Systematic risk determinants of stock returns after financial crisis: evidence from United Kingdom.

This paper provides an empirical analysis of FTSE100 stock returns during the period of 2009 to 2013 with an aim to assess the relevancy of Fama-French three factor model post financial crisis of 2008. FTSE100 index was chosen in particular as it is the benchmark of prosperity among UK stocks. Assortment of six portfolios S/L, S/M, S/H, B/L, B/M and B/H based on firm's size and book-to-market ratio were constructed as per guidelines of the Fama-French model. The ordinary least square estimation showed consistently positive and significant in all observed portfolios. However the results indicated that excess market return is the dominant variable among three risk factors; meanwhile size factor (SMB) was significant while explaining only small-scale portfolios returns, but had no effect on the average returns of large-scale portfolios. Likewise, value factor (HML) appeared to be somewhat effective only in case of high book-to-market stock portfolios. Thus the impact of book-to-market value on the average excess returns of these observed portfolios behave in an un-systematic manner

Differential market valuations of board busyness across alternative banking models

This study comparatively assesses the influence of board busyness (i.e., multiple directorships of outside directors) on stock market valuations of both Islamic and conventional banks. For a sample of listed banks from 11 countries for the period 2010-2015, results show that board busyness is differentially priced by investors depending on the bank type. In conventional banks, board busyness is significantly and positively valued by the stock market. This result suggests that investors perceive some reputational benefits arising from a busy board (e.g., extended industry knowledge, established external networks or facilitation of external market sources). In contrast, we find no supporting evidence on the market valuations of board busyness in Islamic banks. This result might be attributed to, both, the complex governance structure and the uniqueness of the business model which require additional effective monitoring, relative to that employed in conventional banking. Our results also show that investors provide significantly low market valuations for busy Shari’ah advisory board which acts as an additional layer of governance in Islamic banks. Findings in this study offer important policy implications to international banking studies and regulations governing countries with dual-banking systems.N/

Mechanical response of outer frames in tuning fork gyroscope model with connecting diamond-shaped frame

In tuning fork micro-gyroscopes, two outer frames are connected by using the linking elements. The driving vibrations of the two outer frames are required to be exactly opposite to generate the opposite sensing modes perpendicular to driving direction. These opposite driving vibrations are provided by a mechanical structure named the diamond-shaped frame. This paper presents mechanical responses of two outer frames in a proposed model of tuning fork gyroscope when an external force with different types is applied to them. The results show that the presence of a diamond-shaped frame guarantees the absolute anti-phase mode for the driving vibrations of outer frames

Global banking stability in the shadow of Covid-19 outbreak

The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has been exerting negative effects on several economies in 2020. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to examine the impact of this pandemic on the global banking stability and to assess any potential recovery signals. This study is timely, in that we consider 1090 banks from 116 countries for quarterly periods across 2019–20. The results provide strong empirical evidence that, in the global banking sector, the Covid-19 outbreak has had detrimental impacts on financial performance across various indicators of financial performance (i.e., accounting-based and market-based performance measures) and financial stability (i.e., high-risk indicators including default risk, liquidity risk and asset risk). These results are consistently observed for various regions, countries (US, China and others), and different bank-level characterises, and across income-generation levels among countries. We also find differential effects of the pandemic on alternative banking systems (i.e., conventional and Islamic). Moreover, our trend analysis, based on bank average performance and financial stability over quarterly periods, identifies a signal of recovery for bank stability during the second quarter of 2020. The findings presented in this study offer important financial observations and policy implications to many stakeholders engaging with global banking

Drivers of Global Banking Stability in Times of Crisis: The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility

This study examines the effect of environmental and social (ES) activities on global banking stability in the shadow of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Using a sample of 244 commercial banks across 52 countries from 2002 to 2020, we provide evidence that during the global health crisis, banks with higher levels of ES activities are more financially stable (i.e. lower credit and liquidity risk exposures). Drawing on social capital and stakeholder theories, we find that ES activities increase firm‐level social capital and establish a stakeholder‐centred culture within a bank, strengthening social trust and public confidence in the bank's risk oversight. Accordingly, ES activities constrain excessive and aggressive bank risk‐taking during turbulent times when short‐termism prevails. Our additional analysis reveals that investors value such beneficial effects of ES activities. The findings offer new insights into the increasingly significant roles of social capital creation and stakeholder‐centred culture in maintaining banks’ financial stability

