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The purpose of this paper is to identify whether ethics is incorporated into the curriculum in postgraduate banking and finance programmes. There is growing concern that moral failure preceded the global financial crisis with waves of ethical scandals overwhelming the global banking industry highlighting a lack of integrity. Consequently, banking and financial institutions have received much criticism for focusing on higher financial returns that bring personal rewards with significant costs to the majority of society.

The population for this study is Australian universities offering banking and finance postgraduate programs. The data for this study were collected from information available on university websites. The study uses content analysis to examine course content in 897 courses offered within banking and finance programmes.

Findings reveal that 809 (90 per cent) out of 897 courses do not incorporate ethics into banking and finance programmes. Most of the 88 courses incorporating ethics as include the course as “core”, with a relatively small number offering ethics as an “elective”. Only a few courses were offered as stand-alone ethics courses. It appears from the information available that little focus is given to assessment of ethics.

This is the first study to explore whether ethics is featured in postgraduate banking and finance programmes.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the perception of Islamic bank employees in Malaysia and selected Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, namely, Bahrain, Oman and the UAE, on various issues related to Islamic business ethics and the practices of the Islamic banks at which they work.

The required data to determine Islamic bank employees’ ethical perceptions is sourced from 144 completed survey questionnaires and interviews with 12 Islamic bank senior executives. Islamic model of normative business ethics is used to measure the relationship between attitudes and behaviours of employees and the ethical practices of Islamic banks.

Results show that the Islamic bank personnel working in Malaysia and the GCC perceived that their banks conform to Islamic ethical norms in business. These banks were seen to be concerned with their impact on society, and ethics prevailed over profit-maximisation. The findings also suggest that despite being less regulated compared to Malaysia, Islamic bank personnel in GCC had a better impression of the ethical standard practised in their institutions compared to the feedback given by their Malaysian counterparts. Additionally, this research also proves that, in general, there is a positive correlation between attitudes and behaviours of employees and the ethical practices of Islamic banks.

The main limitation of the study is that the respondents were not selected randomly but rather through a convenient sampling of personal contacts. Despite the inherent limitation of the sampling method because of the constraints of time and resources, the large number of respondents from 12 different banks are representative of the Islamic bank employees in Malaysia and the GCC.

The findings may serve as a useful input for Islamic financial institutions in improving their practices to conform with Islamic ethical norms.

The topic of Islamic business ethics and the practices of Islamic banks have not been fully understood by its stakeholders. This paper aims to give insights on how far Islamic bank business practices in Muslim majority societies fit with the prescribed business framework in Islam and its contributing value for both the organization and employees.

The purpose of this paper is to look into the ethical practices of a profit-driven financial institution that is currently adopting Islamic banking and whether it can actually be ethical from an Islamic perspective. The recent decade has seen an upsurge of the increasingly integration of ethical management into operational strategies by businesses across the globe. Like any other religion, Islam wants its followers to be truthful and honest and to be compliant with its teachings and especially in a business transaction. This research paper explores the ethical factors of Islamic banking and how it is perceived by its stakeholders.

Due to the exploratory nature of the research and the fact that it involves in-depth theoretical analysis, a qualitative research method was adopted to explore the details of ethics in Islamic banking sector. The aim of this research was to explore the ethical options of an Islamic bank. This was done by carrying out in-depth interviews with the managers and executives of Islamic banks having authority over the subject of Islamic banking and Shariah finance. Furthermore, a detailed session of interviews was also carried out with the customers of Islamic banking to take their views on the subject issues. The data are analysed through thematic content analysis and matched with the existing theory with the objective of coming up with detailed findings that would contribute to knowledge on the subject of ethical Islamic banking.

The paper provides empirical insights about ethical management as a vital part of Islamic banking modus operandi. The findings highlight the involvement of ethics in different procedures, operations and approaches of Islamic banking and how it is perceived by its many stakeholders.

The motivation of this thesis comes from literature review to explore the ethics of Islamic banking and how it Islamic banking is perceived by stakeholders at an ethical banking practice. This research aims to aid bankers in identifying what practices they can enhance and what practices should be dropped to bring about a more ethical banking system. This research was prompted as a result of the gaps identified in the literature review followed by the observations made of the market by the researcher. It was evident that further research on this topic was required to aid the subject.

The research is original in its nature, as there have not been many instances where the ethical management theory has been explored within the Islamic banking sector. Given the new literature on corporate branding and customer perception, this research can contribute very positively towards the subject area. This research would pave new research avenues to be explored and enhance academic contribution on the common subjects.

To show how social enterprises can take advantage of the growing ethical awareness of financial institutions to finance their work whilst remaining true to their social principles.

