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This study examines whether Islamic banks in SSA exhibit convergence in operational efficiency or whether performance disparities persist over time. Specifically, it evaluates whether less efficient banks catch up with more efficient peers within the region’s emerging Islamic banking sector. The study adopts a two-stage empirical framework using panel data from 35 Islamic banks across SSA over the period 2010–2024. In the first stage, operational efficiency scores are estimated using a bias-corrected Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model following the Simar and Wilson two-stage approach. An input-oriented specification under Variable Returns to Scale (VRS) is employed to reflect cost minimization behaviour and heterogeneity in bank size. Bias correction is implemented using a bootstrap procedure to obtain consistent efficiency estimates. In the second stage, convergence dynamics are analysed using sigma (σ) and beta (β) convergence models, alongside conditional convergence regressions incorporating bank size, age, and market concentration. The results reveal significant β-convergence, with the baseline model yielding a coefficient of −0.267 (p < 0.01), while the conditional model confirms robust convergence (β = −0.2836, p < 0.01), indicating that banks with lower initial efficiency improve at a faster rate than more efficient institutions, consistent with catch-up dynamics. However, σ-convergence results show that efficiency dispersion declined between 2010 and 2019 but increased after 2020, indicating that convergence was time-varying rather than uniform. This suggests that while convergence forces exist, structural differences and external shocks continue to sustain efficiency gaps across banks. The findings highlight the need for stronger regulatory harmonization, improved financial infrastructure, and targeted capacity-building initiatives to accelerate efficiency convergence across Islamic banks in SSA.

This study examines the effect of Good Corporate Governance (GCG), financing quality, Islamic Corporate Social Responsibility (ICSR), and operational efficiency on the financial performance of Islamic Commercial Banks (Bank Umum Syariah/BUS) in Indonesia using a quantitative explanatory approach with panel data regression analysis. The research focuses on 14 Islamic Commercial Banks registered with the Financial Services Authority (Otoritas Jasa Keuangan/OJK) over the 2019–2024 period, resulting in 84 firm-year observations selected through purposive sampling based on the availability of complete annual reports. Financial performance is proxied by Return on Assets (ROA), while GCG is measured using governance indicators disclosed in annual reports, financing quality is represented by Non-Performing Financing (NPF), ICSR is measured using an ICSR disclosure index, and operational efficiency is proxied by the BOPO ratio. The analysis was conducted using EViews version 13. The empirical results show that Good Corporate Governance has a positive and statistically significant effect on financial performance, indicating that stronger governance practices contribute to higher profitability. Financing quality does not exhibit a significant effect on ROA. Conversely, Islamic Corporate Social Responsibility and operational efficiency have a negative and statistically significant effect on financial performance, suggesting that higher operational inefficiency and CSR-related costs may reduce short-term profitability. Overall, this study contributes to the Islamic banking literature by providing empirical evidence on key determinants of financial performance in Islamic Commercial Banks and highlights the importance of strengthening governance practices, improving operational efficiency, and managing ICSR programs more strategically to balance social objectives with long-term financial sustainability, while offering insights for regulators and stakeholders in reinforcing governance frameworks and optimizing Islamic value-based social responsibility.

Purpose: The purpose of this research study is to examine the banking preferences of Kuwaiti university students, their preferences between Islamic and conventional, the reasons supporting their choice and, as a measure of satisfaction, the likelihood of them recommending their bank to their friends and family. Design/methodology/approach: We conduct a short survey among undergraduates using a 4-item paper questionnaire physically distributed and collected at a Kuwaiti business school. The large response (n= 503) is analysed and descriptive statistics used to present the results Findings: Results indicate a majority prefer Islamic banking and that the main reason for this is their religion. Those students who opted for conventional banks gave social reasons such as recommendation for their choice. A higher level of satisfaction was recorded for Islamic banking customers. We conclude that Islamic banks have managed to match their ethical and religious appeal with the delivery of efficient and convenient banking services that are valued by the student segment. Practical Implications: Our results are of interest to those offering retail banking services in binary markets where conventional banks compete with Islamic banks in addition to researchers in this domain. For Islamic banks, the significance of maintaining a strong reputation with the underpinning of robust Shariah principles is emphasized. Originality: The paper contributes fresh understanding to the acceptance of and satisfaction with Islamic banks and their products and services among a strategically important segment. It provides evidence suggesting a bright future for Islamic banking in Kuwait and the wider Gulf region.

