Issue #2 (Volume 15 2020)

The new global financial and economic crisis is caused by the spread of the coronavirus epidemic, the reduction in aggregate supply, the escalation of trade wars, and the outflow of capital from emerging markets. This requires national macroeconomic regulatory authorities to take prudent measures to protect national economies from destabilizing externalities. Therefore, the purpose of the article is to justify and develop a priority system of stabilization policy and anti-crisis measures to counter the spread of external shocks in the national economy, stabilize it, and create conditions for its further recovery and sustainable economic growth. To achieve this aim, the existing theoretical sources and research materials of international organizations were systematized, the legislative and regulatory framework in Ukraine was generalized, and statistical methods, a historical method, analysis and generalization were also used. As a result, the channels of impact of external shocks on Ukraine’s economy were identified, and the areas of internal vulnerability of the national economy that could significantly increase the negative effects of externalities were determined. The knowledge gained has become the basis for formulating conceptual directions of crisis management and developing a system of measures to counteract crisis phenomena, which include the monetary policy tools of the National Bank of Ukraine, the structural and fiscal policy of the Government, as well as the banking regulation and capital control policies.

Financial literacy is important for employees in the banking sector, as they are required to advise and administer the savings and investments of their clients. This study aims to establish financial literacy levels for banking employees and socio-demographic variables that influence their financial literacy levels. When collecting the necessary data for analysis, a survey was used for the total final sample of 120 employees of the banking sector. Descriptive statistics, the two-sample T-test and a simple ANOVA were used to determine the actual financial literacy levels and the socio-demographic factors influencing them. Overall, the employees were found to have moderately high levels of financial literacy. Only gender, race and education level were found to have an influence on financial literacy levels. This study informs the banking sector about how well employees are involved in financial literacy and which socio-demographic groups of their employees they need to focus on when exploring financial education programs.

This paper determines if the maturity structure of commercial banks’ asset portfolios changed as a result of the financial crisis of the late 2000s and whether any changes in the portfolios may be homogeneous across bank size. A proxy for the maturity of rate-sensitive assets is constructed, and it is found that significant changes did begin to occur during the third quarter of 2008. The maturity structure of assets of relatively small banks gradually began to increase before leveling off six years later. The maturity of larger bank asset portfolios had been falling and continued to decrease for three more years, until reversing during the 3rd quarter of 2011. Large banks also have significantly shorter-term portfolios compared to their smaller counterparts, which tend to be very similar regardless of their small size. The composition of banks’ asset portfolios is also examined with some notable differences among banks of different size.

Retracted on August 17, 2020 by the Journal’s owner and Publisher. Type of retraction – plagiarism.
There wasn’t a request for this retraction, but the reason for investigation of plagiarism fact was the Russian Academy of Sciences Committee’s report “Predatory Journals at Scopus and WoS: Translation Plagiarism from Russian Sources”: https://kpfran.ru/wp-content/uploads/plagiarism-by-translation-2.pdf” dated August 12, 2020. The publishing house has familiarized itself with the report. The article by Alexey Mikhaylov, Natalia Sokolinskaya and Evgeniy Lopatin (2019). Asset allocation in equity, fixed-income and cryptocurrency on the base of individual risk sentiment. Investment Management and Financial Innovations, 16(2), 171-181. doi:10.21511/imfi.16(2).2019.15 was mentioned in this report. It is noted that translation plagiarism was detected in this article - http://wiki.dissernet.org/wsave/IMFI_2019_2_1publ.html.
Due to this the publishing house carried out an investigation on possible cases of plagiarism of all articles of these authors (Alexey Mikhaylov, Natalia Sokolinskaya and Evgeniy Lopatin) published in “Business Perspectives” journals.
When the manuscript "Confidence level and credit risk analysis in Russian banks" was submitted to the Journal for consideration, the authors signed the Cover letter and attested to the fact that their manuscript is an original research and has not been published before. Then, the manuscript was accepted for consideration by the Managing Editor and was tested for plagiarism using the iThenticate and Unicheck programs. Plagiarism was not detected. On August 12, 2020 the Russian Academy of Sciences Committee’s presented the report. Editorial staff decided to re-test all articles of mentioned authors for plagiarism using the iThenticate and Unicheck programs – the programs didn’t show the plagiarism, then the articles were tested for translation plagiarism by the experts of “Business Perspectives” and plagiarism was detected (plagiarism and paraphrases from Russian-language sources).

