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Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there is a relationship between women’s presence on boards of directors and companies’ financial performance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure and, if so, whether this relationship is positive, negative or neutral. Design/methodology/approach The research sample included 47 companies listed on the Palestine Stock Exchange from 2010 to 2020. Panel regression analysis was used to examine the study’s hypothesis and achieve the study’s objectives. Findings The presence of women on the board of directors positively affects a company’s financial performance and disclosure of CSR. However, measuring the CSR disclosure sub-components separately shows a decrease in the disclosure index towards both the environment and employees. Moreover, the level of female representation on the boards of directors of the Palestinian companies studied is generally low. Research limitations/implications Concerning the study limitations, the sample, which comprised all companies listed on the Palestine Stock Exchange from 2010 to 2020, was small. Concerning the implications of the study results, it is recommended that all companies listed on the Palestine Stock Exchange incorporate women on their boards of directors and in their executive management and audit committees. Practical implications The presence of women on Palestinian companies’ boards of directors enhances decision-making policy because of the differences between the genders as well as women’s capacity and unique skills. Originality/value This research contributes to the literature on women’s representation on the boards of directors of the Palestinian companies listed on the Palestine Stock Exchange with the possibility of issuing mandatory instructions for their existence. This study also attempts to provide a better understanding of the financial performance and disclosure of CSR of companies with women on these boards and helps determine whether the relationships between these variables are positive, negative or neutral. Furthermore, this study attempts to determine the extent of these companies’ commitment to the indicators of CSR disclosure.

This article discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the financial performance, credit risk and capital adequacy of the banks in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with the determinants of the banks’ financial performance before and during the pandemic investigated. The data were collected from the Orbis Bank Focus database and banks’ annual financial reports, with descriptive statistics, t-tests and multiple regressions employed to analyse the data. The results revealed that the pandemic negatively and significantly affected the financial performance of the banks, increasing the credit risk, but that it had no significant impact on capital adequacy. Furthermore, the findings indicated that the managerial efficiency, the bank’s size and the gross domestic product had a significant positive impact on the bank’s financial performance in both periods, while in contrast, the credit risk had a negative and significant impact on the banks’ financial performance. Finally, the liquidity risk, capital adequacy, inflation and oil prices had no significant impact on the banks’ financial performance. The findings of this study are important for the banks in the MENA countries given the uncertain future with the recurrent emergence of global crises. Overall, it is recommended that the banks implement strategies to control the credit risks and thus maintain their profitability during such crises.

The present study's primary goal is to examine selected financial risks and financial performance of commercial banks listed on the Bahrain Bourse from 2014 to 2021. However, as independent factors, chosen financial hazards include capital risk, liquidity, and bank size as a control variable, while financial performance as a dependent variable is assessed by return on equity. The panel regression analysis of data technique was used to attain the study goal. Whereas the statistics for the banks were gathered from their annual financial reports. A fascinating conclusion was the discovery of strong correlations between capital risks, bank size, and financial performance. The findings also revealed a negligible link between liquidity concerns and financial success. Due to the limitations of the present study, several ideas for future research may be suggested, such as performing research on other financial hazards, other financial institutions, and other financial performance metrics that are not included in the current research.

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