As a main characteristic of Islamic banks, profit-sharing financing (PsF) has an actual influence on driving the economy in the real sector. A PsF using mudharabah and musyarakah contract is mostly channeled to fund productive businesses. This study tries to find out how the Islamic bank performance reflected by credit risk, profit-sharing rate, and liquidity can increase the PsF growth in Islamic banks. Using a quantitative approach through regression analysis, this study analyzed the impact arising from the improved credit risk, profit-sharing rate, and liquidity on the growth of PsF. The data used is secondary data obtained from statistics on Islamic banking in Indonesia (ranging from the 1st quarter of 2015 to the 4thquarter of 2021). The findings revealed that the Islamic bank performances as represented by credit risk, profit-sharing rate, and liquidity can be an indicator of growth of PsF. A low profit-sharing rate, credit risk, and liquidity risk will encourage PsF growth.

The main contribution to the income of Islamic Rural Banks (IRBs) comes from financing provided where there are two financing schemes consisting of profit-sharing financing (musyarakah and mudharabah) and profit margin financing (murabahah). The main purpose of this study is to analyze the financing scheme that affects the bank's profitability. This study will also analyze the effect of Islamic bank performance on profitability. Financial performance that is thought to have an effect on profitability is the capital adequacy ratio (CAR), financing to deposit ratio (FDR), non-performing financing (NPF), operating expense to operating income ratio (OEIR), third-party funds (TPF) and bank size (SIZE). The population in this study were 165 BPRS in Indonesia with a sample of 100 BPRS. Observation period for 4 years (2018-2021) with quarterly data. This study uses a panel data regression analysis to test the hypothesis. After being tested with Chow-test and Hausman-test, the best model from panel data regression was the fixed effect model. The results of the research showed that profit-sharing financing (PSF) and SIZE have a positive and significant effect on profitability while profit margin financing (PMF), CAR and FDR have no effect on profitability. On the other hand, financial performance which has a significant negative effect is NPF, OEIR and TPF, while CAR and FDR has a significant positive effect.

The Covid-19 pandemic which became an epidemic throughout the world including Indonesia, so that all sectors including the economy experienced contractions, one of which was Islamic Commercial Banks which faced challenges in the midst of the Covid-19 outbreak such as possible risks to financial performance, so the purpose of this study is to analyze financial performance. Islamic commercial banks during the covid-19 pandemic and are expected to increase economic growth and maintain stability in economic conditions, using ROA, CAR, NPF, FDR and ERM ratios as variables, with a sample of 11 Islamic Commercial Banks, research using comparative quantitative methods, data processed with the paired sample t-test and the data taken are the financial statements of Islamic Commercial Banks for the previous 2018 – 2019 period, and the 2020 – 2021 period after covid-19. The result is that there are significant differences in the CAR, ROA, FDR and ERM ratios on the financial performance of Islamic banking before and after covid-19, while the NPF is not significant.  

The potential for waqf is very large, as reflected in the number of Muslims who reach 87 percent of the total population in Indonesia. One of the productive waqf is self waqf (muharrar) in PPNJ. The implementation and realization of self waqf have not fully understood this definition, considering that the target is humans themselves. This study aims to identify the motives and factors that motivate them in waqf themselves to PP Nurul Jadid. Respondents in this study were eighteen respondents who were divided into three categories, namely the management of the pesantren, the infrastructure division, and academics/teachers. The results of this study are, first, the statement of the founder of PP Nurul Jadid about the form of struggle of the students of PP Nurul Jadid became the foundation for the students of PP Nurul Jadid in community life. Second, economic factors, third; skill factor owned by some of the less qualified administrators.