Board busyness and new insights into alternative bank dividends models

This study examines the possible opposing effects of the board function of busyness (i.e. the presence of busy independent non-executive directors serving on multiple boards) on bank dividend payout patterns between two alternative payouts models (i.e. conventional and Islamic). Using an international sample for listed banks during the periods of 2006–2018, we show that the busyness of boards of directors can explain differential dividend payouts behaviour between two banking systems. For conventional banking dividend model, a busy board has a significantly positive impact on the bank’s dividend payout level. However, during the financial crisis of 2007/2009, the positive impact of board busyness on dividends payouts is tempered for these banks. In contrast, Islamic banks operating under a more constrained dividend model, report significantly lower levels of payouts and lower likelihood when they have busy directors on board. We find insignificant evidence for the effect of the financial crisis in Islamic banks. These results highlight a potential challenge for the unique agency conflicts arising from the complex payout model of Islamic banks (in terms of profit distribution principles, motives, mechanics and techniques, and flexibility of payouts), which is subject to the demand for greater monitoring and additional rulings when compared to the conventional

Firm valuations and board compensation: Evidence from alternative banking models

The Enron debacle and the Global Crossing bankruptcy have raised particular concerns of investors about the effectiveness of directors' scrutiny and their compensations. This study, therefore, examines whether the board of directors' compensation schemes affect stock market valuations for banks within an international context. We employ a sample of 386 bank-year observations from 2010 to 2015. Our results show that for the whole sample, director compensation has a significant positive impact on stock market valuations. By conditioning our analyses on the bank type, we find that the positive effect of the board of directors' compensation on market valuations holds only for conventional banks, with no evidence for their Islamic counterparts. We, additionally, examine the stock market valuations of Shari'ah supervisory board's compensation on Islamic banks value. Results show investors positively price information related to such board compensation

Board busyness, performance and financial stability:does bank type matter?

This study examines the impact of board busyness (i.e. multiple directorships of outside board members) on the performance and financial stability of banks in a dual banking system (Islamic and conventional). We consider banks from 14 countries for the period 2010–2015. The results provide strong evidence that conventional banks with busy boards exhibit high bank performance (i.e. high profitability and low cost to income) and greater financial stability (i.e. low insolvency risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, asset risk, and operational risk). These findings are in line with the reputation hypothesis, which asserts that the expertise and connections of busy outside directors lead to better decision making, more efficient resource utilisation and more effective monitoring. In contrast, Islamic banks’ performance and stability are adversely affected by the presence of busy board members, with Islamic banks show low profitability, high cost to income and high risk-taking. This result might be attributed to the complex governance structure of Islamic banks and the uniqueness of their financial products, which require additional effective monitoring

Social capital, trust, and bank tail risk: The value of ESG rating and the effects of crisis shocks

Using a global sample of 244 banks in 52 stock markets, we investigate the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on bank tail risk in normal and turbulent times. Our analysis shows no significant evidence that CSR intensity protects banks from tail risks ex ante or during the global financial crisis of 2007–2009. However, investors appear to become more tolerant and more lenient towards banks with stronger CSR post ante economic recession by reducing the likelihood of extreme devaluation of banking stocks. Socially responsible banks with higher social capital and trust (associated with superior CSR performance) experience lower idiosyncratic and systematic tail risks even in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Our empirical evidence implies that the trust between banks and investors started to build through banks’ investments in social capital through committed CSR performance since the credit crunch erupted

Former CEOs chairing the board: does it matter to corporate social and environmental investments?

Former CEOs who stay on the board as Chairmen (i.e., Chair-Former-CEO or CFCEO) often play a vital role in monitoring and advising the incumbent CEOs. However, their influence on firm performance remains under-investigated. This paper aims to offer new insights into the impact that such a role can have by examining corporate investment in social and environmental responsibility. It examines the effect of CFCEOs on the firm’s social and environmental responsibility of 1,263 S&P1500 firms from 2002 to 2021. We find that firms with the presence of a CFCEO exhibit superior social and environmental performance. This finding suggests that CFCEOs can encourage long-term value creation for a broader range of stakeholders by building social capital and public trust. Additional analyses reveal that the positive association between the CFCEO and firms’ social and environmental performance was more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic than during the global financial crisis of 2007-9