Islamic finance and economic growth: The Malaysian experience

The increasing presence of Islamic banking and finance in Malaysia's financial sector and the country's exemplary role in the global Islamic finance industry has called for an evaluation of the contribution of Islamic finance to the real economic activity. In order to empirically investigate the impact of Islamic finance on performances of major macroeconomic indicators, this study applies the ARDL approach on quarterly data set for Malaysia covering the period from 1998 to 2013. The results suggest that Islamic finance has started to make important contributions to the real economy by effectively carrying out the financial intermediation role of pooling and channeling funds to the investment activities. In view of the important contributions of Islamic finance to the Malaysian economy, continuous efforts need to be undertaken to further expand the industry. This includes refinement of the legal and regulatory framework to enable healthier growth of the industry, thus further strengthens Malaysia's position as the leader in the Islamic finance industry at the global level.     

我国证券纠纷调解机制的完善和金融申诉专员制度合理要素的借鉴

我国新修订的《证券法》于2020年3月1日正式施行。作为资本市场根本法规,《证券法》新增第六章"投资者保护"可谓亮点之一,其中第94条规定"强制调解制度"在诉讼和仲裁之外为投资者提供了新的维权路径,加强对投资者的事后保护。但目前我国证券纠纷调解机制仍有诸多问题,例如法律条文碎片化、调解协议刚性不足、调解衔接机制不完善、调解机构体系混乱、监督机制不力等,这些弊病从根本上严重影响证券纠纷调解机制的制度设计和程序运行。本文拟通过分析英国金融申诉专员制度的成熟经验,为我国证券纠纷调解机制的完善和发展提出优化路径。     

Consumer perceptions of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in financial transactions

This research examines consumer perceptions of choices of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms (ADRM) in resolving financial services and product dissatisfaction. The paper begins with a detailed analysis of various dispute resolution mechanisms available to customers and firms in the United States. It then proceeds to highlight the salient features of ADRM. A national random sample of US consumers is used to obtain data on customer perceptions of ADRM and possible choices in using ADRM in conflict resolution. Results indicate that as the cash at risk increases, consumers indicate a preference for litigation over alternative forms of dispute resolution. The findings have strategic implications for strategy formulation in marketing of financial services and product as well as improving customer satisfaction through amicable resolutions of customer complaints.     

CDS and the Resolution of Financial Distress

The dramatic growth of Credit Default Swaps (CDS)—contracts that allow creditors to hedge their default exposure or take leveraged credit positions—threatens to complicate the resolution of financial distress in ways that existing reorganization methods and institutions have yet to adapt to. CDS contracts undermine a major premise that underlies current reorganization methods—namely, that the holder of legal rights has, and is motivated by, corresponding economic interests. Because hedging in the CDS markets immunizes creditors from the debtor's financial condition, they effectively separate their legal rights and economic interests. In this article, the authors discuss the challenges this separation poses for the resolution of distress both in and out of bankruptcy, and consider ways in which “on‐ground” realities may be reconciled with the legal structure that underlies the resolution of distress. At a minimum, disclosure of CDS positions in times of financial distress—along the lines of the disclosures presently required of equity investors under the Williams Act—are an essential first step toward a solution.     

A Comparative Literature Survey of Islamic Finance and Banking

There has been large-scale growth in Islamic finance and banking in Muslim countries and around the world during the last twenty years. This growth is influenced by factors including the introduction of broad macroeconomic and structural reforms in financial systems, the liberalization of capital movements, privatization, the global integration of financial markets, and the introduction of innovative and new Islamic products. Islamic finance is now reaching new levels of sophistication. However, a complete Islamic financial system with its identifiable instruments and markets is still very much at an early stage of evolution. Many problems and challenges relating to Islamic instruments, financial markets, and regulations must be addressed and resolved. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive comparative review of the literature on the Islamic financial system. Specifically, we discuss the basic features of the Islamic finance and banking. We also introduce Islamic financial instruments in order to compare them to existing Western financial instruments and discuss the legal problems that investors in these instruments may encounter. The paper also gives a preliminary empirical assessment of the performance of Islamic banking and finance, and highlights the regulations, challenges and problems in the Islamic banking market.     

新加坡金融业争议调解机制

为公正、快捷、低成本化解消费者与金融机构之间的金融消费争议,新加坡金管局成立了新加坡金融业争议调解中心,专职负责解决消费者与金融机构之间的争议。本文介绍了调解中心的背景、职责、受案范围、组织架构、化解流程、保密性、快捷程序、裁决效力和消费者投诉注意事项等内容,并对调解中心2009/2010年案件受理及化解情况进行了分析。     

Consequences of state-level regulations in accounting,finance, and corporate governance: A review

We review the literature on the consequences of U.S. state-level local regulations for various corporate outcomes in the accounting, finance, and corporate governance domain. We argue that state-level regulations might affect corporate outcomes through at least two channels. First, the state intervention channel that includes state regulations pertinent to auditor liability, director-liability, and shareholder litigation rights. Second, the dispute resolution channel as reflected in circuit court rulings. Our review shows that these regulatory and legal effects have had profound implications for various corporate outcomes.     