The application of sharia principles in banking, which does not involve the elements of interest (riba), betting (qimar), and uncertainty (gharar) is unique and draws attention, resulting in an increase in popularity of this type of banking. Financing products have also emerged with a variety of services. Although Islamic banking does not involve those three elements, it is still faced with the risk of disbursed financing. This issue is important to observe considering its relationship with growth and competitiveness in the banking industry. Credit risk that arises can be caused by two factors, including unsystematic and systematic factors or those that cannot be eliminated or controlled. Several previous studies have described the elements that can put a bank’s credit at risk, particularly in the case of Islamic banking. Therefore, this research using a literature study aimed to classify factors that can indicate credit risk, both systematic and unsystematic in Islamic banking.

In 2021, Indonesia’s administration decides to conduct a merger among Islamic government bank. The emerge of syariah financial market is the reason of this policy. This study analyzes Islamic banks merger policy by assessing their financial performance. The purpose of this study is to analyze financial efficiency of Islamic Banks and Conventional Banks in Indonesia based on the 2019  financial reports by using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method. Practical contributions of this study for the banking industry was as a guidance for the management in measuring banking activities by analysing the efficiency level so that it can be used to compile business strategies. Basically, financial performance analysis is the result of evaluation of past performance. In this study, we use different analyses in order to obtain a company’s financial position that represents the company’s reality and potential for continuous performance. Business performance represents effectiveness and the efficiency of an organization or company. Company or organization assess their performance to understand their achivement and evaluate their business plans. In this study we developed business performance measurement based on input and output of Islamic and conventional banks in Indonesia. We employ Data Envelopment Analysis which calculate the ratio between output and input. In this study, we use deposits, fixed assets and labor costs as input, while credit or financing and operating income as output variables. In this study, we find that there are several conventional and Islamic banks that suffers inefficiency. This inefficiency occurs due to the ratio of inputs and outputs in conventional and Islamic banks are not optimum.

This study will examine the impact of economic collision on the non-performing financing in sharia bank in Indonesia. The current study adopts VAR/VECM method to examine inter variables correlation by testing an economic factors, including 1) Real GDP Growth, 2) Exchange Rate, 3) Inflation, 4) Interest Rate, and 5) IDX Composite. A total NPF of 14 Islamic Banks and 20 Sharia Business Units were selected as data samples from 2006 to 2020. The findings indicate that inflation positively impacts NPF in the short run and delivers the biggest shock to NPF. The result states that Inflation, Exchange rate, and Interest rate are the dominant factors to shock NPF in Islamic Banks. From the analysis results, the economic variables, i.e., GDP, exchange rates, inflation, interest rates, and the IDX Composite, provide a stable long-term relationship and, in the short term, adjust to each other to achieve a new balance in the long term.

This research aims to examine the nexus between Earnings Response Coefficient (ERC), Sharia Online Trading System (SOTS), and firm value. The research sample was all companies listed on the Jakarta Islamic Index (JII). The research model used path analysis employing the regression with common, fixed and random effect models as well as the robustness check through Generalized Method of Moment (GMM). The result demonstrates that ERC and SOTS can’t determine the level of firm values. This research found no effects of ERC and SOTS on firm value, but nexus between ERC and SOTS was found. These findings indicate that ERC and SOTS have no effect at all on the firm value, meanwhile ERC has the negative effect on SOTS. Nevertheless, the result of this research found no intervening effect of SOTS on the ERC and firm Value. It shows that SOTS can’t mediate the nexus between ERC and firm value.

