How do the capital structure and adjustment speed of Islamic banks differ from those of conventional banks? Evidence from the GCC region

This study investigates the leverage ratios and speed of adjustment of Islamic and conventional banks over the years 2011–2022. The study focuses on the GCC markets, where most Islamic banks’ assets are located, accounting for 60% of the global Islamic banking sector. After using a wide set of methodological approaches, the findings of this study show that GCC Islamic banks exhibit higher leverage ratios than their conventional counterparts. Further, we also find that both Islamic and conventional banks set optimal target leverage ratios. However, the speed of adjustment toward the mentioned target is significantly faster for Islamic banks compared to conventional banks. This faster adjustment speed for GCC Islamic banks is justified by the massive development of Islamic finance and the availability of Shariah-compliant financial assets in the GCC region, which decreases the adjustment cost for Islamic banks. These findings provide significant implications for policymakers, regulators, and bank executives. At best, this study offers the first empirical evidence demonstrating the faster adjustment speed for Islamic banks’ capital structure than their conventional counterparts.