Type of the article: Research ArticleAbstractCentral bank digital currency (CBDC) programs have rapidly shifted from experimentation to policy-critical infrastructure decisions, yet countries show strikingly uneven progress from research to pilots and implementation. This study aims to identify and explain the key structural, macroeconomic, technological, and ecosystem-related factors that differentiate CBDC initiatives advancing to pilot or implementation stages from those remaining in early research or being discontinued across countries worldwide. Using 161 CBDC projects across 109 countries (as of December 2024) and 10 project-, public interest-, technology-, and macroeconomic indicators, we estimate a Support Vector Machines classifier with GridSearchCV (5-fold) tuning and interpret the results using Shapley Additive exPlanations explainability. The raw outcome distribution was strongly imbalanced (83.85% in the early/cancelled class), so ADASYN balancing was applied, producing 270 observations with equal class shares and an 85/15 train–test split (229/41). The optimized SVM (RBF; C = 10, gamma = 10) achieved 93.90% cross-validated accuracy and 0.88 accuracy on the test set, indicating strong predictive performance on unseen data. Test-set metrics show an informative error profile: for class 1 (advanced projects), recall = 1.00 and F1 = 0.89, while for class 0 (early/cancelled), precision = 1.00 with recall = 0.75 (macro/weighted F1 = 0.88), implying that the model identifies all advanced projects but may misclassify around one-quarter of early/cancelled cases. SHAP ranks the strongest drivers as use-case direction, inflation, crypto adoption ranking, CBDC-related research output, and international participation, with mixed/wholesale projects, higher inflation, stronger scientific attention, and greater international involvement generally increasing the likelihood of advancement.

Type of the article: Research ArticleAbstractGreen lending growth can support bank resilience and is therefore relevant to Kazakhstan’s pathway to carbon neutrality by 2060. The study created a panel of banking years (2015–2024) and assessed the relationships between banks’ regulatory compliance, digitalization, borrowers’ ESG performance, and green loan volumes using multivariate models. The research provides short-term forecasts using compressed ARIMAX and policy scenarios. Moreover, 20 purposively selected semi-structured interviews (commercial bank executives, SME owners, customers, and policy experts) and a national survey of 850 adult bank customers / SME owners led by the author were added. Across preferred specifications, regulatory eligibility and borrower ESG are consistently positive: policy support is associated with KZT 7-9 billion more green credit per bank year, and each one-point increase in borrower ESG is associated with KZT 0.34-0.38 billion higher volumes. Digitalization is positive but model-sensitive, strengthening within-bank variation; larger banks extend more green credit, consistent with capacity advantages. The results are interpreted through three stability channels: improved screening/asset quality, portfolio tilt toward taxonomy-aligned exposures, and funding access without making solvency claims. Scenario paths suggest aggregate green lending could reach KZT 80-96 billion by 2027 under aligned policy-ESG-digital conditions; under weak support, it may stagnate near KZT 49-55 billion. Findings motivate the development of a binding taxonomy with standardized disclosures, a national ESG scorecard registry, and inclusive digital rails to enhance SME and rural uptake.

Type of the article: Research ArticleAbstractDigital financial inclusion (DFI) has become a critical driver of sustainable growth and financial resilience in the digital era, yet its implications for bank stability remain ambiguous, particularly across heterogeneous institutional contexts. This study examines whether and under what conditions DFI fosters bank stability, using data from 65 emerging and advanced economies during 2010–2022. Employing Double Machine Learning (DML) and Causal Forests to address endogeneity and treatment heterogeneity, together with Panel Threshold Regression (PTR) to capture nonlinear dynamics, the paper provides a causal and structural assessment of the DFI–stability nexus. Results reveal that, on average, DFI exerts no statistically significant impact on bank stability across the full sample. However, substantial heterogeneity emerges in financially developed and institutionally strong economies, DFI significantly enhances stability (CATE = +0.0165, p < 0.001), while in underdeveloped systems it weakens it (CATE = –0.0082, p < 0.001). The PTR model identifies a critical DFI threshold (–1.3611), below which DFI undermines stability and above which its effect becomes neutral, confirming nonlinear regime behavior. These findings highlight that DFI alone cannot guarantee stability; its benefits materialize only within robust institutional and financial ecosystems. Methodologically, the integration of causal machine learning and threshold modeling offers a novel framework for examining digital finance policies and contributes to a deeper understanding of conditional digital effectiveness in modern banking systems.