This research was conducted to determine the effect of mudharabah and musharakah financing on net profit of Islamic commercial banks in Indonesia. This study uses the annual financial statements of Islamic commercial banks obtained from the Financial Services Authority and annual reports on the website of Islamic commercial banks for the period 2010-2019. The test results found that mudharabah financing had a significant effect on the net profit of Islamic banks, this also strengthened Islamic social responsibility of Islamic commercial banks. But unlike mudharabah financing, musharakah financing actually has a negative effect on the net profit of Islamic commercial banks, which means that the higher the Islamic bank distributes musharakah financing, the rate of profit will decrease which results in the weakening of Islamic social responsibility disclosure. It is recommended that Islamic banks exercise greater caution when selecting consumers for mudharabah financing, as this type of financing carries a higher risk but also a higher profit share if the financing is successful. This research has a limitation in that it focuses exclusively on Islamic commercial banks in Indonesia, although additional research might be conducted by sampling Sharia Business Unit and Sharia Rural Bank.

The growth of sharia banking in Indonesia is though significant not as high as expected. The present study identifies two issues, among others, that have hampered this growth. They include consistence and perceived relevance. The study intends to find out their moderating roles on effects of fairness value and halal values on perceived competitive advantage of sharia banking. The novelties of the study lies on its enrichment of perceive value theory by bring up fairness value and halal value, and the insertion of consistence and perceived relevance constructs which could be typical issues of Indonesian consumers. Respondents are regular consumers of sharia banks in Makassar city. It applies PLS for data analysis. The results should be that fairness value and halal value have significant effects on perceived competitive advantage. Consumers who sense the existence of consistence and perceived relevance find their moderating roles on the effects fairness value and halal value on perceived competitive advantage.

The purpose of this paper is two folds: (i) obtain the overall technical efficiencies (TE), pure technical efficiencies (PTE), and scale efficiencies of the Islamic bank of the nine South and Southeast Asian (SSEA) countries during 2011-2016. (ii) compare them among the Islamic banks of the SSEA. The paper applied the Bootstrap Data Envelope Analysis (DEA) for obtaining three efficiencies in the production of loan and earning assets and found that the average TE, PTE, and SE of the Islamic banks in the region were 77.3 percent, 81.2 percent, and 95.3 percent respectively. The comparison of PTE efficiencies across the Islamic banks found: (i) the average TE of the Islamic banks of Malaysia was 81.9 percent and was higher than the average of other countries in the region; (ii) the average managerial efficiency (PTE) of the Islamic banks of Malaysia, excluding Brunei, Singapore, and Thailand, was 87.0 percent and was higher than the average of other countries in the region; (iii) among countries of the South and Southeast Asia, excluding Singapore and Maldives, the Islamic banks of Pakistan were more scale efficient than other countries in the region. The average scale efficiency of Pakistan’s Islamic banks was 96.8 percent. The underlying reason for the Islamic banks of Malaysia and Pakistan most efficient in the region is because they were the forerunners. They were the first countries to introduce Islamic banks. Secondly, the banks of counties survived through competition with conventional banks operating side by side in the Islamic banks. The policy prescription suggests that bank regulators allow the opening of more Islamic banks to compete with conventional banks for improving PTE efficiency.

Islamic finance is a growing industry with global distribution in all continents including Europe and America. The aim of the current study was to examine how popular is Islamic finance in the USA during the period 2014-2019 using Google Trends. In addition, the interest in Islamic finance across different US states was also investigated. Using “Islamic finance” and “Islamic bank” as search terms in Goggle Trends, the trend curve showed decreases in search volumes, suggesting a decline in the popularity of Islamic finance in the USA with years. Search volumes were detected in seven out of 50 states, suggesting low interest in Islamic finance in the majority of US states. The order of the popularity in the seven states was: Virginia > New York > New Jersey > Illinois > Texas > California > Pennsylvania > Georgia > Florida > Massachusetts. Longitudinal survey studies are needed to confirm the present findings.