At the interface of the electronic frontier and the law: the international legal environment for systems reliability assurance services

In response to concerns about unreliable information systems, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) have launched a new assurance service called SysTrust. The objective of a SysTrust engagement is for the practitioner to issue an attestation/assurance report on system(s) reliability.The development and deployment of the CPA/CA SysTrust service, however, is done in a high litigation risk environment, especially in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Our purpose is to evaluate the legal environment in these five nations so CAs and CPAs can comprehend the issues involving potential litigation prior to initiating SysTrust engagements. Presently, no legal case in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom has yet been reported which addresses directly accountant liability to third parties for negligent information system assurance services. An analysis of related legal cases sheds light on the potential liability of SysTrust providers. However, the current international legal environment is characterized by a high level of uncertainty. Several risk management strategies, including risk exposure analysis, client engagement evaluation, engagement letters, loss-limit clauses, and alternative dispute resolution, are presented that SysTrust providers may implement to minimize litigation risk.     

Exclusive contracts and demand foreclosure

A firm may induce some customers to sign exclusive contracts in order to deprive a rival of the minimum viable size, exclude it from the market, and enjoy increased market power. This strategy may result in socially inefficient exclusion even if the excluded firm is present at the contracting stage and can make counteroffers. In addition, allowing for breach penalty clauses decreases firms’ incentives to exclude rivals, because such clauses allow a firm to use customers as a conduit for the transfer of another firm’s profits.     

Bankers’ perception towards Bai Salam method for agriculture financing in Pakistan

Islamic banking is planning to increase its market share up to 12 per cent of the total banking sector in Pakistan by 2012, as compared to its current market share of 5.6 per cent. This article collected the bankers’ views towards agriculture financing under the Islamically acceptable mode – Bai Salam (forward sale agreements of crop). It further compared agriculture financing under Islamic and interest-based financial systems. Overall, findings from this article are that bankers at large are confused about the application mechanism of Bai Salam contracts mainly because of improper land record maintained by the Revenue Department, widespread illiteracy and current government policy of issuing a single loan against each passbook (property record). The article presents recommendations that can be useful for the financial institutions not only in developing effective monitoring mechanisms, but also in minimizing financial losses.     

Do equity-based <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sukuk</Emphasis> structures in Islamic capital markets manifest the objectives of Shariah??

The Islamic capital market is an important component of the overall Islamic financial system especially in providing an element of liquidity to the otherwise illiquid assets. Like its conventional counterpart, Islamic capital markets complement the investment role of the Islamic banking sector in raising funds for long-term investment. These long-term investments are facilitated through various Shariah contracts and instruments ensuring efficient mobilisation of resources and their optimal allocation. This article aims at reviewing equity-based Sukuk structure, which is one of the most popular instruments used in Islamic capital market today. This article argues that some innovations made in structuring Sukuk, which try to achieve the same economic outcome like conventional instruments, distort the vision of Islamic economics based on justice and equitability. These visions are deeply inscribed in the objectives of Shariah, also known as Maqasid al-Shariah. This distortion stems from the restricted view of understanding Shariah, by only focussing on the legal forms of a contract rather than the substance especially when structuring a financial product. The overemphasis on form over substance leads to potential abuse of Shariah principles in justifying certain contracts, which in fact are contradictory to the Shariah text and ultimately undermining the higher objectives of Shariah. In the final analysis, this article concludes that the substance of a contract that has greater implications to the realisation of Maqasid al-Shariah should be equally looked into. Otherwise, Islamic finance just appears as an exercise of semantics; the functions and operations are really no different from conventional banks, except in the use of euphemisms to disguise interest and circumvent the many Shariah prohibitions.     

Can Islamic injunctions indemnify the structural flaws of securitized debt?

Securitization enhances liquidity of debt contracts. However, its structural deficiency at origination has led to the freezing of its secondary market and failure of institutions holding the collateral. This paper builds on key cultural (i.e., Islamic) rulings to rectify flaws entrenched in securitized debt stemming from asymmetric information and agency issues. These injunctions help in the efficient underwriting of debt contracts across the globe to: (i) redeem its ‘toxicity’; (ii) guarantee liquidity; (iii) alleviate fragility of the financial system; and (iv) promote economic growth. Finally, this study promotes a rethink of the current ‘Islamic’ financial system from a narrow literalist juridical perspective to one that is grounded in financial economics.     

伊斯兰金融的未来

回顾伊斯兰金融的发展历程,从1963年成立首家伊斯兰银行,到2007年伊斯兰金融资产达到3000亿美元,伊斯兰金融发展迅速。文章通过实例剖析了伊斯兰债券与资产支持证券的异同,并从伊斯兰债券的金融本质入手,从宏观的角度展开对伊斯兰金融的未来前景的探讨,指出伊斯兰金融是传统伊斯兰融资体系适应全球化经济下的一种新模式探索,并期待着伊斯兰现代主义能够更好地促进伊斯兰金融的发展和成熟,使伊斯兰社会更好地融合到全球化的经济发展中。     

Uncertainty and risk management from Islamic perspective

Most decisions are taken in very uncertain contexts and all objective economic behaviour is dictated by the efforts of different agents to protect themselves against uncertainty. So, how to act in the face of uncertainty to minimise the harmful consequences of recurrent financial crises? The purpose of this article is to answer this question by highlighting the ethical aspect of investments and finance from the Islamic perspective, which notoriously, forbids excessive uncertainty, gharar. Islamic law proposes a legal framework that specifies the rules by which risk is understood, managed, taken or shared. The way the Islamic financial system resisted the recent crisis leads us to study its unusual interpretation of risk. We also investigate whether Islamic ethics as an alternative could help to prevent the disaster of repeated financial crises.     

