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By proposing a novel continuous and time-varying measure of Sharia compliance, we investigate whether it enhances the effects of corporate social responsibility, proxied by Environmental -Social-Governance scores, on firms' equity costs and market risks in emerging countries. We construct a large dataset of non-financial listed firms incorporated in eighteen emerging markets, both Sharia-compliant and conventional (4612 firm-year observations from 2002 to 2018), finding a consistent, statistically significant, and negative association between the interaction of ESG scores and the Sharia sensitivity with the cost of equity. Moreover, we reveal that this negative relationship is mediated by firms' market risk (risk channel).

Using a detailed set of deposit insurance schemes (DIS) features for 27 EU countries, we assess the impact of national deposit insurance features on bank stability and investigate the existence of non-linearities in the relationship between coverage and bank stability both in crisis and normal times. Our results suggest that more protective DIS do not necessarily lead to greater bank risk. However, during the crisis some features that generate moral hazard incentives can decrease bank stability. We find an inverse U-shaped relation with bank stability decreasing at high levels of coverage during the crisis period. However, our evidence also suggests that the introduction of temporary measures like blanket guarantees are crucial to avoid panic among depositors and restore stability. Finally, our results seem to imply that the stabilizing effect of deposit insurance can be different along the economic cycle, so regulators should consider that to be able to achieve an optimal DIS that minimizes moral hazard incentives a ‘dynamic’ approach may be necessary.

While looking for safe-haven assets, the literature obtained mixed and varying results, changing from one period to the next, or one geographical area to another. Recently, this field of research grew even more, motivated by the changing environment resulting from the global financial crisis and the current COVID-19 pandemic. We compare five Islamic and five conventional leading financial indexes for the period 2004-2020, covering both global and regional data (Asia-Pacific, Europe, GCC, and the United States). By employing DCC GARCH and extended GARCH (1,1) models, we find a lower volatility and higher persistence in Islamic indexes when compared to their conventional alternatives, holding also when traditional safe-haven assets are included in comparative terms and across geographical areas. We therefore provide robust evidence on the consistent behavior of Islamic assets: Their defensive properties remain and are even stronger in the current unprecedented and ongoing crisis.

Using a unique proprietary dataset from a large European commercial bank containing granular loan-level information on credit lines to mid-corporate firms, we investigate the bank’s decisions to allow firms to retain existing credit at a time of acute financial instability. Our results highlight the importance of bank-firm relationships during crisis times. Existing borrowers who actively used their credit lines were not rationed, unless they posed an increased credit risk. We do not find evidence of evergreening practices.