IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jbfnac/v49y2022i9-10p1957-1983.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Religiosity and corruption in bank lending

Author

Listed:
  • Geng Niu
  • Yang Zhou
  • Weijie Lu
  • Hongwu Gan

Abstract

This paper explores the effect of country‐level religiosity on corruption in bank lending. By using the World Business Environment Survey, we find that firms in more religious countries perceive a higher level of bank lending corruption. Furthermore, larger (smaller) foreign (government) ownership and more competition in a country's banking system attenuate the adverse effect of religiosity. The effect of religiosity carries over to bank loan performance. Our findings are confirmed by various robustness checks. This study contributes to a more balanced and comprehensive understanding of the role of religion in business ethics.

Suggested Citation

  • Geng Niu & Yang Zhou & Weijie Lu & Hongwu Gan, 2022. "Religiosity and corruption in bank lending," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(9-10), pages 1957-1983, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jbfnac:v:49:y:2022:i:9-10:p:1957-1983
    DOI: 10.1111/jbfa.12594
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/jbfa.12594
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/jbfa.12594?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Guiso, Luigi & Sapienza, Paola & Zingales, Luigi, 2003. "People's opium? Religion and economic attitudes," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 225-282, January.
    2. Barry, Thierno Amadou & Lepetit, Laetitia & Strobel, Frank, 2016. "Bank ownership structure, lending corruption and the regulatory environment," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 732-751.
    3. Trang Nguyen, 2021. "Freedom of the press and corporate misconduct," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(9-10), pages 1668-1710, October.
    4. Oliver E. Williamson, 2000. "The New Institutional Economics: Taking Stock, Looking Ahead," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 38(3), pages 595-613, September.
    5. Beck, Thorsten & Demirguc-Kunt, Asli & Levine, Ross, 2006. "Bank supervision and corruption in lending," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(8), pages 2131-2163, November.
    6. Berggren, Niclas & Bjørnskov, Christian, 2013. "Does religiosity promote property rights and the rule of law?," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 161-185, June.
    7. Justin Chircop & Michele Fabrizi & Elisabetta Ipino & Antonio Parbonetti, 2017. "Does Branch Religiosity Influence Bank Risk-Taking?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(1-2), pages 271-294, January.
    8. Berggren, Niclas & Bjørnskov, Christian, 2011. "Is the importance of religion in daily life related to social trust? Cross-country and cross-state comparisons," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 80(3), pages 459-480.
    9. Chen, Hanwen & Huang, Henry He & Lobo, Gerald J. & Wang, Chong, 2016. "Religiosity and the cost of debt," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 70-85.
    10. La Porta, Rafael, et al, 1997. "Trust in Large Organizations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(2), pages 333-338, May.
    11. Laurence R. Iannaccone, 1998. "Corrigenda [Introduction to the Economics of Religion]," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(4), pages 1941-1941, December.
    12. Yuh-Jia Chen & Thomas Tang, 2013. "The Bright and Dark Sides of Religiosity Among University Students: Do Gender, College Major, and Income Matter?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 115(3), pages 531-553, July.
    13. Akins, Brian & Dou, Yiwei & Ng, Jeffrey, 2017. "Corruption in bank lending: The role of timely loan loss recognition," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 454-478.
    14. Ross Levine, 1997. "Financial Development and Economic Growth: Views and Agenda," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(2), pages 688-726, June.
    15. Raymond Fisman & Daniel Paravisini & Vikrant Vig, 2017. "Cultural Proximity and Loan Outcomes," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(2), pages 457-492, February.
    16. Djankov, Simeon & McLiesh, Caralee & Shleifer, Andrei, 2007. "Private credit in 129 countries," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 299-329, May.
    17. Thorsten Beck & Asli Demirgüç‐Kunt & Vojislav Maksimovic, 2005. "Financial and Legal Constraints to Growth: Does Firm Size Matter?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(1), pages 137-177, February.
    18. Kiridaran Kanagaretnam & Gerald Lobo & Chong Wang, 2015. "Religiosity and Earnings Management: International Evidence from the Banking Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 132(2), pages 277-296, December.
    19. Xingqiang Du, 2014. "Does Religion Mitigate Tunneling? Evidence from Chinese Buddhism," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(2), pages 299-327, December.
    20. Ross Levine & Norman Loayza & Thorsten Beck, 2002. "Financial Intermediation and Growth: Causality and Causes," Central Banking, Analysis, and Economic Policies Book Series, in: Leonardo Hernández & Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel & Norman Loayza (Series Editor) & Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel (Se (ed.),Banking, Financial Integration, and International Crises, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 2, pages 031-084, Central Bank of Chile.
