Samir Belkhaoui

Purpose: This paper aims to study the relationship between ESG practices and banking performance for European countries over the period 2012 to 2023. Design/methodology/approach: Using the CCA technique, the study offers simultaneous analysis of the link between a set of ESG practices and a set of bank performance indicators. Findings: The empirical results support stakeholder theory and show that banks with better environmental, social and governance are better-performing than non-responsible banks. In turn, banks' performance measures explain the variance among a set of ESG activities. However, the influence of ESG involvement on banking performance is found to be more pronounced. Research limitations/implications: The study did not consider short- and long-run causalities relationships between ESG practices and bank performance indicators. Furthermore, the integration of macroeconomic variables could affect the empirical results. Practical implications: Our empirical results provide implications for bankers as well as for public authorities. Indeed, European bank managers should be more aware than before of the importance of ESG practices to improve their performance. Moreover, public authorities and policy makers dealing with both economic and social well-being are required to simultaneously pursue environmental, social and governance-centered industry enforcement policies for banking institutions. Originality/value: This study goes beyond the existing literature by disaggregating the three ESG pillars to investigate the individual impacts of different components of each pillar on a set of performance indicators introduced simultaneously, including banks' profitability, risk, efficiency and market value. The second contribution of the study is related to the use of a multivariate approach termed canonical correlation analysis (CCA), to empirically assess the relationship between a set of performance measures and a set of ESG dimensions.

This paper investigates the frequency dynamics of financial and macroeconomic connectedness by measuring tail-risk and uncertainty for two emerging African economies, namely Morocco and Tunisia, over the quarterly period Q2-2010 to Q4-2024. We employ a quantile connectedness approach, which, unlike traditional mean-based methods, leads to capturing asymmetries, tail-risk dependencies, and state-dependent spillovers, and to providing early warning signals of systemic stress and financial uncertainty. Our results reveal a stark divergence between the two stock markets in their roles in transmitting and absorbing shocks. The Moroccan stock market acts as a net transmitter, occasionally driving macroeconomic conditions and propagating uncertainty throughout the system. In contrast, the Tunisian stock market acts as a net receiver, with macroeconomic fundamentals, particularly GDP and money supply. These findings highlight how structural differences in emerging markets affect the transmission of shocks and offer actionable insights for policymakers, regulators, and investors to manage financial risks and uncertainty.

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to evaluate empirically the impact of oil price fluctuations on the relationship between banking sector development and economic growth in oil-importing MENA countries.Design/methodology/approach: The study used the newly developed panel autoregressive distributed lagged (ARDL) approach in order to address any potential endogeneity between research variables.Findings: The empirical results show a unidirectional causality in the long run from oil price to both economic growth and banking sector development for oil-importing countries. Also, banking sector development not only leads directly to economic growth but also can play a moderator role in the oil price—economic growth nexus.Research limitations/implications: The study has two principal limitations. On the one hand, this study was conducted in a relatively limited sample of countries. On the other hand, the study did not consider others indicators for banking sector development and others macroeconomic variables.Practical implications: The results found have imperative implications for banks' managers, regulators and researchers. Bank managers should be more concerned with the negative repercussions of oil price fluctuations on the development of their banks. The regulatory authorities must emphasize policies and strategies to further strengthen their banking sector in order to alleviate the negative influence of oil price shocks on economic growth. Researchers focused on finance-growth nexus must take into account the potential influence of oil price shocks.Originality/value: The developed conceptual model allows examining to what extent the oil price fluctuations might affect the relationship between economic growth and banking sector development. This effect is neither evaluated nor clarified in the relevant literature.

The aim of this research is to develop a conceptual model that includes variables related to financing modes, risk-taking, efficiency, and Islamic bank profitability in GCC Countries. The results indicate that the total effect of financing modes on banks’ profitability is high and statistically significant. The results show that a higher- level of participation in Mudharabah and Musharakah financing will generate high credit risk. Murabahah financing increases, directly and indirectly, the profitability and improve simultaneously the capitalization ratio and the cost efficiency for Islamic banks in the GCC countries. The contribution of our research is on two levels. On the one hand, our study is an addition to the literature that examined the determinants of Islamic banks performance. The conceptual model added risk-taking and cost efficiency as intervening variables in the profit-financing modes relationship. On the other hand, this research uses path analysis method, called second-generation approach, to test the model.

Purpose: – The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a conceptual model of bank performance.Design/methodology/approach: – The papers build a system of causal relationships between market structure, strategic choice and bank performance using the path analysis method. The sample includes commercial banks from 11 emerging countries.Findings: – Results show that market structure has a positive and indirect effect on bank performance, and that market share has a positive and direct effect on bank performance. Strategic variables related to risk taking and diversification affect directly and indirectly bank performance. The indirect effect occurs via market share. The results suggest that the mediating role played by the strategic choice in the relationship between market structure and performance is complete.Originality/value: – The contribution of this paper is threefold. The first one is to develop a conceptual model to explain bank performance. The model includes simultaneously direct and indirect causal relationships between market structure, strategic choice and bank performance. The second one is the use of the path analysis method to estimate the direct and indirect relationships. The third one is related to the sample including commercial banks in emerging markets.