According to the results of the investigation, the Publisher and owner of the journal decided to retract this article because of plagiarism on August 17, 2020.
The authors were notified of such a decision.

Sharia-compliant companies had to add Islamic Social Reporting when disclosing Corporate Social Responsibility information due to its characteristics. Sharia-compliant companies in Indonesia still do not do this much, and it is very interesting to study, because every sharia-based entity must comply with sharia provisions in all aspects of its activities, including when compiling social reporting. The purpose of this study is to analyze the influence of profitability, liquidity, leverage, and an Islamic Governance Score on Islamic Social Reporting in Islamic commercial banks in Indonesia. The sampling is carried out using a purposive sampling technique for up to 10 Islamic commercial banks with a six-year observation period, so there are 60 units of analysis. The data are collected using a documentation technique. The analysis in the study uses panel data regression. Based on a Random Effect Model, the study showed that profitability and leverage do not affect Islamic Social Reporting, while liquidity and the Islamic Governance Score had an impact on the Islamic Social Reporting.

Retracted on the 7th of July, 2020 by the Journal’s Editor-in-Chief request dated July 3th 2020. The type of retraction – plagiarism.
The Editor-in-Chief of the journal was asked to retract this article because of plagiarism. The request came from the author of the article, which was published 8 months before the retracted article was published in “Banks and Bank Systems” journal. The author(s) insisted that the article completely repeated his own, i.e. contained a high level of plagiarism that could not be corrected.
Editorial staff carried out an investigation into plagiarism in the article published. When the manuscript was submitted to the Journals for consideration, the authors signed the Cover letter and attested to the fact that their manuscript is an original research and has not been published before. After that, the manuscript was accepted for consideration by the Managing Editor and was tested for plagiarism using the iThenticate program. Plagiarism was not detected. Later, after the article complaint and the statement of plagiarism, we used all the sources and resources provided by the complainant, the article was re-tested for plagiarism, and plagiarism was established
According to the results of the investigation, the editorial board decided to retract the article on July 7, 2020.
The authors were notified of such a decision.

The paper aims to develop scientific and methodological approach to assessing the interaction of nonperforming loans of Ukrainian banking institutions, the profitability of the banking sector and its financial stability, which will allow a more detailed assessment of the directions and degree of mutual influence of these elements. To substantiate this interaction economically and mathematically, structural equation modeling was chosen. Particularly, Statistica was chosen as a software tool to assess the adequacy of the resulting model and determine the level of statistical significance of its parameters. Six key indicators were selected as a research information base, two for each subject of research: indicators of nonperforming loans in the banking sector (the volume of nonperforming loans and the ratio of problem loans excluding capital reserves), profitability indicators of the Ukrainian banking sector (assets profit and rate of return on capital), and indicators of financial stability of the Ukrainian banking sector (regulatory capital-to-risk-weighted assets ratio and liquid assets-to-total assets ratio). For calculations, statistic data of selected indicators for 2005–2019 were used.
As a result of calculations, mathematical data were obtained that accurately described the interaction of nonperforming loans of Ukrainian banking institutions, the profitability of the banking sector and its financial stability. The adequacy of the model was verified based on the following criteria: main summary statistics (ICSF criterion, ICS criterion, discrepancy function, maximum residual cosine), noncentrality fit indices (noncentrality parameter, population noncentrality parameter, Steiger-Lind RMSEA index, McDonald noncentrality index, adjusted population Gamma index), other single sample indices (Akaike information criterion, Schwarz criterion), and a normal probability plot.

