Bank affiliations and corporate dividend policy in pre-World War I Belgium

We investigate the impact of universal banks on the dividend policy of affiliated companies, in an environment characterised by poor investor protection, booming stock markets and strong banks. Our results, based on a unique sample of 428 listed companies in pre-World War I Belgium, are consistent with the hypothesis that companies with good investment opportunities and a bank director on their board paid higher dividends to establish a good reputation with investors. However, our results also indicate that companies with several bank directors and companies in which the bank had an equity stake paid lower dividends.     

Dividend Policy and Informativeness of Reported Earnings: Evidence from the MENA Region

This paper documents that informativeness of reported earnings, measured by earnings–return relation, is an increasing function of dividend payout ratio in the Middle East and North Africa region during the period between 2003 and 2014. We argue that higher dividends reduce agency conflicts. Lower agency problems lead firms to disclose information more truthfully, thereby improving credibility of reported earnings. We also show that our results hold for various proxies of dividend policy.     

Instability in the dividend policy of the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) corporations: evidence from an emerging market

Dividend policy behaviour of corporations operating in emerging markets is significantly different from the widely accepted dividend policy behaviour of corporations operating in developed markets. This study provides evidence from the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE), an emerging European stock market, and analyses empirically whether the ISE corporations follow stable cash dividend policies in a regulatory environment that imposed mandatory dividend policies. Unlike the empirical results supporting the stable dividend policy behaviour of corporations operating in developed markets, the empirical results show that the ISE corporations follow unstable cash dividend policies and the main factor that determines the amount of cash dividends is the earnings of the corporation in that year.     

An Examination of Dividend Policy in the U.S. Restaurant Industry

Abstract

We examine the potential role that agency costs have on dividend payout policy in the restaurant industry. Specifically, we hypothesize that dividends serve to constrain the actions of management. Interest payments also have the same effect, and in a sense, may act as an effective substitute for dividend payments. Furthermore, the larger number of firm owners, the greater the need for dividends to control agency costs. Our findings show significant differences in debt ratios and the number of shareholders between restaurant firms that pay dividends and those that do not.     

Determinants of dividend smoothing in emerging market: The case of Korea

Dividend smoothing is a well-established empirical fact in developed countries. This paper investigates the dividend smoothing behavior in Korea where the tax regime and institutional settings of the financial market are different from those of developed countries. The empirical evidence shows that the dividend smoothing decision is influenced not only by a firm's characteristics, but also by macroeconomic factors such as tax and interest rates. Detailed results are as follows. First, application of the Lintner model shows that the extent of dividend smoothing in Korean firms is found to be less than that in the U.S. firms. Second, size, risk, growth and large shareholder ownership are found to be important determinants of dividend smoothing. Larger firms and lower growth firms smooth dividends more. Riskier firms tend to smooth more during the sample period while safer firms smooth dividends more for the post-liberalization period. These results are not consistent with the predictions of information asymmetry models. In addition, contrary to the agency theory based explanations of dividend smoothing, firms with concentrated ownership smooth dividend more. Finally, as for the effect of macroeconomic factors on dividend smoothing, both tax and interest rates are found to have significantly positive relationships with the degree of dividend smoothing. These findings suggest that institutional factors of financial market can play a critical role in understanding the dividend behavior in emerging markets.     

现金分红、债务政策稳健性与公司业绩

上市公司现金分红和债务决策是资本市场关注的热点问题。文章以我国A股上市公司为研究对象,考察了现金分红与债务政策稳健性及其对企业业绩的影响关系。研究发现上市公司现金分红行为对公司债务政策稳健性有着显著的影响,相对于无现金分红公司而言,现金分红公司有着更高的债务政策稳健性;现金分红公司的业绩水平显著高于无现金分红公司的对应水平,说明上市公司现金分红行为对公司业绩的提升具有促进作用;在现金分红与公司业绩的关系中,债务政策稳健性具有显著的中介效应。上述研究结论对规范我国上市公司现金分红行为、揭示其对债务政策稳健性与公司业绩的影响具有一定的理论和实践意义。     

Dividend policy and religion: International evidence from firms with Islamic Label

This paper builds on prior research and argues that religion, as an informal cultural institution, may impose constraints on corporations. The framework of Shariah-compliant firms presents a unique opportunity to investigate this assertion and checks whether firms with Islamic label pay out more or less dividend. Since Islamic Law narrows the investment opportunity sets for Shariah-compliant firms, one would expect Shariah-compliant firms to pay out more dividends to shareholders (investment constraint hypothesis). On the other hand, the prohibition of interest-bearing financing, make of retained earnings an appealing alternative to finance projects, hence resulting in lower dividend payouts (financing constraint hypothesis). Tests on a sample of 13,249 firm-year observations from 17 Islamic countries support the investment constraint hypothesis: Shariah-compliant firms pay out more dividends than non-Shariah compliant ones. Our results are robust to various specifications and after controlling for different variables and addressing potential endogeneity concerns.     

