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This study aims to investigate the effect of public corruption on the performance and risk of financial institutions domiciled in the USA..

This study uses the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Public Integrity Section Reports to proxy corruption. The analysis is performed by bank size and includes robustness checks for omitted variables and endogeneity concerns.

The results show that a corrupt environment is associated with lower bank performance without a reduction in risk. Larger banks tend to underestimate the increase in credit risk. Small- and medium-size banks seek to “re-capture” returns in corrupt districts by reducing their liquidity.

The implication of this research is that financial institutions do not thrive in corrupt environments and are unlikely to participate in corrupt practices. Overall, this study documents the tangible harm inflicted by corrupt practices.

A practical implication is that banks may attempt to re-capture lower returns resulting from corrupt environments by extending more risky loans, specifically, commercial real estate loans.

This study demonstrates the costly impact of corruption on large and small banks. While larger banks report higher share of non-performing loans, smaller banks show an increase in the provision for loan and lease losses, suggesting that smaller banks may be more risk averse.

Prior studies investigate corruption in US firms while excluding financial institutions. This study fills this gap by investigating the effect of public corruption on the performance and risk of financial institutions domiciled in the USA.

This study aims to investigate the moderating role of corporate governance (CG) on the relationship between credit risk (CRs) and financial performance (FP) of banks listed in the Palestine Securities’ Exchange (PEX) and Amman Securities’ Exchange (ASE).

This study used a hypothesis-testing research design to collect data from the annual reports of 21 banks listed on (PEX) and (ASE). Secondary data, annual reports and disclosures were used between from 2009 to 2019. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used, along with correlation analysis to evaluate linear relationships between variables. Data was collected based on panel data, the VIF was used to test multicollinearity and binary logistic regression was used to develop the research model.

The regression results showed the association between CR and firm performance depends on the measurement of each factor applied. The results showed mixed results between loans to total assets (LTA) and nonperforming loans to total loans (NPLs) with FP. LTA has a significant and positive effect on TOBINSQ and return on equity (ROE), but an insignificant and positive effect on return on assets (ROA). On the other hand, NPLs have a significant and negative effect on ROA, whereas NPLs have a weak and positive effect on TOBINSQ. However, there is an insignificant and positive effect of NPLs on ROE. Moreover, the results demonstrated that CG moderated the relationship between CRs and FP of banks. The practical contribution of this paper, for bank policymakers and authorities, the study’s implications are noteworthy. Understanding the varied impacts of different CR measures on FP can help regulators and policymakers design more tailored and effective risk management frameworks for banks.

This study had limitations that future research might be able to address. First, the small size of the sample used in the study included 21 banks listed on the PEX and ASE. Likewise, the ASE and PEX are considered developing stock exchanges, so the results of this study may differ from those of other stock exchanges. Second, only CRs were considered in this study when examining the association between the profitability of Palestinian banks and ASE. Other studies can be undertaken on other nonfinancial risks, such as operational risk, to measure the differences between them and examine their effects on the profitability of Palestinian and Jordanian banks. Other studies might be performed to compare CRs and its impact on profitability in Palestinian and Jordanian banks with those in other Western and Eastern banks. Furthermore, in addition to TOBINSQ, ROA and ROE, researchers can use other financial indicators to measure profitability. This will contribute to substantiating the present study’s findings.

Although several studies have examined the relationship between CRs and FP in developed and developing countries, the results have been mixed. However, this study is one of the few studies that examined the moderating role of CG in association with CRs and FP, especially on Palestinian and Jordanian contexts. Finally, the findings offer policymakers and practitioners of Palestinian and Jordanian contexts.

This paper investigates the significant increase in S corporation banks converting to C corporations following the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and the shift in motivations behind these conversions.

The paper uses bank-level panel data from Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Call Reports to analyze the determinants of S bank conversions after the TCJA, comparing post-TCJA conversion trends with pre-TCJA trends utilizing an ordinary least squares (OLS) and logistics model.

The study finds that post-TCJA conversions are primarily driven by financially stable banks seeking improved tax conditions and relaxed shareholder restrictions as C corporations. This contrasts with pre-TCJA conversions, which were predominantly driven by financially distressed S corporation banks seeking new equity capital to maintain solvency.

The findings necessitate a comprehensive reconsideration of the Subchapter S status' sustained relevance for smaller institutions, especially in light of the comparative benefits now offered by the C corporation status post-TCJA. The results underscore the importance of ongoing academic investigation to deepen the understanding of the evolving fiscal landscape's effects on community banks, thereby contributing to the knowledge of the resilience and health of the US economy.