The determinants of bank profitability are very important, as bank profitability significantly affects the economies of countries. This study aims to examine the internal determinants (bank-specific characteristics) and external determinants (macroeconomic factors and government variables) of bank profitability in Iraq. The study uses unbalanced panel data from 18 banks in Iraq for thirteen years, from 2005 to 2017. The relationship is estimated using a fixed effects approach. The study selected 18 conventional banks considering their data availability in the period from 2005 to 2017. Based on the panel data method, the results show that bank size, the equity to total assets and total loans to total assets ratios, GDP growth, and government effectiveness have a significant and positive impact on the profitability of Iraqi banks. Meanwhile, credit risk, inflation, interest rate, unemployment, and political instability have a significant negative influence on bank profitability. To the authors’ knowledge, this study is considered one of the earliest studies of its kind, in which the main factors affecting Iraqi bank profitability are determined. That said, this paper makes a significant contribution to the theoretical literature, the industry, and policymakers, so that the performance of Iraqi conventional banks can be improved.

Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the support from Ministry of Higher Education in Iraq, University of Kerbala, AL-Furat AL-Awsat Technical University, and Imam AL-Kadhum College for Islamic Studies. Furthermore, we appreciate the support by Prof. Dr. Sivarajasingham Selliah, Assistant Prof. Dr. Muhammad Abrar Ul Haq, and Dr. Mohammed Hasan.

The correlation between macroeconomic dynamics and the inflation rate is the subject of many economic studies. The principles of monetary policy are developed in classical economics studies, which are based on the theories of Keynes, Phillips, Campbell, etc. However, classic approaches require practical validation, especially with regard to modern economic trends in times of crisis and emerging economies. Therefore, the purpose of the paper is to investigate and summarize the impact of inflation targeting and other key monetary policy instruments on fundamental economic indicators in Ukraine during periods of stability and crises. An empirical analysis is based on official statistics from Ukraine for 2011–2019. This study uses econometric methods (multivariate regression and simultaneous equation model), which are applied for the general and transmission impact of inflation on the estimation of economic growth. The results prove that inflation does not affect (less than 0.46 linear correlation) fundamental economic indicators during periods of real GDP growth and a quarterly CPI level of less than 2%. On the other hand, there are significant simultaneous regressions (more than 0.8 coefficients of determination) between unemployed, spending on real final consumption, hryvnia exchange rate and monetary policy instruments (discount rate, international reserves, amount of government bonds, M3 monetary aggregate) for periods when the quarterly CPI (consumer price index) is more than 2%. Therefore, the traditional monetary policy implications are discussed for emerging economies.

As the number of smart phone users and the popularity of Internet among people are growing day by day in Bangladesh, it became necessary for Bangladeshi local banks to provide mobile banking services to their customers. Therefore, this study seeks to identify the crucial and determining factors that may affect the intention of customers to use mobile banking services. The sample size in this study is 91, in which majority are the students of Business Studies. All respondents have mobile banking at the time of the survey. The samples in the study were mainly drawn from the private university students (i.e. Business Administration students) and faculty members, and some bank officers participated as sample respondents in this study. A non-probability random sampling method is applied, and a 5% significance level is used to accept the hypotheses. Cronbach alpha (α) of 0.7 and above is considered to measure the reliability of the item wise variables. This study examines six variables (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, trust, security, perceived privacy, and technology competency) to analyze their impact on the behavioral intention of banking customers to use mobile banking services. Three variables, namely perceived usefulness, security, and technology competency, are found to be significant predictors of customers’ intent to use mobile banking in Bangladesh. For analytical purposes, SPSS version 23.0 is used to test hypotheses. The paper also provides significant implications for bank managers to increase the adoption of mobile banking for their sustainability.

