cost efficiency profitability. These factors could as well help to understand how some indicators affect both cost and revenue efficiency, particularly in Islamic banking. It also seems that tighter restrictions on Islamic bank activities are negatively associated with bank efficiency. Islamic banks that directly compete with their conventional counterparts in the aftermath of the crisis are less efficient on both the cost and revenue frontiers. They are potentially hindered by the differential regulations of supervising authorities in dual banking systems. Social implications The authors provide recommendations regarding regulatory and other issues that are relevant to Islamic banking and further research is suggested. Findings are relevant to a variety of stakeholders (managers, policymakers and regulators). Islamic banking authorities could re-examine the benefits of partially moving to a more standardized/conventional system of banking by lifting some trading restrictions. In addition, developing and maintaining managerial skills is an indispensable instrument for the long-term endurance of any system. A related aspect is thus an effort to determine the holistic efficiency (including managerial) of Islamic banks as a guide for policymakers to improve managerial performance. Originality/value There is relatively limited empirical work that investigates the efficiency between Islamic and conventional banking in the aftermath of the crisis in the Gulf region despite the growing importance of this region on political and economic levels. The authors also examine the revenue efficiency measure often under-researched in the literature and particularly important for comparative studies. Overseas-owned banks have attained much higher infiltration levels in middle-eastern countries over the past decade. It has also been suggested that market penetration differences may also be related to bank efficiency concerns among countries and their financial systems as opposed to types of banks.

Islamic bank rent

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasushi Suzuki ◽  
S.M. Sohrab Uddin
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Islamic Banking ◽  
Islamic Banks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Islamic Bank ◽  
Franchise Value ◽  
Conventional Banks ◽  
First Time ◽  
Rent Theory

Purpose – This paper aims to draw on the bank rent approach to evaluate the existing pattern of financing of Islamic banks and to propose a fairly new conceptualization of Islamic bank rent. Design/methodology/approach – The bank rent theory is adopted to generate the theoretical underpinnings of the issue. After that, empirical evidence from the banking sector of Bangladesh is used to support the arguments. Findings – Repeated transactions under murabaha are observed in the Islamic banking sector of Bangladesh. The asset-based financing gives the Bangladeshi Islamic banks relatively higher Islamic bank rent opportunity for protecting their “franchise value” as Shari’ah-compliant lenders, while responding to the periodic volatility in transaction costs of profit-and-loss sharing. Research limitations/implications – The bank rent approach suggests that the murabaha syndrome can be ironically justifiable. On the other hand, the current profit-and-loss sharing risk provides an idea of the difficulty in assuming the participatory financing with higher credit risk in practice. Islamic scholars and the regulatory authority need to design an appropriate financial architecture which can create different levels of rent opportunities for Islamic banks to avail the benefit from the variety of Islamic financing as declared by Islamic Shari’ah. Originality/value – This paper introduces a fairly new concept of “Islamic bank rent” to make sense of the murabaha syndrome. This approach also contributes to clarifying the unique risk and cost to be compensated with the spreads that Islamic banks are expected to earn. To draw empirical evidence, as far as it could be ascertained, the data of both Islamic banks and conventional banks with Islamic banking windows/branches are used for the first time.

Competitive conditions and market power of Islamic and conventional commercial banks

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hichem Hamza ◽  
Safa Kachtouli
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Market Power ◽  
Traditional Approach ◽  
Islamic Banking ◽  
Islamic Banks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Lerner Index ◽  
Conventional Banks ◽  
Conventional And Islamic Banks ◽  
Concentration Ratios

