IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/diw/diwwpp/dp1484.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Are Ethical and Social Banks Less Risky? Evidence from a New Dataset

Author

Listed:
  • Marlene Karl

Abstract

This paper introduces a new and comprehensive dataset on “alternative” banks in EU and OECD countries. Alternative banks (e.g. ethical, social or sustainable banking) experienced a recent increase in media interest and have been hailed as an answer to the financial crisis but no research exists on their stability. This paper studies whether alternative banks differ from conventional banks in terms of riskiness. For this I construct a comprehensive dataset of alternative banks and compare their riskiness with an adequately matched control group of conventional banks using mean comparison and panel regression techniques. The main result is that alternative banks are significantly more stable (in terms of z-score) than their conventional counterparts. The results are robust to different estimation methods and data specifications. Alternative banks also have lower loan to asset ratios and higher customer deposit ratios than conventional banks.

Suggested Citation

  • Marlene Karl, 2015. "Are Ethical and Social Banks Less Risky? Evidence from a New Dataset," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1484, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
  • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1484
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.508003.de/dp1484.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jokipii, Terhi & Milne, Alistair, 2011. "Bank capital buffer and risk adjustment decisions," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 165-178, August.
    2. Laeven, Luc & Levine, Ross, 2007. "Is there a diversification discount in financial conglomerates?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(2), pages 331-367, August.
    3. Bourkhis, Khawla & Nabi, Mahmoud Sami, 2013. "Islamic and conventional banks' soundness during the 2007–2008 financial crisis," Review of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 68-77.
    4. Guido W. Imbens, 2015. "Matching Methods in Practice: Three Examples," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 50(2), pages 373-419.
    5. Leonardo Becchetti & Melody Garcia, 2008. "Do collateral theories work in social banking ?," CEIS Research Paper 131, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 07 Nov 2008.
    6. Demirguc-Kunt, Asli & Detragiache, Enrica & Gupta, Poonam, 2006. "Inside the crisis: An empirical analysis of banking systems in distress," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 702-718, August.
    7. Simon Cornée & Ariane Szafarz, 2014. "Vive la Différence: Social Banks and Reciprocity in the Credit Market," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(3), pages 361-380, December.
    8. Brambor, Thomas & Clark, William Roberts & Golder, Matt, 2006. "Understanding Interaction Models: Improving Empirical Analyses," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(1), pages 63-82, January.
    9. Buch, Claudia M. & Neugebauer, Katja, 2011. "Bank-specific shocks and the real economy," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(8), pages 2179-2187, August.
    10. Leonardo Becchetti & Rocco Ciciretti & Ambrogio Dalò & Stefano Herzel, 2015. "Socially responsible and conventional investment funds: performance comparison and the global financial crisis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(25), pages 2541-2562, May.
    11. Hatice Ozer Balli & Bent Sørensen, 2013. "Interaction effects in econometrics," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 583-603, August.
    12. Leire San-Jose & Jose Retolaza & Jorge Gutierrez-Goiria, 2011. "Are Ethical Banks Different? A Comparative Analysis Using the Radical Affinity Index," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 100(1), pages 151-173, April.
    13. Alberto Abadie & David Drukker & Jane Leber Herr & Guido W. Imbens, 2004. "Implementing matching estimators for average treatment effects in Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 4(3), pages 290-311, September.
    14. Maher Hasan & Jemma Dridi, 2011. "The Effects Of The Global Crisis On Islamic And Conventional Banks: A Comparative Study," Journal of International Commerce, Economics and Policy (JICEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 2(02), pages 163-200.
