Does social and governmental responsibility matter for financial stability and bank profitability? Evidence from commercial and Islamic banks

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the drivers of banking stability in the case of QISMUT+3 countries (Qatar, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Pakistan, Kuwait and Bahrain) focusing on social and governmental responsibility (SGR) determinants. Both main indicators of banking stability, namely, profitability and nonperforming loans, were treated as dependent variables. The model is examined with the whole sample and separately by examining commercial banks and Islamic banks.Design/methodology/approachCross-country bank-level panel data spanning from 2011 to 2018 is used. Two-step system generalized methods of moments alongside both panel-corrected standard error and feasible generalized least squares models were applied to ensure the robustness of the results.FindingsFindings reveal that capital adequacy and corruption control are the most dominant determinants of banking profitability in the studied sample regardless of the type of the bank. In addition, profitability, efficient management, inflation and government effectiveness were found to be the main drivers of financial vulnerability risk.Practical implicationsFindings of this study offer many insights and policy implications to help stakeholders gain a comprehensive understanding of banking stability. Suggested policy implications targeting bank management, governmental policymakers and investors are offered to better the banking stability of QISMUT+3 countries.Originality/valueThis paper has multiple contributions to the existing literature. The determinants of banking stability are examined in QISMUT+3 group of countries which is the focus of a limited number of studies. In addition, the use of a comprehensive variable set alongside the addition of SGR determinants in the case of banking system stability is one of the main contributions of this paper.