The holding behavior of Shariah financial assets within the global Islamic financial sector: A macroeconomic and firm-based model

The extant academic literature has shown the distinct differences between Islamic and conventional financial institutions along either a performance or efficiency front with an attribution to these differences to the adoption of a religio-financial framework merging the principles of economics and finance with those of Shariah. However, these empirical estimations do not entirely capture the religio-financial framework since they use performance and efficiency measures that include both conventional and Shariah transactions. We address this gap in the literature by examining the dynamics influencing the holding behavior of Shariah assets by Islamic financial institutions (IFIs). Given that the a priori hypothecation of Shariah asset holding behavior is relatively nebulous, we draw extensively from the traditional macroeconomic and managerialist literature in building our econometric model. By exploiting a unique and proprietary dataset comprising 140 Islamic financial institutions operating in 16 different countries over the time period 2011–2015, we find that economic wealth, market liquidity and the institutional board size are robust and positive linear predictors of IFI Shariah assets' holding behavior, thus providing support for the traditional macroeconomic theory of asset demand and firm-based agency theory.     

Nonperforming loans in the GCC banking sectors: Does the Islamic finance matter?

This paper investigates the bank-level and country-level factors determining nonperforming loans (NPL) in the commercial banking industry of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Specifically; it examines the impact of the sectoral distribution financing growth and Islamic finance methods growth on NPL. To do so, we apply generalized method of moments (GMM) techniques, over the 2005–2011 period. Our findings indicate that the sectoral distribution of Islamic financing has an adverse impact on NPL, which suggest that the sectoral financing growth of Islamic banks increases the credit risk exposure more than conventional banks. The findings of the Islamic finance methods growth show that the impact of fixed-income debt contracts could increase NPL more than profit-and-loss-sharing contracts.     

Financial industry lobbying and shareholder litigation outcomes: implications for managers and regulators

We examine the relationship between financial firm corporate lobbying, shareholder-based litigation outcomes, and firm value. We show that political lobbying lowers federal class action securities litigation likelihood for public financial institutions. Secondly, lobbying firms experience a higher likelihood of having litigation dismissed, and the average settlement amount is significantly lower for lobbying institutions. In addition, shortly after a litigation announcement, lobbying firms experience significantly higher cumulative abnormal returns (CARs), compared to non-lobbying firms. Finally, we show that lobbying firms have higher long-run buy-and-hold abnormal stock returns (BHARs) following lobbying activities. Our results link financial institution lobbying activity with improved legal outcomes and relatively higher firm value. While lobbying improves financial firm value, our results also imply that lobbying creates a disadvantage for non-lobbying firms within the industry. Our results provide insights, not only to corporate managers, but to regulators and policymakers interested in the impact of lobbying on the efficacy and objectivity of regulation and enforcement in the financial services industry.     

世界银行CGAP《金融可获性报告2010》中对各国金融消费者保护的评估

《金融可获性报告2010》就不同司法管辖下的金融消费者保护情况对全球范围内的金融监管者进行了调查,并首次对140多个经济的消费保护政策进行了梳理,内容主要包括：各经济体的消费者保护立法的法律框架,消费者保护所涉及的各部门的制度安排,以及消费者保护的争端解决机制,这些都为未来的研究建立了基础。     

Bank Resolution Plans as a catalyst for global financial reform

Bank Resolution Plans (Living Wills) should help with the resolution of systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs) in distress. They should be used to clarify and simplify the legal structure and make it commensurate with the functional business lines of the institution. Living Wills could also prove the right regulatory instrument to achieve two further innovations in the resolution of SIFIs with cross-border presence. First, they could incorporate burden sharing arrangements between countries enabling burden sharing on an institution by institution basis. However, there would remain problems arising from the incompatibility of the laws governing cross-border bank insolvencies. Many countries are currently introducing special laws covering the resolution of SIFIs. This creates a window of opportunity to use Living Wills to introduce a second innovation: a consistent legal regime for the resolution of SIFIs across the G20 countries.     

伊斯兰金融的近期发展

凭借石油资源,伊斯兰世界积累了巨额的石油美元;近年来,由于国际政治经济形势的变化,这些资金流动的格局也在发生变化,特征之一就是本土化的伊斯兰金融迅速发展。从现实角度看,这是国际金融领域的一个新的现象,从理论角度看,它为欧美高度复杂的金融体系提供了一个截然相反的对立模式。本文首先解释伊斯兰金融的概念及其规模,然后分析其主要的运作模式、风险特征以及对各国的影响。