    15. Becchetti, Leonardo & Palestini, Arsen & Solferino, Nazaria & Elisabetta Tessitore, M., 2014. "The socially responsible choice in a duopolistic market: A dynamic model of “ethical product” differentiation," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 114-123.
    16. Boyd, John H. & Runkle, David E., 1993. "Size and performance of banking firms : Testing the predictions of theory," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 47-67, February.
    17. Roland Benedikter, 2011. "Social Banking and Social Finance," SpringerBriefs in Business, in: Social Banking and Social Finance, pages 1-128, Springer.
    18. Viral V. Acharya & Iftekhar Hasan & Anthony Saunders, 2006. "Should Banks Be Diversified? Evidence from Individual Bank Loan Portfolios," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 79(3), pages 1355-1412, May.
    19. Mr. Martin Cihak & Mr. Heiko Hesse, 2007. "Cooperative Banks and Financial Stability," IMF Working Papers 2007/002, International Monetary Fund.
    20. Asli Demirguk-Kunt & Thorsten Beck & Ouarda Merrouche, 2013. "Islamic Banking versus Conventional Banking: Business model, Efficiency, and Stability," Post-Print hal-01638080, HAL.
    21. Roland Benedikter, 2011. "Social Banking and Social Finance," SpringerBriefs in Business, Springer, number 978-1-4419-7774-8, June.
    22. Alberto Abadie & Guido W. Imbens, 2002. "Simple and Bias-Corrected Matching Estimators for Average Treatment Effects," NBER Technical Working Papers 0283, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Amouri, Abdellatif & Festa, Giuseppe & Shams, S.M. Riad & Sakka, Georgia & Rossi, Matteo, 2021. "Technological propensity, financial constraints, and entrepreneurial limits in young entrepreneurs’ social business enterprises: The tunisian experience," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    2. Simon Cornée & Panu Kalmi & Ariane Szafarz, 2020. "The Business Model of Social Banks," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 73(2), pages 196-226, May.
    3. Simon Cornée & Panu Kalmi & Ariane Szafarz, 2016. "Selectivity and Transparency in Social Banking: Evidence from Europe," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(2), pages 494-502, April.
    4. Theresa Schäfer & Sebastian Utz, 2022. "Values-Based and Global Systemically Important Banks: Their Stability and the Impact of Regulatory Changes After the Financial Crisis on it," Asia-Pacific Financial Markets, Springer;Japanese Association of Financial Economics and Engineering, vol. 29(1), pages 5-32, March.
    5. Juan José Durán Herrera & María José García López & Carmen Avilés Palacios & Oriol Amat, 2016. "Is there a difference in financing efficiency? Conventional banks versus ethical banks," Economics Working Papers 1512, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    6. Giuliana Birindelli & Antonia Patrizia Iannuzzi & Marco Savioli, 2019. "The impact of women leaders on environmental performance: Evidence on gender diversity in banks," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(6), pages 1485-1499, November.
    7. Simon Cornée & Anastasia Cozarenco & Ariane Szafarz, 2023. "The Changing Role of Banks in the Financial System: Social Versus Conventional Banks," Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Banking and Financial Institutions, in: Chrysovalantis Gaganis & Fotios Pasiouras & Menelaos Tasiou & Constantin Zopounidis (ed.), Sustainable Finance and ESG, pages 1-25, Palgrave Macmillan.
    8. Kitamura, Kanji, 2022. "Ethical compatibility of socially responsible banking: Comparing the Japanese main bank system with the USA," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    9. María Eulalia Serrano Pérez, 2017. "SEBI index: Measuring the commitment to the principles of social banking," Contaduría y Administración, Accounting and Management, vol. 62(4), pages 1393-1407, Octubre-D.
    10. Stefano Dell'Atti & Annarita Trotta & Antonia Patrizia Iannuzzi & Federica Demaria, 2017. "Corporate Social Responsibility Engagement as a Determinant of Bank Reputation: An Empirical Analysis," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(6), pages 589-605, November.
    11. Francisco Climent, 2018. "Ethical Versus Conventional Banking: A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-13, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Marlene Karl, 2015. "Are Ethical and Social Banks Less Risky? Evidence from a New Dataset. WWWforEurope Working Paper No. 96," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 58138, December.
    2. Simon Cornée & Panu Kalmi & Ariane Szafarz, 2020. "The Business Model of Social Banks," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 73(2), pages 196-226, May.
