Journal of Money and Economy

One of the most important determinants of bank profitability is the bank's financing strategy. Therefore, banks must continuously innovate to design and implement new financing instruments. Among these, Islamic financial instruments—particularly sukuk—play a significant role. The present study investigates the impact of sukuk on different levels of profitability (low, medium, and high) for 24 Islamic banks and 12 conventional banks, considering additional control variables such as GDP growth and inflation. The analysis covers the period 2003–2023 and specifically examines the role of the 2008 global financial crisis. Using dynamic panel quantile regression, the findings reveal that during the crisis, the expansion of the sukuk market positively influenced the profitability of conventional banks but negatively affected Islamic banks, with the strongest reduction observed among banks with low profitability. In contrast, outside the crisis period, sukuk development shows a mixed effect: negative for both Islamic and conventional banks at low and high levels of profitability, while remaining neutral in the middle quantiles.

In financial markets, a primary concern for investors is achieving enhanced returns while effectively managing portfolio risk. Leveraged trading is one potential strategy for increasing returns; however, the fundamental question is to find the optimal degree of leverage that yields the most efficient investment portfolio. This paper investigates the optimal leverage level of cryptocurrency futures within a diversified portfolio comprising digital assets, employing a constrained mean semi-variance model and the Invasive Weed Optimization (IWO) algorithm. The dataset, sourced from Coin Market Cap, consists of daily returns for 10 cryptocurrencies and 5 futures contracts over the period from 2022 to 2025. The proposed model incorporates allocation constraints, wherein each asset in the portfolio is subject to upper and lower bounds on its weight. Due to the imposed constraints, the problem is not solvable via traditional quadratic programming techniques, necessitating the application of the IWO algorithm as the optimization method. Empirical results reveal that incorporating futures into a cryptocurrency portfolio does not inherently enhance its performance. While leverage may increase expected returns, it simultaneously elevates portfolio risk. Consequently, based on the Sortino ratio, the overall risk-adjusted performance of the portfolio does not necessarily improve with the use of leveraged futures.

The absence of a comprehensive and localized model for the effective management of the cost of money in the country’s banking system, considering the cultural, economic, and structural complexities inherent in the banking industry, constitutes a fundamental challenge. Therefore, the present study aims to articulate a model for managing the cost of money in Iran’s banking industry through a grounded theory approach. This research is applied in purpose and conducted with a qualitative methodology based on grounded theory. The statistical population consists of distinguished professors in the fields of finance, accounting, and management, as well as senior banking executives including bank presidents and faculty members of reputable universities in the country, selected during the years 2023 and 2024. Sampling was carried out purposefully and through the snowball method until theoretical saturation was achieved. Data were collected through library studies and 11 semi-structured interviews with banking and academic experts possessing sufficient expertise and professional experience. The data were analyzed using Strauss and Corbin’s three-stage coding process with MAXQDA software, which resulted in the extraction of 95 basic concepts categorized into four main themes: socio-cultural-political factors, technical-structural factors, environmental and contextual factors, and factors related to the improvement of economic indicators. The findings indicate that comprehensive management of the cost of money requires simultaneous consideration of technological, structural, interactive, and policy-making components. The proposed conceptual model, by clarifying the relationships influencing resource mobilization and cost control in Iran’s banking industry, provides practical strategies for enhancing efficiency, strengthening economic governance, and developing banking services. Furthermore, factors such as interbank interest rates, economic risks, operational costs, inflation, and exchange rates were identified as decisive variables. Ultimately, the finalized model, informed by expert insights, delineates a pathway for reducing costs and improving the efficiency of the banking system.

Forfaiting, as one of the modern instruments of international trade finance, enables the conversion of medium- and long-term receivables into immediate liquidity while transferring the full spectrum of political, commercial, and credit risks to financial institutions. This method has played a significant role in facilitating transactions and enhancing the competitiveness of exporters in many countries, particularly in emerging economies. Despite these advantages, no clear institutional and legal framework has yet been developed for its implementation in Iran, and the existing research has largely been confined to theoretical and legal aspects. This gap highlights a critical research necessity, the examination of which can contribute to financial and trade policymaking in the country. The purpose of the present study is to assess the feasibility of establishing a forfaiting institution in Iran’s financial market and to analyze its effect on reducing investment risk. The research is applied in nature and conducted through a descriptive–survey method. The statistical population consisted of 152 experts in the monetary and banking sector as well as financial market practitioners, with data collected using a structured questionnaire. The validity of the instrument was confirmed by experts and statistical criteria, while its reliability was verified through Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability values exceeding 0.7. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS (version 24) and SmartPLS software. Within this framework, four main dimensions—risk reduction, risk coverage, operational mechanism, and institutional framework—were examined as determinants of the feasibility of forfaiting.

For forty years, LIBOR was the dominant benchmark interest rate for various financial products, playing a central role in global financial markets. LIBOR was available in 10 currencies and 15 maturities, fulfilling two primary roles: acting as a reference rate for financial contracts and serving as a benchmark for evaluating financing costs. However, these rates were not based on actual transaction data but were instead calculated from surveys of participating panel banks. Thomson Reuters computed the rates using a trimmed mean. The LIBOR scandal involved three forms of manipulation by panel banks: under-reporting, over-reporting, and maintaining artificial stability in rates. The Wheatley Review recommended reforming LIBOR instead of replacing it. In March 2021, the UK FCA officially confirmed the gradual elimination of all LIBOR settings. By June 30, 2023, the remaining US dollar LIBOR settings were discontinued. Fines related to the LIBOR scandal surpassed $10 billion. In July 2021, the World Bank announced the transition from LIBOR to new reference rates for both new and existing loans. The main alternatives to LIBOR include SOFR, SONIA, €STR, SARON, TONAR, and AONIA. This paper explores the debate between using a single or multiple reference rates, considering the benefits of a multi-reference system to mitigate systemic risk.  

This study evaluates the economic capital levels for Iranian banks and analyzes their behavior under various macroeconomic shocks by developing a Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) model that incorporates banking sector heterogeneity and macroeconomic shock transmission mechanisms. A comprehensive DSGE framework was constructed and calibrated using Iranian macroeconomic and banking data. The model implementation utilized Dynare software to analyze impulse response functions across technology, liquidity, and monetary policy shock scenarios, with particular emphasis on capital adequacy dynamics, bank bankruptcy and exit possibilities, and effects on economic welfare and financial stability. Simulation results indicate that current capital levels of Iranian banks are insufficient for achieving financial stability and welfare maximization, requiring increases to higher levels, that exceeding Basel III regulatory minimums to maintain adequate resilience against macroeconomic volatility and prevent bank bankruptcy and exit. Technology shocks generate expansionary effects on output, consumption, and investment variables while improving economic welfare, whereas liquidity shocks create contractionary pressures reducing these key economic indicators and welfare levels. Interest rate shocks produce moderate and largely temporary effects across macroeconomic variables, with limited long-term impact on economic welfare and minimal influence on bank bankruptcy probability. The shock analyses demonstrate the critical importance of macroeconomic conditions in bank capital management decisions, economic welfare preservation, and bank exit prevention, with liquidity shocks showing the most substantial explanatory power for capital requirement variations. The study contributes to both theoretical understanding and practical application by extending DSGE modeling to incorporate banking sector capital dynamics, bankruptcy mechanisms, and welfare effects within an emerging market context, thereby offering a more comprehensive framework for economic capital determination. Our findings suggest that Iranian banks need to maintain higher capital levels to provide adequate stability and risk absorption capacity for Iranian banks under diverse economic shock conditions.