Management report is a new form of sustainability reporting (SR) in Ukraine, and its assessment for quality of environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria disclosure and compliance among banks plays a crucial role for auditors in the verification process. The Quality and Compliance Bank Management Reports (Q&C BMR) Index methodology was developed for this purpose. The methodology includes a range of formal, content, assurance and disclosure scorings. According to the results of a continuous assessment of these management reports of 75 state, private and foreign-owned banks in Ukraine for the 2018 fiscal year, the average Q&C BMR Index is 61.2%. This indicates a fairly high level of quality and compliance with regulatory requirements for disclosure by banks of Ukraine in their SR. Differentiation of the studied population of banks in terms of Q&C BMR Index allowed distinguishing the following rating groups: А – leaders, B – pursuers, C – starters, and D – outsiders. There is a clear trend in the relationship between the ownership of a bank and its Q&C BMR index. Despite the rather high average value of the index, there is an opportunity to improve Ukrainian banks’ SR in the context of its further standardization and disclosure of the full set of ESGs – a criterion for all rating groups (especially C and D). Q&C BMR Index can be used as a benchmark by banks, regulators and auditors when comparing the level of disclosure by banks and their transparency.

Acknowledgment
The comments of an editor and anonymous referees have been gratefully acknowledged. Inna Makarenko gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine – Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility for Sustainable Development: Partnership of Stakeholders in the Real, Financial and Public Sectors of the Economy (0117U003933).

Financial performance of a bank represents its financial condition for a certain period of time, either in relation to fund raising or fund allocation, which is usually observed for several indicators, such as capital adequacy, liquidity, and bank profitability. In banking industries, profitability is the most accurate indicator to measure bank performance. Instruments used to measure profitability are Return on Equity (ROE) and Return on Assets (ROA). In this study, the impact of banking risk is analyzed using the ratio of Non-Performing Loans (NPL), Net Interest Margin (NIM), the Loan-to-Deposit ratio (LDR), and the ratio of Operational Cost to Operational Income (OCOI/BOPO) on financial performance of regional development banks in Indonesia. The data used in this study were obtained from the annual reports disseminated on the website of each bank. The number of samples includes 26 Indonesian regional development banks for 2013–2015. The study includes 4 hypotheses for testing. The results show that simultaneously, NPL, NIM, LDR, and OBOI/BOPO are significant to ROA; while NPLs are significant and negatively affect ROA, NIM is significant and positively affects ROA, LDR is not significant and negatively affects ROA, and OCOI/BOPO is significant and negatively affects ROA. This means the banks should minimize the ratio of NPLs, LDR, and BOPO, as they have a negative influence on ROA. Conversely, banks should maximize the ratio of NIM since the latter has a positive effect on ROA.

The study focuses on corporate social responsibility, which is of pivotal significance in the banking sectors of the countries of the so-called Visegrád Group, located in the Central European region and representing similar levels of economic development (V4). The aim of this paper is to examine the changes in the CSR activities of notable banks in the V4 countries between 2007, 2013 and 2018. The study consisted of three phases: first, it determined the relevant CSR goals based on the content (document) analysis; then, a questionnaire survey was conducted among banks for three years (2007, 2013, 2018); and finally, the data were analyzed using variance analysis. As a result of the first phase, 15 CSR activities were identified, and as a result of a questionnaire survey, the focus of each CSR area was presented on a spider-web diagram showing a shift in the “priority order” of CSR areas and target groups, in other words, the intensification of activity towards social groups closer to the activities of banks or even clients. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, this study confirmed with primary research that the focus of CSR activities in the V4 countries has shifted from general societal challenges to climate protection and the development of financial culture. These results were also evidenced by multivariate statistical methods proving a significant change in 66% of the examined areas.

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) play an important role in enabling poor households to escape poverty. MFIs cannot help borrowers if their own performance is poor. This study evaluates financial performance of Village Funds (VFs) and Saving Groups for Production (SGPs) to determine how well the MFIs are performing financially and how to improve the institutions’ future performances. The study evaluates MFIs’ performance, including MFI characteristics, outreach, productivity, financial structure and financial performance. Data are collected from the annual reports of MFIs between 2014 and 2016. VF and SGP annual reports were collected by the Government Savings Bank between 2014 and 2016. Data are analyzed using descriptive statistics, such as means, to compare the VFs’ and SGPs’ performance. The result shows that SGPs are bigger than VFs in terms of the average number of members and borrowers. However, VFs provide more loans than SGPs to poorer clients. In terms of loan management, SGP staff are more efficient than VF staff. SGPs’ profits are significantly higher than VFs’ profits. In the context of financial structure, SGPs are funded through member deposits, while VFs receive government subsidies. The results indicate that both VFs and SGPs are profitable and financially sustainable.

