The roles of domestic and foreign Islamic banks in Malaysian monetary transmission

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to empirically test the presence of the bank lending channel for the Islamic banking system in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach – Distributional effects from monetary policy changes were analyzed by three bank characteristics such as size, liquidity and capital. Using the econometric model by Kashyap and Stein (1995), the implementation of a policy contraction leads to reduction in loan supply because some banks may not able to offset a reduction in deposits. The paper explores the response shown between domestic and foreign Islamic banks in Malaysia using bank-level data from 2005 to 2010. Findings – The empirical result indicates presence of the bank lending channel in the Islamic banking system in Malaysia, size and liquidity as sources of difference response of financing supply in domestic bank and capital for foreign Islamic bank and Islamic interbank rate as an efficient tool in conducting monetary policy especially in the Islamic banking system. Originality/value – The paper manages to explore the effectiveness of Islamic the monetary policy tools in the Islamic Banking system in Malaysia. Using Islamic interbank rate as a policy tool, it provides valuable view to policy makers, who are analyzing for efficiency of transmission channel.