Issues in islamic and conventional banking.

Summary This dissertation comprises three chapters. The first chapter explores risk and stability features of Islamic banking using a sample of 553 banks from 24 countries between 1999 and 2009. The results show that small Islamic banks have lower credit and insolvency risks than their conventional Counterparts. Little evidence is found to support that Islamic banks charge rents to their customers for offering Sharia compliant financial products. Moreover, the loan quality of Islamic banks is less responsive to domestic interest rates compared to conventional banks. In the second chapter, using quarterly data of 7,578 U. S. Community banks between 2003 and 2010, the impact of seven non-interest income businesses on bank lending is studied. The findings show that for banks with total assets above100 million non-interest income activities influence credit risk and loan portfolio compositions. Banks which emphasize fiduciary and life insurance businesses appear to have a lower credit risk. Moreover, a greater reliance on loan servicing is associated with lower lending-deposit spreads. The results provide little evidence to support whether cost complementarity can explain the joint production of non-interest income and lending. The third chapter analyses whether the coexistence of Islamic banks alongside conventional banks has any significant influence on the size and quality of the banking system and economic growth. The possible impact of Islamic banking presence on the performance of conventional banks is also examined. 22 Muslim countries with a dual banking system during the 1999-2009 period are studied. The results show a positive relationship between the market share of Islamic banks and savings mobilization. The operation of more efficient Islamic banks improves credit allocation across private and Governmental sectors and reduces lending-deposit spreads. Moreover, a larger market share of Islamic banking is associated with lower credit risk and cost inefficiency, but higher lending-deposit spreads of small conventional banks in certain countries.