    21. Xiaolan Zheng & Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & Chuck C Y Kwok, 2013. "Collectivism and corruption in bank lending," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 44(4), pages 363-390, May.
    22. Gordon, Elizabeth A. & Gotti, Giorgio & Ho, Joanna H. & Mora, Araceli & Morris, Richard D., 2019. "Commentary: Where is International Accounting Research Going? Issues Needing Further Investigation," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    23. Lamia Chourou & Luo He & Ligang Zhong, 2020. "Does religiosity enhance the quality of management earnings forecasts?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(7-8), pages 910-948, July.
    24. Cai, Ye & Kim, Yongtae & Li, Siqi & Pan, Carrie, 2019. "Tone at the top: CEOs’ religious beliefs and earnings management," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 195-213.
    25. Kaufmann, Daniel & Kraay, Aart & Zoido-Lobaton, Pablo, 1999. "Aggregating governance indicators," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2195, The World Bank.
    26. Allen N. Berger & Asli Demirgüč-Kunt & Joseph G. Haubrich & Ross Levine, 2004. "Introduction: Bank concentration and competition: an evolution in the making," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, pages 433-451.
    27. Bryan W Husted, 1999. "Wealth, Culture, and Corruption," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 30(2), pages 339-359, June.
    28. Matthias Basedau & Simone Gobien & Sebastian Prediger, 2018. "The Multidimensional Effects Of Religion On Socioeconomic Development: A Review Of The Empirical Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(4), pages 1106-1133, September.
    29. Rachel M. McCleary & Robert J. Barro, 2006. "Religion and Economy," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(2), pages 49-72, Spring.
    30. Berger, Allen N, et al, 2004. "Bank Concentration and Competition: An Evolution in the Making," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 36(3), pages 433-451, June.
    31. Ginka Borisova & William L. Megginson, 2011. "Does Government Ownership Affect the Cost of Debt? Evidence from Privatization," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(8), pages 2693-2737.
    32. Houston, Joel F. & Lin, Chen & Ma, Yue, 2011. "Media ownership, concentration and corruption in bank lending," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(2), pages 326-350, May.
    33. Scott D. Dyreng & William J. Mayew & Christopher D. Williams, 2012. "Religious Social Norms and Corporate Financial Reporting," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(7-8), pages 845-875, September.
    34. Callen, Jeffrey L. & Fang, Xiaohua, 2015. "Religion and Stock Price Crash Risk," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 50(1-2), pages 169-195, April.
    35. K. Parboteeah & Martin Hoegl & John Cullen, 2008. "Ethics and Religion: An Empirical Test of a Multidimensional Model," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 80(2), pages 387-398, June.
    36. Filipe Campante & David Yanagizawa-Drott, 2015. "Editor's Choice Does Religion Affect Economic Growth and Happiness? Evidence from Ramadan," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(2), pages 615-658.
    37. Hilary, Gilles & Hui, Kai Wai, 2009. "Does religion matter in corporate decision making in America?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(3), pages 455-473, September.
    38. Chantziaras, Antonios & Dedoulis, Emmanouil & Grougiou, Vassiliki & Leventis, Stergios, 2020. "The impact of religiosity and corruption on CSR reporting: The case of U.S. banks," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 362-374.
    39. Scott Vitell, 2009. "The Role of Religiosity in Business and Consumer Ethics: A Review of the Literature," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 90(2), pages 155-167, November.
    40. Alan Walker & James Smither & Jason DeBode, 2012. "The Effects of Religiosity on Ethical Judgments," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 106(4), pages 437-452, April.
    41. Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & Chuck C. Y. Kwok & Xiaolan Zheng, 2016. "Collectivism and Corruption in Commercial Loan Production: How to Break the Curse?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 139(2), pages 225-250, December.
    42. Laurence R. Iannaccone, 1998. "Introduction to the Economics of Religion," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(3), pages 1465-1495, September.
    43. Boyd, John H. & Levine, Ross & Smith, Bruce D., 2001. "The impact of inflation on financial sector performance," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 221-248, April.
    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. Chrysovalantis Gaganis & Fotios Pasiouras & Menelaos Tasiou, 2024. "Corruption in Bank Lending: The Role of Culturally Endorsed Leadership Prototypes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 193(1), pages 193-216, August.
    2. Martin-Flores, Jose M., 2024. "Is bank misconduct related to social capital? Evidence from U.S. banks," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    3. Huai Zhang & Jin Zhang, 2023. "Political corruption and accounting choices," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(3-4), pages 443-481, March.