Purpose – The expansion of the Islamic banking industry seems to accentuate the banking competition in MENA and Southeast Asia where conventional and Islamic banks coexist. In this context, the research aims\ to examine the competitive conditions and the market power of the conventional and Islamic banks during the period 2004-2009 in MENA and Southeast Asia region. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use a variety of structural and non-structural measures related to the traditional approach and the new empirical approach of the industrial organization. The methodology is based on set of measures of the competition and market power. The first measure is a set of concentration ratios (C3, C5) and Herfindahl-Hirschman index (HHI). The second measures are the Panzar and Ross H statistic and the Lerner index based on econometric estimations with the aim of evaluating the structure of market and measuring its power in terms of price setting. Findings – The results indicate that under the HHI index, both markets are low concentrated, while according to the concentration ratios, the Islamic market is considered as moderately concentrated. The estimations results, through the H-PR-statistic of Panzar and Ross related to degree of competition and the Lerner index of market power, indicate that both markets are characterized by a monopolistic competition and the Islamic banking expressed a high degree of market power. Research limitations/implications – The research focuses exclusively on the countries where the data are available and excludes the other countries where competition and market power might have different forms. Practical implications – In a competitive environment, each bank is required to analyze the structure of its market and competitive conditions, in order to develop a business strategy and effective action plans. In the context of the multiplication of the Islamic banks in the MENA and Southeast Asia, the enhancement of Islamic bank competitiveness by offering new products is determinant for their success. Originality/value – To the best of the authors' knowledge few studies have examined this subject in a comparative analysis between the Islamic and conventional banks. So the authors contribute to the literature on Islamic banking by considering a sample of Islamic and conventional banks operating in the same countries in order to examine the existence or not of difference between them.

Performance comparison of Islamic and conventional banks: empirical evidence from Pakistan

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 419-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Imran Khan ◽  
Mehreen Khan ◽  
Muhammad Tahir
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Operational Efficiency ◽  
Financial Ratios ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Islamic Banking ◽  
Islamic Banks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Performance Differences ◽  
Conventional Banks ◽  
Asset Quality

Purpose This study aims to investigate the performance differences of Islamic and conventional banks in Pakistan by using financial ratios. Design/methodology/approach This study analyzed 5 Islamic and 19 conventional banks for the periods of 2007-2014. Two types of analyses were performed – sample t-test and logistic regression. Analysis was also performed on sub-sample considering crisis effects. Findings It was found that Islamic banks are relatively better in profitability, efficiency, risk and liquidity management, while conventional banks are superior in asset quality. Higher efficiency of Islamic banks contradicts with previous studies conducted in Pakistan. Probable reasons for this include phenomenal expansion of Islamic banking industry and its broad appeal to customers in Pakistan. Risk management practices of Islamic banks are superior to conventional banks, as Shariah rules restrict pure speculation in monetary terms. Better asset quality of conventional banks is attributed to their recognition and product diversity. During the crisis, Islamic banks were found less profitable than their counterparts. Research limitations/implications This study suggests that high operational efficiency of Islamic banks should be converted into technical efficiency by improving human resource, introducing innovative market-oriented products and prudent resource allocations. As operational efficiency does not promise returns in long term, to sustain ongoing phenomenal growth of Islamic banking, management needs to gain customer trust. Originality/value This is an original research that compares performance differences across Islamic and conventional banks by using financial ratios.

Does the tag “Islamic” help in customer satisfaction in dual banking sector?

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 138-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fayaz Ahmad Lone ◽  
Ulfat Rashid Bhat
Keyword(s):  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Banking System ◽  
Islamic Banking ◽  
Islamic Banks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Level Of Satisfaction ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Future Strategy ◽  
Conventional Banks

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to find out the importance of the tag “Islamic” in the title of banks. This will help to determine the future strategy of Islamic banks, while expanding to the countries where Islamic banking is seen as a religious banking and not an as an alternative approach to the conventional banking. Design/methodology/approach Adopting convenience sampling, a total of 596 customers of both Islamic and conventional banks were surveyed from four regions of Saudi Arabia (Makkah, Madinah, Riyadh and Dammam) using a self-structured questionnaire on a five-point Likert scale. Findings The results concede that Islamic banks without the tag “Islamic” and conventional banks have same customer satisfaction. There are some factors other than the tag “Islamic” which are driving customers towards Islamic banking. Those factors include physical aspects of the bank, level of satisfaction with the services, dealing and attendance by the staff and safety and security of the bank. Besides, the application of fundamental principles of Islamic banking works as a key motivation for customer satisfaction with Islamic banking. Practical implications Applying the tag “Islamic” is not as important as implementing the principles of Islamic banking. Islamic banks can survive and compete well even without using the “Islamic” tag if they implement the prime principles of Islamic banking and work on improving the factors highlighted by this study. This study can prove to be helpful in the expansion of Islamic banking in the countries where religious banking is not generally preferred by customers. Originality/value This is the first study to find out the customer satisfaction in a dual banking system (comprising of conventional banks and Islamic banks that do not use the tag “Islamic”), thereby filling the existing gap in the Islamic banking literature.