Type of the article: Research ArticleAbstractStress is a significant issue affecting employee productivity worldwide. This is especially true for banking employees who are famous for their high workload and pressure. The study seeks to determine how stress management initiatives influence work-life balance and self-efficacy, and how these elements jointly drive employee performance. The research was conducted between December 2024 and January 2025, employing a quantitative research design. The population consisted of employees working in Indonesian State-Owned Enterprise banks. Data for this study were obtained using interval-scale questionnaires and processed through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with the assistance of SmartPLS 4. The results demonstrated that both work-life balance and self-efficacy exerted a positive and statistically significant impact on employee performance (p < 0.05). Moreover, a significant positive association was found between work-life balance and self-efficacy (p < 0.05), emphasizing its role in cultivating employees’ confidence and competence. Self-efficacy also acted as a mediating variable linking work-life balance to performance (p < 0.05). Collectively, these findings highlight that effective stress management contributes to improved employee outcomes. Within the banking sector, fostering work-life balance is a vital strategy to minimize stress and enhance performance, while strengthening self-efficacy amplifies these benefits. The mediating role of self-efficacy highlights its contribution in translating balanced work-life conditions into higher performance. Therefore, organizations experiencing high stress and turnover rates are encouraged to integrate work-life balance programs and self-efficacy development into their employee management strategies.AcknowledgmentThe author expresses sincere gratitude to Universitas Sumatera Utara, particularly the Research Institute, for their invaluable support throughout this study. Appreciation is also extended to the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology through the DPPM program (number: 82/UN5.4.10.K/PT.01.03/KP-DPPM/2025), which has provided intellectual and financial assistance. 

Type of the article: Research Article AbstractThis study investigates how corporate governance (CG) shapes financial reporting quality in Jordanian banks and whether audit quality mediates this relationship. Motivated by persistent agency challenges and evolving regulatory expectations in emerging markets, the research examines whether core governance principles – discipline, transparency, independence, accountability, and fairness – translate into more timely, comparable, and understandable reports. A cross-sectional survey of senior executives and board members from 20 banks headquartered in Amman produced 214 valid responses (July–November 2022). Measurement validity and reliability were established, and structural equation modeling was used to test direct and indirect pathways. The results show that CG exerts a strong positive effect on financial reporting quality (β = 0.608) and that audit quality independently enhances reporting outcomes. Mediation analysis indicates that audit quality functions as a significant partial mediator of the CG-reporting link (indirect β = 0.247), demonstrating that governance improvements are amplified when supported by competent, independent, and professionally rigorous audits. These findings imply that governance architecture and assurance practices operate as complementary mechanisms: robust boards and effective audit committees create the conditions for high-quality audits, which in turn convert governance intent into decision-useful disclosures. The study provides context-specific evidence from Jordan’s banking sector, clarifying the channels through which governance reforms strengthen reporting credibility. Practically, the results endorse reinforcing audit committee independence, resourcing internal controls, and embedding transparent disclosure norms to sustain market confidence and align with international reporting expectations.

Type of the article: Research Article AbstractFinancial firms are emerging as key drivers of sustainable business, shaping development through the entities they choose to finance. The ownership structures and governance mechanisms of these firms can shape sustainability efforts, potentially affecting financial stability through risks and costs of implementation. This study aims to examine the impact of ESG initiatives on the financial stability of Korean financial firms and understand how ownership concentration moderates this relationship. Utilizing a fixed-effects regression model, the study investigates 537 firm-year observations across 53 Korean financial sector firms, including banks, insurance companies, securities firms, and diversified financial services firms, from 2012 to 2023. The analysis reveals that for banks, environmental sustainability initiatives are positively associated with financial stability (coefficient = 0.0017; t = 1.84), while social responsibility initiatives have a negative association (coefficient = –0.0018; t = –2.00). For insurance firms, overall sustainability efforts show a negative relationship with financial stability (coefficient = –0.0061; t = –1.72), driven mainly by the governance dimension (coefficient = –0.0074; t = –2.06). Additionally, in the case of banks, higher ownership concentration diminishes the positive impact of environmental sustainability on financial stability (coefficient = –0.0056; t = –1.90). Moreover, ownership concentration acts as a double-edged sword where its moderating impact varies depending on whether the financial firm is a high or low ESG performer. These findings highlight the importance of firm-specific dynamics in aligning with institutional and societal expectations of ESG while navigating the complexities of ownership concentration as a pathway for financial firms to maintain financial stability. AcknowledgmentThe authors would like to express their sincere appreciation to the Korea Institute of Corporate Governance and Sustainability (KCGS) for generously providing the ESG ratings data for financial firms in South Korea. Their valuable support made these analyses possible.