    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. Abdelsalam, Omneya & Chantziaras, Antonios & Ibrahim, Masud & Omoteso, Kamil, 2021. "The impact of religiosity on earnings quality: International evidence from the banking sector," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(6).
    2. Mathieu Gomes & Sylvain Marsat & Jonathan Peillex & Guillaume Pijourlet, 2023. "Does religiosity influence corporate greenwashing behavior?," Papers 2312.14515, arXiv.org.
    3. Lamia Chourou & Luo He & Ligang Zhong, 2020. "Does religiosity enhance the quality of management earnings forecasts?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(7-8), pages 910-948, July.
    4. Rami Salem & Ernest Ezeani & Xi Song, 2023. "The relationship between religiosity and voluntary disclosure quality: a cross-country evidence from the banking sector," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 983-1023, April.
    5. Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & Chuck C. Y. Kwok & Xiaolan Zheng, 2016. "Collectivism and Corruption in Commercial Loan Production: How to Break the Curse?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 139(2), pages 225-250, December.
    6. Hsieh, Wen-Liang G. & Wu, Wei-Shao & Tu, Anthony H., 2022. "Religiosity and sovereign credit quality," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 84-103.
    7. Ahsan Habib & Mabel D' Costa & Ahmed Khamis Al‐Hadi, 2023. "Consequences of local social norms: A review of the literature in accounting, finance, and corporate governance," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(1), pages 3-45, March.
    8. Ji, Yaling, 2020. "Religiosity and the adoption of formal financial services," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 378-396.
    9. Chen, Hanwen & Huang, Henry He & Lobo, Gerald J. & Wang, Chong, 2016. "Religiosity and the cost of debt," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 70-85.
    10. Zuobao Wei & Yicheng Zhu, 2023. "Does religiosity improve analyst forecast accuracy?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 915-948, April.
    11. Demirguc-Kunt, Asli, 2006. "Finance and economic development : policy choices for developing countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3955, The World Bank.
    12. Kejing Chen & Wenqi Guo & Yanling Kang & Qingqing Wan, 2021. "Does religion improve corporate environmental responsibility? Evidence from China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 808-818, March.
    13. Yaoqin Li, 2021. "Religious founders and employee welfare," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(5), pages 6037-6067, December.
    14. Lamia Chourou, 2020. "Does Religiosity Matter to Value Relevance? Evidence from U.S. Banking Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 162(3), pages 675-697, March.
    15. Feng Chen & Xiaolin Chen & Weiqiang Tan & Lin Zheng, 2020. "Religiosity and cross‐country differences in trade credit use," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(S1), pages 909-941, April.
    16. Kiridaran Kanagaretnam & Gerald Lobo & Chong Wang, 2015. "Religiosity and Earnings Management: International Evidence from the Banking Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 132(2), pages 277-296, December.
    17. Feng, Yuruo & Hao, Wei & Fang, Jiali & Wongchoti, Udomsak, 2024. "In the radiance of enlightenment: The influence of nontheistic religions on corporate default risk," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    18. Chrysovalantis Gaganis & Fotios Pasiouras & Menelaos Tasiou, 2024. "Corruption in Bank Lending: The Role of Culturally Endorsed Leadership Prototypes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 193(1), pages 193-216, August.
    19. Chantziaras, Antonios & Dedoulis, Emmanouil & Grougiou, Vassiliki & Leventis, Stergios, 2020. "The impact of religiosity and corruption on CSR reporting: The case of U.S. banks," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 362-374.
    20. Mertzanis, Charilaos & Pavlopoulos, Athanasios & Vetsikas, Apostolos & Reppas, Dimitrios & Hamill, Philip A., 2023. "Religion and the financing of corporate investment around the world," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).

    More about this item

    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:bla:jbfnac:v:49:y:2022:i:9-10:p:1957-1983. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0306-686X .

    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.