The quality of financial disclosures is of great importance than ever, as Vietnam’s international economic integration has been accelerating recently. This issue is currently particularly worrying for the banking sector in Vietnam, as banks play a vital role in economic development. However, there is a growing concern that managers tend to manipulate financial information using earnings management techniques to meet analyst expectations and to enhance the firm value in the short term. Such behavior can lead to inappropriateness in the decision-making process of financial statement users, as well as impair firm value in the long term. Therefore, this study examines the impact of factors related to financial indicators on earnings management of Vietnamese commercial banks to give more insight into the issue. The data of this study was collected from a sample of 30 Vietnamese commercial banks during a 5-year period from 2015 to 2019. By using the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression method through Eviews 10.0, the findings revealed that financial leverage and loan loss provision have a positive and significant impact on earnings management. Also, bank size and profitability were negatively associated with earnings management. Based on these findings, in the context of Vietnam, the study proposed policy suggestions to improve the quality of accounting information and to assist users of financial statements in recognizing and restricting earnings management in commercial banks.

The paper aims to investigate the impact of CAMEL components on the financial performance of commercial banks in Vietnam. Three econometric models are built using four CAMEL’s crucial indicators as independent variables (capital adequacy, asset quality, management effectiveness, bank liquidity) and return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and net interest margin (NIM) as proxies for commercial banks’ financial performance – dependent variables. The research sample includes 31 Vietnamese commercial banks over the 6-year period, from 2013 to 2018. The results show a better fit of the fixed effects model (FEM) in terms of the research methodology compared to the ordinary least squares (OLS) and random effects model (REM). It was found that capital adequacy, asset quality, liquidity and management efficiency affect the performance of Vietnamese commercial banks.

Acknowledgement
This research is funded by National Economics University (NEU), Hanoi, Vietnam. The authors thank anonymous referees for their contributions and the NEU for funding this research.

Efficient banking solutions are an integral part of the business integration of South African and Nigerian economies as the two largest economies in the continent. Security, effectiveness, and integration of banking systems are critical to the sustainable development of the African continent. Therefore, an empirical analysis of the production of research on banking services and systems was conducted. The aim of the study was to examine the robustness of the research findings on banking systems in terms of their importance for the economic sustainability of the continent in the era of the fourth industrial revolution. The study adopted a bibliometric analysis using software clusters to visualize the results. Due to higher visibility of outputs and likely citations, the results showed that the key terms from Google Scholar are ranked higher than outputs from Scopus. Main research interests were related to internet banking (f = 70), e-payment systems (f = 57), telephone banking (f = 56), automated teller machines (f = 54), and mobile banking (f = 40). The results also showed a very low research interest in the technical aspect of online banking services such as security (f = 19, TLS = 40), authentication (f = 17, TLS =33), network security (f =13, TLS = 33), computer crime (f = 16, TLS = 42), and online banking (f = 11, TLS =32). The study found there were insufficient outputs in the area of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) and banking services in Africa. Future research trends should examine the impact of the 4IR and big data on the banking system, regional economic integration, and sustainable growth in the continent.

