A Survival Analysis of Islamic and Conventional Banks

Are Islamic banks inherently more stable than conventional banks? We address this question by applying a survival analysis based on the Cox proportional hazard model to a comprehensive sample of 421 banks in 20 Middle and Far Eastern countries from 1995 to 2010. By comparing the failure risk for both bank types, we find that Islamic banks have a significantly lower risk of failure than that of their conventional peers. This lower risk is based both unconditionally and conditionally on bank-specific (microeconomic) variables as well as macroeconomic and market structure variables. Our findings indicate that the design and implementation of early warning systems for bank failure should recognize the distinct risk profiles of the two bank types

Early stage diapirism in the Red Sea deep-water evaporites: Origins and length-scales

Highlights • Red Sea salt deposits are loaded by only 200–300 m hemipelagics in deep water • Internal growth stratigraphy shows that they were deforming while being deposited • Power spectra of their surface shows they are inverse power-law over 1–13 km scale • Variograms suggest that their surface is stochastic with average lengthscale of ~3 km • Their stochastic character rules out Rayleigh-Taylor models of diapirism here Rayleigh-Taylor models for diapirism predict that diapirs should develop with characteristic spacings, whereas other models predict varied spacings. The deep-water Miocene evaporites in the Red Sea provide a useful opportunity to quantify length scales of diapirism to compare with model predictions. We first review the stratigraphy of the uppermost evaporites in high-resolution seismic data, revealing tectonic growth stratigraphy indicating that halokinetic movements occurred while the evaporites were being deposited. In some places, movements continued after the Miocene evaporite phase. The S-reflection marking the top of the evaporites is an erosional surface, in places, truncating anticlines of layered evaporites. In others, reflections within the uppermost evaporites are conformable, suggesting a lack of erosion. The top of the evaporites therefore had relief at the end of the Miocene. We select for numerical analysis 14 long profiles of topography of the S-reflection. Variograms derived from them after detrending reveal minor periodicity, though with varied wavelength, and varied roughness of the surface. However, an average variogram computed from these profiles is nearly exponential, indicating that the evaporite surface is mostly stochastic with no uniform scale of diapirism. An exponential model fitted to that average variogram suggests a spatial range over which the S-reflection topography becomes decorrelated of 3 km, which is comparable with the mean vertical thickness of the evaporite body. Power spectra of the evaporite surface are flatter at long wavelengths, which we interpret as due to weakness of halite preventing large surface relief from developing. The results suggest only modest periodicity, so the Rayleigh-Taylor model does not explain deformation in the Red Sea evaporites studied here. Their topography may turn out to be useful for suggesting the vertical scales and lengthscales of relief to expect of early stages of other salt giants, such as that of the Santo Basin

A Modern View on the Red Sea Rift: Tectonics, Volcanism and Salt Blankets

Continental rifting and ocean basin formation can be observed at the present day in the Red Sea, which is used as the modern analogue for the formation of mid-ocean ridges. Competing theories for how spreading begins—either by quasi-instantaneous formation of a whole spreading segment or by initiation of spreading at multiple discrete “nodes” separated by thinned continental lithosphere—have been put forward based, until recently, on the observations that many seafloor features and geophysical anomalies (gravity, magnetics) along the axis of the Red Sea appeared anomalous compared to ancient and modern examples of ocean basins in other parts of the world. The latest research shows, however, that most of the differences between the Red Sea Rift (RSR) and other (ultra)slow-spreading mid-ocean ridges can be related to its relatively young age and the presence and movement of giant submarine salt flows that blanket large portions of the rift valley. In addition, the geophysical data that was previously used to support the presence of continental crust between the axial basins with outcropping oceanic crust (formerly named “spreading nodes”) can be equally well explained by processes related to the sedimentary blanketing and hydrothermal alteration. The observed spreading nodes are not separated from one another by tectonic boundaries but rather represent “windows” onto a continuous spreading axis which is locally inundated and masked by massive slumping of sediments or evaporites from the rift flanks. Volcanic and tectonic morphologies are comparable to those observed along slow and ultra-slow spreading ridges elsewhere and regional systematics of volcanic occurrences are related to variations in volcanic activity and mantle heat flow. Melt-salt interaction due to salt flows, that locally cover the active spreading segments, and the absence of large detachment faults as a result of the nearby Afar plume are unique features of the RSR. The differences and anomalies seen in the Red Sea still may be applicable to all young oceanic rifts, associated with plumes and/or evaporites, which makes the Red Sea a unique but highly relevant type example for the initiation of slow rifting and seafloor spreading and one of the most interesting targets for future ocean research