Islamic bank vs conventional bank: intermediation, fee based service activity and efficiency

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 296-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimas Satria Hardianto ◽  
Permata Wulandari
Keyword(s):  
Credit Risk ◽  
Stochastic Frontier ◽  
Control Variable ◽  
Islamic Banking ◽  
Islamic Banks ◽  
Control Variables ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Operating Income ◽  
Service Activity ◽  
Conventional Banks

Purpose The aim of this research is to compare the differences of intermediation, fee-based service activity and efficiency of conventional banks vs Islamic banks in Indonesia for the 2011-2013 period. Moreover, this study also includes some control variables to find their effect on the dependent variables. Design/methodology/approach This research uses two methods, namely, stochastic frontier approach and panel data regression. Findings The result indicates that Islamic banks have a higher intermediation ratio, have higher proportion on fee income-to-total operating income and are less efficient. The control variable that has a positively significant effect on intermediation ratio is size; meanwhile, inefficiency and non–loan-earning asset are negatively affecting the intermediation ratio. The control variable that show a positively significant effect on the proportion of fee income-to-total operating income is size; meanwhile, the credit risk variable has no significant effect on the proportion of fee income-to-total operating income. Size and credit risk are the control variables that have a negative relation to efficiency. Originality/value This study has significantly contributed to Indonesian Islamic banking based on which the Islamic banking manager should recognize that the intermediation level, fee-based service activity and efficiency are crucially important in establishing competition and maintaining sustainable Islamic banking.

Do Islamic banks need to earn extra profits?

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasushi Suzuki ◽  
S.M. Sohrab Uddin ◽  
Pramono Sigit
Keyword(s):  
Banking Sector ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Islamic Banking ◽  
Islamic Banks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Islamic Bank ◽  
Banking Market ◽  
Conventional Banks ◽  
Credit Portfolio

Purpose This paper aims to draw upon existing debate over “financial sector rent” (bank rent) to analyze the current pattern of financing of Bangladeshi and Indonesian Islamic banks during the period of 2011 and 2015. Design/methodology/approach The empirical evidence through a comparative approach of analyzing the performance of Islamic banks with that of conventional banks in respective countries – two of the largest countries where majority of the population are Muslims – is drawn to demonstrate the objective. Findings While Islamic banks in Bangladesh are primarily concentrating on the murabaha (mark-up contract) mode of financing, some transactions under musharaka (partnership/equity-based contract) are observed in the Indonesian Islamic banking sector. This anomaly in Indonesia can be explained by the nature of their musharaka financing which is not of the purely “participatory” financing type. As a result, we can observe the quasi-murabaha syndrome in Indonesian Islamic banking sector. The concentration of asset-based financing including consumers’ financing (hire purchase) in the credit portfolio gives Islamic banks relatively higher Islamic bank rent opportunity for protecting their “franchise value” as Sharīʿah-compliant (Islamic law-compliant) lenders. However, Indonesian Islamic banks share a still infant Islamic banking market, and enjoy less rent opportunity under a severe competition with conventional banks. Research limitations/implications The bank rent approach suggests that the syndrome observed both in Bangladesh and Indonesia can be ironically justifiable. Moreover, the mode of profit-and-loss sharing provides, in practice, an idea of the difficulty in managing the participatory financing embedded with high credit risk. Under this scenario, it is necessary for Islamic scholars and the regulatory authority to design an appropriate financial architecture, enabling Islamic banks to avail the benefit from a wider variety of Sharīʿah-based Islamic financing. Originality/value This paper expands the newly emerged concept of “Islamic bank rent” to make sense of the murabaha syndrome in Bangladesh and the quasi-murabaha syndrome in Indonesia. This approach also contributes to clarifying the unique risk and cost to be compensated with the spreads that Islamic banks are expected to earn.