Measuring volatility persistence for conventional and Islamic banks: An FI-EGARCH approach

This paper studies the volatility dynamics of conventional and Islamic banks from the Gulf Cooperation Council (G.C.C) countries during calm and crisis periods, providing a dual comparison in time and space. In particular, it proposes an empirical measure of volatility persistence using the FIEGARCH (Fractionally Integrated Exponential Generalized Auto-Regressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity) model. This specification is useful for reproducing further asymmetry in volatility dynamics and provides a direct measure of long-term volatility dependence. Our findings point to three interesting findings. First, volatility exhibits asymmetry as bad news has a significantly higher impact on volatility than positive news. Second, bad news affects the volatility of conventional banks more strongly than that of Islamic banks. Third, it seems that following a shock, volatility is more persistent in conventional banks than in Islamic Banks. Accordingly, Islamic banks are more resilient than conventional banks, but the degree of resilience is somewhat heterogeneous and sample dependent. Thus, while this may appear to suggest that we could regulate the conventional bank system using the industry rules of Islamic banks, it is worth noting that Islamic banks in Saudi Arabia tend to provide the most resilient Islamic Bank benchmark model.     

Disappearing and Reappearing Dividends in Emerging Markets: Evidence from Indian Companies

This article examines the empirical determinants of dividend payout policy for 947 sample firms listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in India from 1995 to 2013. The author identifies three distinct trends in the propensity to pay dividends between 1995 and 2013. The regression analysis suggests that most of the decline is due to the dividend payout policies of smaller, less profitable, younger firms and firms with comparatively more investment opportunities, high financial leverage, high business risk, and high dividend distribution tax. The author finds significant positive impact of catering incentives on the propensity to pay dividends, thus supporting catering theory of dividends.     

Bank lending channel in a dual banking system: Why are Islamic banks so responsive?

We examine the interest rate sensitivity of both deposits and credits at Islamic and conventional banks in Turkey. We find that the bank lending channel is especially operative for Islamic banks. Impulse responses for conventional and Islamic banks reveal that Islamic bank depositors’ sensitivity to policy rate changes is substantially larger than that of conventional bank depositors. Next to heavily dependence on deposit funding, we consider that inertia in Islamic bank deposit rates impedes these banks to keep those depositors who consider the opportunity cost of monetary policy rates is unbearable. On the lending side, we obtain similar results, implying that tight monetary policy leads to a larger contraction in Islamic bank credits. This finding is a reflection of the favourable attitude of Islamic banks towards small and medium‐sized enterprise (SME) financing. When similar relationships are analysed for currency and inflation shocks, we again find larger responses for Islamic banks showing the cyclical nature of SME credits.     

Bank lending,deposits and risk-taking in times of crisis: A panel analysis of Islamic and conventional banks

In this study, we conduct a panel analysis of Islamic and conventional banks to ascertain whether Islamic banks are able to sustain financing supply and whether its growth is higher than conventional bank lending growth in times of stress. For concreteness, we also assess whether the sustained financing supply of Islamic banks is justified by a concomitant increase in Islamic deposit growth and is not linked to excessive risk taking. Utilizing a panel sample of 25 Islamic banks and 114 conventional banks from 10 dual-banking countries, we observe sustained financing supply by Islamic banks but significant reduction in the lending growth by conventional banks during the crisis period. The results further suggest that the financing growth of Islamic banks is higher than the lending growth of conventional banks during the crisis period. However, we find no clear evidence that the deposit growth of Islamic banks behaves differently during the period. Finally, there is no indication to suggest that Islamic banks exhibit excessive risk taking in times of stress. Our results contribute to the evidence supporting the contributive role of the Islamic banking system to financial and economic stability.     

Corporate governance and accounting conservatism in Islamic banks

We examine whether Islamic banks are more likely to be conservative in their financial reporting than conventional banks, as well as how Islamic banks' unique corporate governance system affects accounting conservatism behaviors. Using a large sample of Islamic banks and their matched non‐Islamic banks; based on total assets and geographic location, in 15 countries, we find Islamic banks are more likely to deploy accounting conservatism as measured by loss avoidance, abnormal loan loss provisions, and C‐score, respectively. Islamic banks are about 95% more likely to be more conservative in accounting practices than their counterparts, depending on different model specifications. In addition, we report several board characteristics, such as size, independence, reputation, tenure, and diversity, are important determinants of accounting conservatism in Islamic banks. This relationship indicates certain board traits lead to greater monitoring roles, consequently reducing unethical behavior and increasing the degree of conservatism in accounting practices.     

Foreign institutional investors and dividend policy: Evidence from China

This study examines whether foreign institutional investment influences firms’ dividend policies. Using data from all domestically listed nonfinancial firms in China during the period of 2003–2013, we find that foreign shareholding influences dividend decisions and vice versa.Furthermore, changes in dividend payments over time positively affect subsequent changes in foreign shareholding, but the opposite is not true. Our study indicates that foreign institutional investors do not change firms’ future dividend payments once they have made their investment choices in China. Moreover, they self-select into Chinese firms that pay high dividends. Our evidence suggests that in an institutional setting where foreign investors have tightly restricted access to local securities markets and a relatively high risk of expropriation by controlling shareholders exists, firms can use dividends to signal good investment opportunities to foreign investors.     

