Socio-economic issues and bank stability: The moderating role of competition

Bank stability has emerged as an area of colossal importance for economic and social well-being, especially in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2007–2008. Therefore, this paper examines the impact of socio-economic factors like corruption, political risk, and financial inclusion on the stability of banks. It also investigates whether bank competition interacts with socio-economic factors for the impact on bank stability. Through the use of a dynamic panel estimator and international bank data on country-level indicators spanning 139 nations from 2011 to 2021, our findings indicate that political risk and corruption impede bank stability while financial inclusion promotes it. Subsequent, investigation reveals that competition lessens the detrimental impact of corruption on bank stability while enhancing the stabilizing effects of financial inclusion and political risk. These findings have implications for regulators, government, and bank management in achieving social welfare and bank stability simultaneously.