PurposeThe Sharia governance is topic that has generated much interest in the literature of Islamic banking industry. The Sharia supervision plays an essential role in the governance of Islamic banks. The Sharia Board (SB) which is peculiar to Islamic banks is considered as the principal component of the Sharia governance framework. The purpose of this paper is to examines the link between Sharia compliance, the form of Sharia supervision and the effectiveness of Sharia governance.Design/methodology/approachThis paper compares two model of Sharia governance framework, the first is the decentralized model in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the second is the centralized model in Malaysia.FindingsThe independence of the SB in their mission of supervision and the consistency of Sharia ruling are the principal components of an efficient Sharia governance structure. Centralized Sharia governance system, basically in Malaysia, seems to be beneficial to the industry in term of effectiveness and credibility of the Islamic banks.Research limitations/implicationsThe research focuses exclusively on the qualitative analysis about the SB and Sharia governance in Islamic countries.Practical implicationsThe model of centralization is able to strengthen the position and the independence of SB and can better examine the subjects of divergences between the whole of the SB in order to promote, in the long term, the consistency of Fatwas and interpretations between banks and regions.Originality/valueTo the best of our knowledge few studies have examined this subject in a comparative discussion between MENA and Southeast Asia region. This paper contributes to the literature on Sharia governance by considering the difference between these two regions in term of supervision model of Sharia rules and principles and its application in Islamic banking.

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Purpose – The expansion of the Islamic banking industry seems to accentuate the banking competition in MENA and Southeast Asia where conventional and Islamic banks coexist. In this context, the research aims\ to examine the competitive conditions and the market power of the conventional and Islamic banks during the period 2004-2009 in MENA and Southeast Asia region. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use a variety of structural and non-structural measures related to the traditional approach and the new empirical approach of the industrial organization. The methodology is based on set of measures of the competition and market power. The first measure is a set of concentration ratios (C3, C5) and Herfindahl-Hirschman index (HHI). The second measures are the Panzar and Ross H statistic and the Lerner index based on econometric estimations with the aim of evaluating the structure of market and measuring its power in terms of price setting. Findings – The results indicate that under the HHI index, both markets are low concentrated, while according to the concentration ratios, the Islamic market is considered as moderately concentrated. The estimations results, through the H-PR-statistic of Panzar and Ross related to degree of competition and the Lerner index of market power, indicate that both markets are characterized by a monopolistic competition and the Islamic banking expressed a high degree of market power. Research limitations/implications – The research focuses exclusively on the countries where the data are available and excludes the other countries where competition and market power might have different forms. Practical implications – In a competitive environment, each bank is required to analyze the structure of its market and competitive conditions, in order to develop a business strategy and effective action plans. In the context of the multiplication of the Islamic banks in the MENA and Southeast Asia, the enhancement of Islamic bank competitiveness by offering new products is determinant for their success. Originality/value – To the best of the authors' knowledge few studies have examined this subject in a comparative analysis between the Islamic and conventional banks. So the authors contribute to the literature on Islamic banking by considering a sample of Islamic and conventional banks operating in the same countries in order to examine the existence or not of difference between them.

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the relationship between the volume of investment deposits and capitalization of Islamic commercial banks.Design/methodology/approachUnlike current accounts holders, investment accounts holders may support part or all of the losses on assets value, which could be a source of moral hazard among bank managers and shareholders. To test these assumptions, the authors use the system generalized method of moments (system GMM) on a dynamic panel of 59 Islamic banks observed during the period 2005‐2009.FindingsAfter controlling for a set of variables that may influence capital level, the results show a significant negative relationship between PSIA and regulatory capital ratio. This may indicate that the specific nature of PSIA can be a source of excessive risk‐taking in Islamic banks. This behavior is likely to threaten the solvency of Islamic banks and shows that some deficiencies may exist in their risk management and governance system.Practical implicationsThis paper suggests some recommendations to better implement the principle of profit and loss sharing and to curb excessive risk‐taking in Islamic banks.Originality/valueThe originality of this paper is to give empirical responses to theoretical assumptions of a relationship between PSIA and moral hazard in Islamic banks.