The concept of financial intermediation and the growing ethical dimension of financial institutions are discussed to examine the evolving role of ethics within financial intermediation and the opportunities these offer to social enterprises which have hitherto been wary of such finance on principle. Focuses on the fact that many depositors and investors are willing to sacrifice financial return for social results. Reports results of the study, which literature searches and other methods and presents information based on case studies of eight financial intermediaries that provide services to social enterprises and have a strong concern for ethics.

The case studies comprise: Aston Reinvestment Trust (ART), an industrial and provident society; Charity Bank, an FSA regulated bank with a national lending scale; Derby Loans, an industrial and provident society (IPS) and a community development finance institution (CDFI); The Ecology Building Society (EBS), an FSA‐regulated building society with a national lending scale; Industrial Common Ownership Finance (ICOF), a public company limited by guarantee with a national lending scale; London Rebuilding Society (LRS), an IPS with a local lending scale, with borrowers having to be located in London; Triodos Bank, a regulated bank with a national lending scale; and Ulster Community Investment Trust (UCIT), an IPS with a local lending scale limited to specified geographical areas. Concludes that several financial intermediaries now exist that are willing to provide short and long term finance to social enterprises.

Provides valuable information and encouragement for social enterprises seeking finance for their activities.

Since the 1980s, the global financial system has faced several crises that have led regulators to consider new conjectural and structural problems. These crises (new technology bubbles, the sub‐prime crisis …) have led economists and financial analysts to the following conclusions. First of all, systemic risk has increased during the last 30 years, which had led regulators to devise rules to evaluate information more efficiently. Second, the recent collapse of stock markets despite the national rescue measures shows the importance of preventative procedures. The third point is that aggressive capitalism has demonstrated its limits. The aim of this paper is to show that regulation is a necessary but not sufficient condition to ensure the efficiency of banking institutions, financial markets and the management of companies.

Through the analysis of the Swiss banking sector, the paper provides an insight for banks to satisfy social pressure on more ethical behavior. This case could be an example for another functioning for financial institutions.

By refocusing on their core business, banking institutions will be capable of realizing profit and creating value for the community.

The arguments discussed in this paper could be of interest both for professionals and academics willing to solve the antagonism between profit and ethics: profit can be compatible with social value added.

Banking and finance is not “an ethics free zone”. By changing their behavior, banks can improve their credibility on the market and renew the confidence towards clients.

The aim of the present paper is to study what effect CSR has had on the practice of organizations.

Since the effects of CSR on practice are an understudied topic the paper adopts a single case study design and studies Swedbank. Theoretically the paper approaches the problematic from the perspective of neo institutional theory and stakeholder theory.

If CSR approaches colonize organisational practice, a fundamental shift from a shareholder strategy, to a social harmony strategy may be experienced, i.e. that the current focus on shareholder needs in contemporary organizations is balanced with the needs of other stakeholders. CSR adoption is surprisingly high at Swedbank and the paper thus argues that CSR might change the practice of organizations toward social harmony.

The case study design does not make possible empirical generalizations. Therefore, further research should focus on generalizing the findings. Further research might also conduct case studies by using the adoption framework in other empirical settings.

The paper offers new insight on of the adoption of CSR in organizations and connects this issue to stakeholder theory. Additionally, framing the adoption of CSR from an institutional perspective is also novel.

This work draws on important issues that are related to all socio‐economic agents. We refer to Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Socially Responsible Investments (SRIs), arguing on the clear benefits they provide to companies and financial institutions. The main empirical objective of this work is to show a theoretical framework for the existence and supply of non‐financial information on financial products by financial institutions in the Portuguese Investment Market (comprising of Banks and Fund and Investment Companies – FIMCs).

Overall, 55 Banks and 41 FIMCs, were analysed, totalling 96 observations for analysis. The paper studies the supply of non‐financial information (i.e. social and environmental information) regarding the financial products in the Portuguese investment market (comprising of Banks and Fund and Investment Management Companies). Through surveys’ analysis, which were sent to 96 of these financial institutions, we conclude that the supply of these informations’ sets is practically inexistent.

Overall, the conclusions point to the fact that financial institutions surveyed are very much behind in this new framework and related tools, when considering similar financial institutions outside Portugal. There are some institutions that do provide, but when compared to other European and non‐European countries, the discrepancy is huge. It is concluded that much needs to be done in this field, starting with a clear definition of the benefits and costs of providing non‐financial information.

At the academic level, the authors have not found any good study neither on CSR nor on SRIs done by Portuguese researchers nor on its Market. A priori the authors felt that the Portuguese Banks and The Fund and Investment Management Companies were not committed to Sustainability issues, because they believe that for these business agents, Sustainable Development still means, Environmentalism. Through this study the authors seek to provide an image of how the Investment Market is to regards to Sustainable issues, in Portugal, and thus help financial institutions and economic agents (e.g. bank managers, portfolio managers, among others) to know more about these issues that are important to any company.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between ethical values and performance in the context of the banking sector in Malaysia.