    3. Simon Cornée & Anastasia Cozarenco & Ariane Szafarz, 2023. "The Changing Role of Banks in the Financial System: Social Versus Conventional Banks," Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Banking and Financial Institutions, in: Chrysovalantis Gaganis & Fotios Pasiouras & Menelaos Tasiou & Constantin Zopounidis (ed.), Sustainable Finance and ESG, pages 1-25, Palgrave Macmillan.
    4. Simon Cornée & Panu Kalmi & Ariane Szafarz, 2016. "Selectivity and Transparency in Social Banking: Evidence from Europe," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(2), pages 494-502, April.
    5. Amélie Artis & Simon Cornée, 2013. "Transformation informationnelle, certification et intermédiation financière : le cas de la banque solidaire," Economics Working Paper Archive (University of Rennes 1 & University of Caen) 201326, Center for Research in Economics and Management (CREM), University of Rennes 1, University of Caen and CNRS.
    6. Simon Cornée & Ariane Szafarz, 2018. "How Costly is Social Screening? Evidence from the Banking Industry," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 38(1), pages 532-540.
    7. Artis, Amélie, 2017. "Social and solidarity finance: A conceptual approach," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(PB), pages 737-749.
    8. Alqahtani, Faisal & Mayes, David G., 2018. "Financial stability of Islamic banking and the global financial crisis: Evidence from the Gulf Cooperation Council," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 346-360.
    9. Neifar, Malika, 2020. "Interest-free versus Conventional banks- A Comparative Study using Linear and Nonlinear Panel Regression: Empirical Evidence from Turky and 6 MENA countries," MPRA Paper 101028, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Simon Cornée & Ariane Szafarz, 2014. "Vive la Différence: Social Banks and Reciprocity in the Credit Market," Post-Print CEB, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles, vol. 125(3), pages 361-380.
    11. Anaïs Périlleux & Annabel Vanroose & Bert D'Espallier, 2016. "Are Financial Cooperatives Crowded out by Commercial Banks in the Process of Financial Sector Development?," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 69(1), pages 108-134, February.
    12. Neifar, Malika, 2020. "Long run comparison analysis and Short run Stability sensitivity: Empirical Evidence from Tunisian Banks," MPRA Paper 101029, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Neifar, Malika, 2020. "Different dimensions Bank performance comparisons IBs vs CBs – Quatar case," MPRA Paper 101375, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Abuzayed, Bana & Al-Fayoumi, Nedal & Molyneux, Phil, 2018. "Diversification and bank stability in the GCC," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 17-43.
    15. Louhichi, Awatef & Louati, Salma & Boujelbene, Younes, 2020. "The regulations–risk taking nexus under competitive pressure: What about the Islamic banking system?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    16. Theresa Schäfer & Sebastian Utz, 2022. "Values-Based and Global Systemically Important Banks: Their Stability and the Impact of Regulatory Changes After the Financial Crisis on it," Asia-Pacific Financial Markets, Springer;Japanese Association of Financial Economics and Engineering, vol. 29(1), pages 5-32, March.
    17. Nikolas Höhnke, 2020. "Doing Good or Avoiding Evil? An Explorative Study of Depositors’ Reasons for Choosing Social Banks in the Pre and Post Crisis Eras," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-26, December.
    18. Simon Cornée, 2014. "Soft Information and Default Prediction in Cooperative and Social Banks," Journal of Entrepreneurial and Organizational Diversity, European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises, vol. 3(1), pages 89-103, June.
    19. Goetz, Martin R. & Laeven, Luc & Levine, Ross, 2016. "Does the geographic expansion of banks reduce risk?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(2), pages 346-362.
    20. Smaoui, Houcem & Mimouni, Karim & Miniaoui, Héla & Temimi, Akram, 2020. "Funding liquidity risk and banks' risk-taking: Evidence from Islamic and conventional banks," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Ethical banking; social banking; bank risk; financial crisis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1484. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Bibliothek (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/diwbede.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.