Underpinning the benefits of green banking: A comparative study between Islamic and conventional banks in Bangladesh

This study aims to compare environmental motives and performance of conventional and Islamic banks in Bangladesh. Green compliance index was developed based on the Bangladesh Bank (the central bank of Bangladesh) guidelines whereas information regarding governance variables is collected from the annual reports of 9 Islamic and 31 conventional banks. Results show Islamic banks are more environmentally friendly compared to their conventional counterparts. Board size is negatively related to green compliance whereas board independence and auditor's type do not have any significant influence on green compliance for both clusters of banks. Compliance with green banking policies enhances the reputation for Islamic banks and accountability and profitability for conventional banks. Results of this study provide useful information for regulatory authorities to formulate policies that are conducive to enhance bank's environmental performance.     

Competition and bank stability in the MENA region: The moderating effect of Islamic versus conventional banks

This paper investigates the impact of competition on bank stability using data from 276 banks across eighteen MENA countries between 2006–2015. We controlled for financial inclusion, productivity, and macroeconomic instability in addition to several different control variables, including bank size, efficiency, diversification and leverage. The two-step system GMM suggested that banks facing little competition tended to take less insolvency and credit risks and enjoy more profitability. Furthermore, we found that the competition-fragility effect is more prominent for Islamic banks than conventional ones in MENA countries. This study contains some significant policy implications for regulators looking to improve bank stability.     

Systemic risk,Islamic banks,and the COVID-19 pandemic: An empirical investigation

While operating side-by-side with conventional banks, in a dual-banking system, the systemic risk profile of Islamic banks can be different due to their unique business model. The objective of this study is to understand the evolution of systemic risk in dual-banking systems and determine whether there are any differences in the systemic risk profiles of conventional and Islamic banks during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study also identifies the determinants of systemic importance (measured using spillover indices) of financial institutions. The sample includes ten countries where the Islamic banking sector is considered systemically important and covers the period from November 2015 to November 2020. The empirical results indicate a significant increase in systemic risk, in the sample countries, during the first half which is followed by a recovery in the second half of 2020. Comparative analysis shows that Islamic banks have similar systemic vulnerabilities to systematic and idiosyncratic factors during the exogenously induced real economic shock of the COVID-19. However, Islamic banks pose significantly less spillover to others relative to conventional banks while earning abnormal returns. The results are robust to the inclusion of macroeconomic factors and alternate estimation methodologies. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for the regulators of dual-banking systems.     

中国上市公司股利变动与经营业绩相关性分析

用2000—2004年间现金股利变动的中国上市公司为样本,考察公司股利变动与经营业绩之间的关系,实证结果表明:增加股利和首次发放股利的公司在公告前两年收益增加,在公告后两年收益减小;而减小和停发股利的公司情况正好相反。中国上市公司的股利政策主要是依据过去和当前的经营业绩而不是未来预期的经营业绩,实证结果与股利信号假设预测不一致。进一步检验发现,尽管短期内市场对股利增加公告有正面反应,对股利减小有负面反应,但市场对股利公告的长期反应与短期反应截然相反。     

现金股利政策:法律保护的结果还是法律保护的替代——来自我国上市公司的证据

与LLSV横向研究不同,本文从纵向检验了现金股利法律保护替代模型与结果模型在我国的适用性。首先,纵向分阶段的回归分析和差异检验表明:两模型在我国的适用性呈现出阶段性特征,在法律保护较弱的阶段,法律保护替代模型具有一定的适用性,随着法律保护程度的提高,法律保护结果模型对我国上市公司的现金股利政策更有解释力。其次,检验了我国交叉上市公司与无交叉上市公司现金股利支付率的差异,进一步证明了现金股利法律保护结果模型的适用性。同时,我们也发现一个有趣的问题,现金股利支付率与每股收益显著负相关,与增长机会不具有显著负相关性,说明公司的现金股利政策不是根据盈利状况和增长机会做出的。     

Dividend policy and capital structure of a defaultable firm

Default risk significantly affects the corporate policies of a firm. We develop a model in which a limited liability entity subject to default at an exponential random time jointly sets its dividend policy and capital structure to maximize the expected lifetime utility from consumption of risk‐averse equity investors. We give a complete characterization of the solution to the singular stochastic control problem. The optimal policy involves paying dividends to keep the ratio of firm's equity value to investors' wealth below a critical threshold. Dividend payout acts as a precautionary channel to transfer wealth from the firm to investors for mitigation of losses in the event of default. Higher the default risk, more aggressively the firm leverages and pays dividends.     

Systematic Risk in Conventional and Islamic Equity Markets

We aim to compare the systematic risk in conventional and Islamic equity markets by introducing two dynamic risk measures. Accordingly, the level of the systematic risk in conventional markets is slightly higher than the risk in Islamic markets for most of the time. However, this difference is significant in less than 3% of the sample period. More importantly, there is no significant difference in the levels of systematic risk during the global financial crisis of 2008, suggesting that Islamic equities are not able to provide a lower market risk compared with their conventional counterparts in financial turbulent times.