This research nudges policymakers and regulators to contemplate the ongoing relevance and advantages of the S corporation status. Given the substantial benefits conferred by the C corporation status in the post-TCJA environment, this study suggests that retaining the S corporation status may not offer the same appeal for smaller community banks as it once did.

This paper contributes to the broader understanding of the impact of tax policy on businesses' organizational choices, particularly in the banking industry and emphasizes the need for a comprehensive review of the S corporation status to assess its ongoing applicability in fostering small and community-focused financial institutions in light of the evolved corporate tax landscape.

This study aims to examine the various internal and external factors affecting the financial stability of Indian Commercial Banks. The aim is to improve the effectiveness of the Indian banking system in facilitating the transmission of monetary policy and to strengthen its resilience in the event of a banking crisis.

A panel data regression analysis is employed on unbalanced panel data of Indian commercial banks including public sector, private sector and foreign sector banks for the period of 2005–2022.

This study revealed that Indian banks with higher profits and high capitalization are more stable than others. However, banks with large bank size and high management costs are less stable as compared to other banks. In the case of macroeconomic variables, foreign exchange reserves have a significant positive impact on banking stability. Moreover, the unemployment rate has a significant negative impact on the banking stability of India.

Research identifies relevant micro and macroeconomic drivers pertaining to India’s banking stability, a developing economy. These findings have significant implications and can attract the attention of analysts, regulators, bankers and academicians in this area. Nevertheless, the scope of the study is limited to the variables chosen to evaluate their contribution to banking stability, but other variables may influence Indian banking conditions.

Indian banks are advised by the research to place a high priority on profitability, capitalization and effective risk management. Customers and investors should choose banks with strong metrics. The priorities for policymakers should be preserving robust reserves and tackling unemployment with focused initiatives. Adopting digitalization can improve banks’ customer service and operational effectiveness, which is important for overcoming economic obstacles. These tactics provide doable measures to improve the resilience and stability of the banking industry in India and other emerging nations.

This research differentiates from the rest by focusing solely on the Indian banking system, in contrast to previous ones that often treated India as part of a bigger part like the BRICS or South Asia continent. It acknowledges the need to comprehending the unique traits and difficulties faced by the Indian banking system. Moreover, the current study distinguishes itself by focusing on the combined impact of microeconomic and macroeconomic indicators in the Indian context, unlike earlier research that concentrated on assessing the effects of individual variables. The current study also investigated new variables like corporate governance and foreign exchange reserves in the context of Indian banking which have not been explored by existing literature. Research is also crucial in the context of the analysis’s time frame, since it captures the period of economic transformation that included demonization, implementation of GST, major mergers and global COVID-19 pandemic.

This paper analyzes the ex-ante determinants of asset securitization in Moroccan banks, providing a detailed exploration of factors influencing securitization in the Moroccan banking sector.

The study focuses on funding, performance, risk transfer and regulatory capital arbitrage hypotheses. By employing a probit model, we examined all Moroccan banks that securitized their assets from 2002 to 2022. Additional analyses were conducted with alternative variables and by splitting the sample into two periods, 2002–2013 and 2014–2022, to assess the impact of the regulation law 119-12 implemented in 2013 on the Moroccan securitization market.

The results indicate that the search for alternative funding sources and bank size emerge as significant factors driving securitization in Morocco. Additionally, there is limited evidence that loan portfolio quality is a decisive factor to securitize. Meanwhile, there is no evidence that securitization is driven by performance and regulatory capital arbitrage. Robustness tests further support these findings, while also suggesting that banks may engage in securitization to enhance their performance and, to a lesser extent, reduce regulatory capital.

This paper contributes to the empirical literature by identifying the determinants that drive Moroccan banks to securitize, addressing a research gap in the relatively understudied Moroccan securitization market. The findings provide valuable insights for bankers, investors and policymakers, highlighting the potential benefits of securitization and suggesting policy changes to foster a robust securitization market while ensuring financial stability.

This paper aims to study the effect of country-level perceptions of corruption on commercial banks’ lending activity over the importance of loans and the quality of loan portfolios of banks in Europe.

The paper uses country-level perceptions of corruption scores from Transparency International, individual bank-specific data from ORBIS and macroeconomic data from the World Bank. The sample is composed of 640 commercial banks in 42 European countries from 2013 to 2019. The authors estimate, by pooled OLS, the relationship between corruption and the importance of loans and the quality of the banks’ loan portfolios. In addition, several robustness tests reinforce the results.

The results show that corruption negatively impacts the importance of loans in bank assets and positively impacts the proportion of bad loans. In addition, trade openness increases the weight of loans and the weight of nonperforming loans. Bank size, capital and risk also affect bank lending activity. Finally, European Monetary Union (EMU) membership reinforces the negative (positive) effect on loans (bad loans).