This study aims to investigate the relation between Islamic securitization representing in Sukuk, and the Islamic banks ‘liquidities in light of Basel 3 requirements. So that the study investigates three variables which include Islamic securitization as independent variable; net cash from financing activities and net noncore funding dependence ratio as dependent variables. The study follows quantitative method by employing cross sectional data context analysis. The data is collected from six banks over six countries through the period 2011-2013. Pearson regression is used to measure causal relation between Sukuk and Net Stable Fund Ratio (NSFR), hence the model is developed to describe the relation. The study uses net noncore funding dependence ratio as (NSFR) which was required by Basel III. The regression result finds that there is positive relation between Sukuk and NSFR for Islamic banks. Also the study uses loans / deposits ratio to discover the relation between Sukuk and Islamic banks ‘liquidity risk, so the regression test shows that there is positive relation between Sukuk and loans / deposit ratio.

Corporate governance refers to the relationship present between the corporation and the stakeholders that determines and controls the strategic direction and performance of the corporation. Good corporate governance should provide adequate incentives for the board and management to pursue objectives that are in the interests of the company and shareholders, thereby encouraging firms to use resources more efficiently. However, the definition of accountability differs between conventional and Islamic Banks. Islam was made accountable not only to stakeholders, but also to Allah, the ultimate owner and authority. These powerful moral ethics help in promoting fair, just and honest business dealing. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between corporate governance structures and the resultant financial performance of listed Islamic banks of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) in Bangladesh. The panel time series data were collected for the time period of 6 years (2009-2014) from all the listed Islamic banks to run an Ordinary Least Squared (OLS) regression model to examine whether the existing corporate governance mechanisms as well as several other internal and external indicators are significant in influencing the financial performance. Preliminary findings suggest corporate governance mechanisms in Islamic banks are not quite as strong as they should be, hinting at possible market and management inefficiencies.

<p><em>The present paper measured the influence of the oil prices on the Islamic banking efficiencies scores during the financial crisis of 2008-2009. The study showed that there is no a direct relationship between the oil prices and the efficiencies scores of Islamic banks in the MENA area. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that Islamic banks in the GCC area showed a higher mean in pure technical efficiency compared to Islamic banks in the North African and other MENA. Islamic banks in other MENA countries and North Africa considered to be technically inefficient. The inefficiencies were due to the underdeveloped banking system and the lack of experiences in those countries to allocate resources between the bank inputs and outputs. </em></p>

<p><em>Islamic banking is based on profit and loss mechanism where the use of interest is prohibited.  Unlike conventional banks, these banks do not charge a specific rate of interest, rather provides financing in exchange for profit sharing.  However, there are studies claiming that, in practice, Islamic banking is same as conventional banking with regard to the use of interest. It is also claimed that, Islamic deposits are not interest-free, but are closely attached to conventional deposits.  On this background, the objective of this study is to examine the relationship between pricing in Islamic banks vis-à-vis conventional banks by taking the case of Bangladesh. We have used monthly data during the period of 2009-2013. The findings of the study showed that, there is no statistically significant difference between the monthly average lending rates of Islamic banks and conventional banks. However, there is significant difference between deposit rates. The existence of causal relationship was inconclusive, and requires further analysis.</em></p>

<p>The perceptions of Islamic banking professionals are surveyed through a questionnaire to explore whether the process of risk management mediates board involvement in risk management and risk management practices of Islamic banks in Malaysia and Egypt. The findings of this study identified that the Islamic banks in the selected countries are somewhat efficient in their risk<br />management process. It was noticed that board involvement in risk management, process of risk management and risk management<br />among Islamic banks in Malaysia are significantly higher than their counterparts in Egypt. Furthermore, high involvement of boards in risk management significantly increases the risk management process, and in turn, leads to significantly higher risk management practices in Islamic banks. Hence, boards should take formal responsibility for setting, managing and periodically<br />assessing the risk management culture of the banks. It is expected that the outcomes of this study would help policy setters in the selected countries to develop a well-structured and harmonized risk management process that enhance risk management practices, with emphasis on the effective involvements of the board of directors and Shari’ah supervisory boards in risk management<br />practices.</p>