Based on the philanthropic model, this study posits that firms undertaking zakat and charity are ethical firms. Zakat disclosure index (ZDI) and charity disclosure index (CDI) were constructed to measure ethical values. This study hypothesises that ethical values are positively associated with bank performance. Ethical values (i.e. CDI and ZDI) and financial performance data (i.e. return on assets) were collected from the disclosures made in the annual reports of 50 banks for a period of five years (2010-2014).

A positive association was found between zakat disclosure and bank performance. The results indicate that higher zakat disclosure is associated with greater bank performance. However, no relationship was found between charity disclosure and bank performance.

Considering the limitation of the index used in this study, other dimensions such as corporate governance, sustainability, products and environment can be considered in the development of index to measure ethical values in future studies.

This study offers additional explanation on the relationship between ethical values and performance by examining the role of zakat disclosures that characterize the unique aspects of Malaysian companies.

The ongoing reforms in the Nigerian banking system have resulted to mega banks, driven by advanced competition. This has raised concerns about their social and environmental performance. The purpose of this paper is to agitate for the prioritization of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as the foremost condition for banking stability in the reforms.

This paper draws largely from the theory of CSR, and reviews pertinent policies and practices in the Nigerian banking system.

The paper identifies self‐induced vices, regulatory laxity, inauspicious macro‐economic environment, and endemic corruption in the economy as the major constraints to the discharge of CSR in the Nigerian banking system.

It may be necessary to restructure the Central Bank of Nigeria to clearly separate the roles of banks' supervision from fiscal policy management for a more effective economic, social and environmental viability of the banking system. Furthermore, the banking system should focus less exclusively on shareholders and financial measures of success to include all stakeholders' relationships in their mission to sustain competitive success in the future.

It is imperative that external regulation should be blended with conscious self‐regulations by the banking institutions for the reforms to effectively include the delivery of CSR. This should be anchored on effective corporate governance in the banking institutions in the system.

The purpose of this study is primarily to implement the emerging market (EM) Z‐score model to predict bankruptcy and to measure the financial performance of major Islamic banks in the UAE. In addition, this study aims to introduce the Z‐score model to this industry as a beneficial diagnostic tool for possible causes standing behind the deterioration of financial performance.

The methodology that has been used in this study is based on Z‐score model for EMs developed by Altman. The related studies have proved that Z‐score has more than 80 percent accuracy and verified it is a robust tool and is useful in assessing the business performance and prediction of potential distress of firms. The approach determined in this study is to examine the financial statements of the UAE Islamic banks by calculating the EM Z‐score for the past three years and comparing it with the current year's score as an effort to measure the overall financial performance as well as the likelihood of bankruptcy of the UAE Islamic banks.

The paper finds that UAE Islamic banks should work on improving the ratios that are dragging their scores down to better understand their past performance and realize their current position in the industry; Z‐score can be adopted by the UAE Islamic banks as effective evaluation approach toward financing the potential long‐term partnership projects including small and medium business enterprises (SMEs); Z‐score model can be adapted by Islamic banks as an independent credit risk analysis approach to measure the competencies and financial strengths of potential projects; Islamic banks in the UAE are by and large financially sound and healthy and that Z‐score is a beneficial analytical tool that can be adapted by Islamic banks in the UAE to complement other financial analysis techniques to establish Islamic banking industry averages. The study also finds that the ratios used in calculating Z‐score can be considered to provide valuable instrumental indicators.

Z‐score model is a valid model to measure the performance of Islamic banks and the ratios used in calculating Z‐score can be considered to provide valuable instrumental indicators. Z‐score can be adopted by the UAE Islamic banks to finance long‐term partnership projects and SMEs. Limitations including the Islamic banking industry are still considered small size, which might has negative effect on the maximum outcomes of the study. Future studies are needed toward updating the coefficient values connected to each ratios in Z‐score model as per the inputs from the Islamic banking industry.

Z‐score model is a valid model to measure Islamic banks performance and the ratios used in calculating Z‐score can be considered to provide valuable instrumental indicators. Z‐score can be adopted by the UAE Islamic banks to finance long‐term partnership projects and SMEs.

The model is believed to widen the industry exposure in order to finance more projects and companies which is believed will reflect positively on the society welfare. By adopted Z‐score SMEs will be provided with all financings needed specially providing the microfinance for small projects.

Introducing Z‐score to the Islamic banking industry as crucial credit risk measuring tool.