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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>