The paper aims to explore the impact of financial risks on the firm value of banks in ASEAN-5 countries. The study used the panel data regression model to analyze the available data for 63 commercial banks in ASEAN-5 countries from 2009 to 2017, totaling 567 observations. GMM dynamic estimation was also used for robustness and comparison purposes. The financial risk was measured using the non-performing loans ratio (NPL), the loan to deposit ratio (LD), the liquid asset ratio (LATA), the cost to income ratio (CIR), and the net interest margin (NIM), while firm value was measured using the enterprise value. The study used controlled variables proxied by size, GDP growth and the inflation rate, while the correlation between credit risk and interest rate risk (CR•IR) was also determined. Given the results of the study, credit risk proxy by non-performing loans ratio has a significant positive effect on the firm value, the liquidity risk (LD) has a significant positive impact on the firm value of ASEAN banks, while LATA has a significant negative effect on the firm value. Operational risk (CIR) and interest rate risk (NIM) have a significant negative impact on the firm value of ASEAN-5 banks. Bank size and inflation rate significantly and negatively affect the firm value, while GDP growth is found to have a significant positive impact on the firm value of ASEAN-5 banks. An insignificant interaction is found between credit risk and interest rate risk (CR•IR). The GMM estimation also supported these findings. The results obtained will be an important signal for policy makers, which is useful for the effective mobilization and allocation of credits to productive areas and helps manage inherent risks. The study provides implications for all countries regarding the financial risks associated with the value of the firm. Therefore, this study offers new insights into this relationship by providing useful information to the academics, policy makers, governments, and other stakeholders and serves as a benchmark for further study in this area.

This study examines the importance of the application of forensic audit in controlling financial frauds that ravage or threaten the soundness and business continuity of Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in Nigeria. The study used survey design methods, and the primary data were obtained through the administration of structured questionnaire covering seventeen (17) banks out of twenty-two (22) Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) operating in the country, which is 77.3%. In this study, the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method was used to analyze and test hypotheses, and the findings showed that the involvement of qualified and experienced forensic auditors would not only contribute to the amelioration of financial frauds in DMBs, but would also lead to much-needed sanity in the banking sector of Nigeria. The study recommends that regulatory agencies, within the limits prescribed by law, mandate all the banks to create a special forensic department, managed by a professional forensic auditor, which will develop and constantly implement effective and efficient internal control, timely prosecution of fraudsters by considering them to be criminals and as a deterrent to others, and work out adequate training and development programs for their staff, especially in fraud control, in order to reduce the number of fraud cases in Nigerian banks.

The indicator-based method recommended by the Basel Committee is one of the most common approaches to identifying systemically important banks. National authorities often establish their own methodology by adding modern tools that, in their opinion, adequately capture systemic risk in their domestic economy.
The paper shows that the updated methodology for assessing systemically important Ukrainian banks can be verified on publicly available data. The analysis confirms that the updated version of the National Bank’s assessment methodology is in line with those recommended by international banking institutions, but does not fully capture the current systemic risk factors.
Systematization of literary and statistical sources indicates that one of the main sources of systemic risk in Ukraine is the establishment of a state monopoly in the banking market. Thus, the assessment methodology should be supplemented by instruments to evaluate the performance of the banking business. The indicator-based method and the minus one bank Z-score approach were tested to identify Ukrainian systemically important banks from 2010 to 2017.
The loss of the leading role of PrivatBank in ensuring banking stability after the transition to state ownership since 2016, as well as the equalization of the systemic risk contribution of banks with state, foreign and domestic capital, was discovered. The study empirically confirms that Z-index, which combines the positive characteristics of the static asset return ratio and bankruptcy probability, can be used to determine the methodology as an indicator of the performance of systemically important banks, primarily state-owned banks.

This study seeks to uncover the projected gains and challenges of a cashless and e-payment policy in Nigeria, with particular emphasis on the wellbeing of bank clients, and to examine the extent to which the promised benefits of the policy were realized eight years down the line of implementation. Researchers provided copies of a research questionnaire to selected bankers and bank customers in Ogun and Lagos states of Nigeria to find perceptions of the two stakeholder groups regarding the subject matter. Three hypotheses formulated were tested using ANOVA. The paper reveals that the cashless banking initiative in Nigeria has significantly enhanced bank customer satisfaction; the implementation of the cashless banking structure in Nigeria has not led to a significant reduction in the level of cash fraud in Nigerian banks; and the adoption of a cashless economy practice in Nigeria has significantly improved the management of bank customer funds in terms of spending and saving. The paper, in particular, recommends that bank regulators constantly and widely cooperate with all key stakeholders in the system in the fight against cybercrime. This will make the electronic space safe and reliable for use in doing banking in Nigeria and beyond.

Acknowledgment
The authors wish to acknowledge Covenant University for its financial support during the work on this paper.