Does the country’s religion affect the financial performance of conventional and Islamic banks? Comparative study in the international framework

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to compare the impact of religion on the financial performance of conventional and Islamic banks in the framework of stakeholders’ theory. Design/methodology/approach Few studies have focused on studying the impact of religion on banking performance. Although religion represents an external governance mechanism for financial institutions, by using the generalized method of moments (GMM), this topic constitutes a research opportunity. The already modeled variables are collected from 76 countries located on 5 continents. The data were collected from DATASTREAM, banks’ annual reports, WIKIPEDIA and World Bank. It concerns 210 banks of each type during the period (2010–2020). Findings The author retained that religion negatively affects the financial performance of both conventional and Islamic banks. More specifically, results showed that religion affected the liquidity and solvency of two bank types. It also affected conventional banks’ profitability and efficiency of conventional banks. Research limitations/implications I summarized the theoretical contribution in the integration of a new original governance category to enhance its presence with impacts directly affecting the banks’ financial performance. Empirically, the study can be seen as a compass for all stakeholders to consider environmental, behavioral and doctrinal factors in studying the financial performance evolution and to become more competitive in the banking market. Originality/value Although conventional banks located in developed countries are different from those existing in emerging countries and Islamic banks located in developed countries are different from those existing in emerging countries, I carried out a diversified study in the global context. Referring to the comparative literature review between conventional and Islamic banks, the study was the first conditional research that compared the impacts of religion on the financial performance of conventional and Islamic banks.