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The purpose of this paper is to report empirical evidence regarding the risk management practices of banks operating in Bahrain.

A sample of bankers was surveyed through a questionnaire and the results used to examine if the risk management practices are significantly associated with the type of bank (conventional or Islamic) and if those practices are positively affected by understanding risk, risk management, risk identification, risk assessment analysis, risk monitoring and credit risk analysis. Several statistical and econometric methods were used to the test the hypotheses.

Banks in Bahrain are found to have a clear understanding of risk and risk management, and have efficient risk identification, risk assessment analysis, risk monitoring, credit risk analysis and risk management practices. In addition, credit, liquidity and operational risk are found to be the most important risks facing both conventional and Islamic banks. Furthermore, the risk management practices are determined by the extent to which managers understand risk and risk management, efficient risk identification, risk assessment analysis, risk monitoring and credit risk analysis. Islamic banks are found to be significantly different from their conventional counterparts in understanding risk and risk management. The levels of risks faced by Islamic banks are found to be significantly higher than those faced by conventional banks. Similarly, country, liquidity, and operational, residual, and settlement risks are found to be higher in Islamic banks than in conventional banks.

The results may have been influenced by the current economic global crisis. Although the response rate is very high, there is no evidence of non‐response bias, and there is high internal consistency within the responses. The reliance on survey methodology introduces the possibility that respondents expressed their beliefs and did not necessarily describe their actions.

Bankers, depositors, investors and regulators are likely to benefit from the results of the study when taking decisions related to the banking industry.

This is the first published attempt to investigate empirically the risk management practices of banks operating in Bahrain and to compare the practices of conventional and Islamic banks.

The purpose of this paper is to report a study into: the motives that dispose customers in Bahrain to choose a specific bank; the level of familiarity of customers with the most widely used services/products offered by Islamic banks; and the extent of use of those products.

This is the first study conducted in Bahrain to include three types of bank clients: those who bank with conventional banks, those who bank with Islamic banks, and who use both kinds of banks. The results are based on a response rate of 65.5 percent from 1,000 questionnaires distributed. Descriptive statistics and non‐parametric statistics (Mann‐Whitney and Kruskal‐Wallis tests) are reported, and factor analysis used to analyze the responses.

It is found that: Islamic religious belief and social responsibility are the two most important factors that determine bank selection. Cost benefit is the third most important factor considered in bank selection; clients of conventional and Islamic banks share a number of motives, but they differ significantly on a few motives in relation to bank selection; and clients of Islamic banks are more familiar with the products/services that conform to the sharia'a. Overall, for clients who bank exclusively with Islamic banks, and for those who bank in different kinds of banks, the most widely used product/service of Islamic banks is murabaha.

The most important practical implication is for banks, conventional and Islamic, when setting and implementing their marketing strategies, which should include an awareness campaign. The results also benefit banks operating in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). This is because of the similarities of the countries in the GCC.

This paper is the first attempt to identify the motives and criteria for bank selection in Bahrain among clients of conventional banks, Islamic banks, and clients who bank with both types of banks. The study goes on to determine the extent of familiarity of clients of banks in Bahrain with the products/services that comply with Islamic sharia'a.

In line with the IFSB and BCBS methodology, the purpose of this study is to undertake a comparative analysis of dual banking systems for asset-liability management (ALM) practices with the duration gap, in Islamic Commercial Banks (ICBs) and Conventional Commercial Banks (CCBs). Based on the research objective, two research questions are developed: How do the duration gaps of ICBs compare with those of similar sized CCBs? Are there any country-specific and regional differences among ICBs in terms of managing their duration gaps?

The research methodology comprises two-stages: stage one uses a duration gap model to calculate the duration gaps of ICBs and CCBs; stage two applies parametric tests. In terms of the duration gap model, the study determines the duration gap with a four-step process. The study selected a sample of 100 banks (50 ICBs and 50 CCBs) from 13 countries for the period 2009-2015.

The paper provides empirical insights into the duration gap and ALM of ICBs and CCBs. The ICBs have more variations in their mean duration gap compared to the CCBs, and they have a tendency for a higher (more) mean duration gap (28.37 years) in comparison to the CCBs (11.79 years). The study found ICBs as having 2.41 times more duration gap compared to the CCBs, and they are exposed to increasing rate of return (ROR) risk due to their larger duration gaps and severe liquidity mismatches. There are significant regional differences in terms of the duration gap and asset-liability management.

Future studies also consider “Off-Balance Sheet” activities of the ICBs, with multi-term duration measures. A larger sample size of 100 ICBs with 10 years’ data after the GFC would be more beneficial to the industry. In addition, the impact of an increasing benchmark rate (e.g. 100, 200 and 300 bps) on the ICBs as per the IFSB 20 per cent threshold can also be established with the duration gap approach to identify the vulnerabilities of the ICBs.

The study makes profound contributions to the literature and suggests various policy recommendations for Islamic banks, regulators, and standard setters of the ICBs, for identifying and measuring the significance of the duration gaps; and management of the ROR risk under Pillar 2 of the BCBS and IFSB, for financial soundness and stability purposes.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is a pioneer study in Islamic banking involving a sample of 100 banks (50 ICBs and 50 CCBs) from 13 countries. The results of the study provide original empirical evidence regarding the estimation of duration gap, and variations across jurisdictions in terms of vulnerability of ICBs and CCBs in dual banking systems.