The results highlight the importance of fighting corruption. Governments, regulators and banks benefit from pursuing transparency-oriented policies to decrease the perception of corruption and foster economic development.

The literature on the impact of corruption on bank lending activity focuses mainly on high-corruption countries. This paper studies the European case, scarcely investigated in the literature, in the aftermath of two international financial crises and when significant regulatory transformations in banking supervision were instituted in the EMU countries.

This study aims to provide a critique of the institutional framework of the National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (NARCL), India’s “bad bank.”

The approach followed is the development of an economic model of the gains to trade of an Asset Reconstruction Company.

Using an economic model, the paper shows that the rules of the game create an uneven playing field and are likely to lead to a systematic overpricing of nonperforming loans (NPLs). While this might increase the upfront cash received by the bank, it will come at the cost of higher liabilities for the government on account of the sovereign guarantee that is part of the proposed structure. The overpricing is also likely to act as an obstacle to efforts aimed at the revival of the distressed company. The NARCL could become a warehouse for NPLs subverting the objective of reconstruction.

Solutions to create a vibrant market for NPLs are proposed.

The Indian case is unique in the sense that a bad bank backed by the government has been introduced after almost two decades of the existence of similar entities in the private sector. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is the first that addresses the design of such a market using economic modeling.

This study examines the impact of competition and concentration on bank income smoothing in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries.

The two-step system GMM method was used to analyse the impact of competition and concentration on bank income smoothing in 17 CEEs from 2004 to 2015.

Loan loss provisions (LLPs) are negatively related to bank competition and concentration. The authors find no evidence for income smoothing using LLPs in a high-competition or high-concentration environment.

A limitation of the study is that the analysis was restricted to commercial banks. The authors did not examine investment banks or microfinance banks in this study. Also, not having access to databases does not allow them to include recent years in the study.

CEE commercial banks will likely keep fewer provisions or engage in under-provisioning when they face intense competition, and this can expose them to credit risk, which may threaten their stability.

This study is the first to investigate the effect of concentration and competition on income smoothing among CEE banks.

This paper aims to determine the effect of equity financing on bank stability during normal and crisis periods.

This study uses a static panel regression that includes pooled ordinary least square, random effect and fixed effect model to examine the influence of equity financing on bank stability. In estimating bank stability during a financial crisis, the authors predict the occurrence of a crisis using the early warning system (EWS). The authors then used z-score to measure Islamic banks’ stability.

Islamic banks that offer equity financing structure are more stable compared to Islamic banks without such structure. Islamic banks with medium equity financing have highest stability relative to Islamic banks with high or low equity financing. During crises, the Islamic banks with equity financing structure remain relatively stable compared to other Islamic banks.

The sampling coverage could have included a larger number of countries and banks.

The authorities need to strengthen the banking framework to support the Islamic financial products by encouraging a wider use of risk-sharing instruments. Besides using a debt-like financing structure, Islamic banks should also place emphasis on equity financing in instilling the banking sector stability. In monitoring banks with equity financing, the authorities may need to look into the level of equity financing.

Besides avoiding riba and gharar in financing, equity financing encourages cooperation and participation among society as they share the risks.

This paper analyses the effect of equity financing on the Islamic banks stability during normal and crisis periods. This paper further examines the intensity of the equity financing and its influence on bank stability.

This paper empirically investigates whether trade openness (TO) in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) countries affects how banks might employ loan loss provisions (LLPs) to smooth out their earnings and how adopting the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) can mitigate it.

The analysis includes 78 commercial banks from five BRICS nations and spans 2014 through 2020. To test these hypotheses, the authors utilized a fixed-effect and two-step system panel generalized methods of moments (GMM) estimator.

TO positively affects income smoothing (earnings management) across BRICS commercial banks. The effect is clearer in banks that make financial reports under the IFRS. Path analysis reveals that the effect of TO is driven by nonperforming loans (NPLs). Additionally, the IFRS restricts earnings management in the BRICS banking sector when a better institutional environment is present. The authors found that accounting rules (IFRS) and enforcement (better institutional settings) interact to enhance earnings’ quality.

The relationship between TO and bank earnings management practices is important for understanding the complex interplay between trade and finance and ensuring financial stability, investor confidence and regulatory compliance. This study recommends better regulations and governance mechanisms for financial reports in emerging nations like BRICS. Additionally, macro-prudential regulators and banking supervisors should work closely to ensure transparent TO decisions with improved discipline, institutional quality and regulatory support to enhance bank stability.

The study finds evidence of bank income smoothing in the BRICS and introduces TO as a determinant. It also identifies the evolving role of IFRS in the presence of higher institutional quality and TO, thereby expanding the financial reporting literature.