EVALUATION OF SHARI'AH GOVERNANCE PRACTICES IN SAUDI ARABIAN BANKS

Abstract

Islamic banking is witnessing a significant increase in worldwide demand for its products alongside the increased interest in Sharīʿah governance, which is an essential means of ensuring that the products and activities of Islamic banking institutions fully comply with Sharīʿah (Islamic law), meet customer needs, and increase their competitiveness in both local and international markets. The aim of this paper is to evaluate Sharīʿah governance practices in Saudi Arabian banks and also ‎examine the level of adherence to Sharīʿah governance principles, institutional ‎frameworks, regulatory standards, and procedures within Saudi banks. This paper ‎employs a descriptive analysis approach, while the data were collected through a ‎questionnaire survey from 95 members of Sharīʿah advisory boards, Sharīʿah groups, and Sharīʿah governance committees ‎in 11 banks operating in Saudi Arabia. A regression analysis was performed to estimate relationships between the level of compliance and commitment to Sharīʿah governance in Saudi banks as a dependent variable, and the implementation of Sharīʿah governance, its dimensions, and the availability of implementing procedures of Sharīʿah governance as independent variables. The findings confirm the existence of variations between banks at ‎the level of implementing Sharīʿah governance principles and standards. The dimensions ‎of Sharīʿah governance received varying levels of attention in the banks, with ‎organizational structure ranking first, followed by the dimensions of responsibility and ‎disclosure, and finally, control, auditing, and accountability. The study reveals ‎disparities in the implementation levels of Sharīʿah governance between banks with full-fledged Sharīʿah compliance and conventional banks that offer Islamic windows. ‎Additionally, the study indicates differences in the adequacy of implementing ‎procedures for Sharīʿahgovernance principles and standards in both types of Saudi banks, attributed ‎to variations in bank size, product type, and organizational structure. The results of ‎the regression analysis demonstrate that the ‎implementation of Sharīʿah governance dimensions and the availability of implementing ‎procedures have a statistically positive effect on the level of commitment to Islamic banking and Sharīʿah governance. The paper suggests a necessity for training personnel in Islamic ‎banking, activating the role of Sharīʿah compliance units, and developing the ‎Sharīʿah governance framework in Islamic banking operations in Saudi Arabia.