Incentives for conventional banks for the conversion into Islamic banks: evidence from Bangladesh

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-287
Author(s):  
Yasushi Suzuki ◽  
S.M. Sohrab Uddin ◽  
A.K.M. Ramizul Islam
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Data ◽  
Current Mode ◽  
Regulatory Framework ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Islamic Banking ◽  
Islamic Banks ◽  
Reserve Requirement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Islamic Countries ◽  
Conventional Banks

Purpose The skyrocketing rise of Islamic banking is noticeable in not only Islamic countries but also non-Islamic countries during the past few decades. Many conventional banks have started Islamic banking generally by maintaining separate branches/windows and occasionally by pursuing a complete conversion strategy. Following the global trend, two of the full-fledged Islamic banks adopted a conversion strategy consecutively in 2004 and 2008 in Bangladesh. The number of the conversion case is still limited. At this backdrop, this study aims to identify the incentives in the conversion strategy into Islamic banks. Design/methodology/approach Using the secondary data from the annual reports of the sample banks for both pre- and post-conversion periods, this study adopts the “case study” approach upon the comparison with the performance of conventional banks and other types of Islamic banks. Findings It is apparent that higher reserve requirement for conventional banks provides the incentive for the conversion into Islamic banks given with less reserve requirement. Under the protective regulatory framework, these converted Islamic banks may have enjoyed the rent for learning during the initial phase after the conversion, even though majority of the funds of these banks are collected from high-cost mudaraba time deposits. Basically, the credit strategy of the converted banks has been quite conservative, resulting in the concentrated portfolio selection on the asset-backed financing. However, the recent engagement of these banks in the Shari'ah-based participatory financing makes their performance a bit vulnerable. Research limitations/implications It is becoming difficult to justify a protective regulatory framework for incubating infant Islamic banks if the rent for learning given under the framework would not encourage them to challenge and absorb the risk and uncertainty associated with Shari’ah-based participatory financing. The current mode of profit–loss sharing (PLS) makes it difficult for the regulators to create an appropriate incentive for Islamic banks to challenge the equity-based financing. Originality/value The number of the conversion case is limited. Less has been done to investigate the reasons why the conventional banks opt for the conversion into Islamic banks, particularly in Bangladesh.

Quality and image of banking services: a comparative study of conventional and Islamic banks

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 878-902 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Abu Saleh ◽  
Ali Quazi ◽  
Byron Keating ◽  
Sanjaya S. Gaur
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Islamic Banking ◽  
Islamic Banks ◽  
Banking Services ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quality Dimensions ◽  
Service Quality Dimensions ◽  
Conventional Banks

Purpose Bank customers’ perceptions of service quality and service image of Islamic banks may differ from those of conventional banks. The purpose of this paper is to examine the differing perceptions of customers of Islamic and conventional banking systems in an emerging market, which has rarely been addressed and adds to the body of knowledge on this topic. This study also re-examines the SERVQUAL model of customer banking services to measure their impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty. Design/methodology/approach The study uses responses from a randomly drawn sample of 229 customers from conventional banks and 225 customers from Islamic banks operating in Bangladesh using a structured questionnaire. SPSS and structural equation modeling techniques were employed as statistical tools for data analysis. Findings Overall, the examined service quality dimensions wield varying effects on client satisfaction mediated through the perceived image of banking services. Islamic bank customers’ perceptions of the level of reliability, responsiveness, security and reputation were significantly higher than those of conventional banks. Research limitations/implications This study enhances our understanding of how Islamic banking practices differ from those of conventional banking in terms of service quality and image-related factors. More specifically, the findings of this research explain consumers’ perceived assessment of satisfaction and loyalty in a comparative research setting. Originality/value No prior studies have addressed the impact of the individual service quality dimensions on image factors in the context of conventional and Islamic banking in an emerging market, Bangladesh.

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