Type of the article: Research ArticleAbstractEffective change management is essential for navigating the constantly changing business environment. This study examines the impact of change management strategies on the performance of commercial banks in Nigeria, focusing on the moderating role of technology. The research employs a survey method, collecting data from 354 senior and management staff across 17 commercial banks. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to validate the research instrument, followed by an ordered regression technique to estimate the specified model due to the rank-ordered nature of the criterion variable. The results reveal that reactive, proactive, and incremental changes are significantly associated with the performance of commercial banks in Nigeria. However, transitional change does not affect performance substantially, unless moderated by technology. The study highlights the critical role of technology in bridging the gap between transitional change and improved performance, underscoring its importance in the Nigerian banking sector. The findings suggest that Nigerian commercial banks should adopt proactive change strategies and continuously invest in relevant technology to manage transitional changes effectively and enhance performance. The study’s generalizability may be limited due to its focus on commercial banks, which constitute a small subset of the financial sector. Nonetheless, the large sample size enhances the robustness of the findings.

Type of the article: Research Article Abstract This study examines the effect of Shariah-compliant fintech, financial inclusion, Shariah banking governance, and financial literacy on maintaining micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia. A standardized survey was administered to 157 owners and managers of MSMEs who are current clients of Shariah-compliant banking entities in West Java. Purposive sampling was used to obtain relevance since West Java is among Indonesia’s most dynamic MSME regions with robust Islamic banking penetration. Data were collected from June to September 2024 and analyzed using WarpPLS. This study demonstrates a profound ethical commitment regarding the protection of human subjects and the integrity of the research. The results indicate that financial literacy has the most significant direct impact on the sustainability of MSMEs (β = 0.847, p < 0.001), as it helps entrepreneurs make sound financial decisions and fortifies business endurance. Shariah banking fintech also has a direct significant but minor effect (β = 0.057, p = 0.008), while Shariah banking governance has a positive but also minor effect (β = 0.065, p = 0.005). Notably, financial literacy mediates the role of Shariah fintech and governance towards MSME sustainability in boosting their contribution. Nevertheless, it does not manage financial inclusion, which directly aids sustainability. These results underscore the important relationship between financial literacy and the effectiveness of Sharia-compliant financial services. The study proposes that targeted financial literacy campaigns, advanced fintech, and robust governance frameworks are needed to bolster the resilience of MSMEs and advance Indonesia’s economy.

Type of the article: Research Article AbstractThis study is motivated by the rise of the Fintech sector and its relevant role in the growth and development of the banking sector. Its purpose is to examine the influence on price formation between indices related to Financial Technology companies (Fintech) and regional stock markets in Europe, emerging markets, Latin America, and the United States. The study uses the Gregory-Hansen test to assess the long-term comovements between the main Fintech-related and regional stock indices. The results indicate that the characteristics of assets as hedging instruments can change over time and in different circumstances. During the pre-conflict period, 26 long-term comovements were identified between the Fintech indices and the regional stock markets, and 31 long-term comovements were identified during the conflict period. The Emerging Markets, Latin America, and S&P 500 stock indices were considered full hedging assets but partially lost these characteristics during the Conflict period. In the conflict sub-period, the European regional stock market displayed the characteristics of a hedging asset, as it did not influence the prices of any of the indices analyzed. The study’s implications suggest that assets behave differently in different market conditions, so investors must adapt their asset allocation strategies to manage risk efficiently and build resilient investment portfolios. These findings are also relevant for financial institutions, particularly banks, as they continue to integrate Fintech-driven innovations into their business models and risk management frameworks. AcknowledgmentsThe authors are also pleased to acknowledge the financial support from Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal. 

In today’s data-driven economy, banks face growing pressure to enhance their competitiveness through evidence-based strategic management. This study investigates the role of human resource analytics in fostering bank competitiveness within the Jordanian banking sector. Specifically, it explores the mediating role of data-driven decision-making and the moderating impact of organizational agility. The study employed a quantitative approach, surveying 293 manager-level professionals from departments such as human resources, planning, and risk management in Jordanian banks. Data were collected via an electronic survey conducted between October and December 2024. A five-point Likert scale captured participants’ perceptions of HR analytics, data use in decision-making, organizational agility, and competitiveness. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was utilized to test the model’s direct and indirect relationships. The results provide strong empirical support for all five hypotheses. HR analytics was found to significantly influence bank competitiveness (β = 0.432, p < 0.01) and data-driven decision-making (β = 0.421, p < 0.01). Data-driven decision-making had the strongest direct effect on competitiveness (β = 0.485, p < 0.01). Indirect effects revealed a significant mediating role for data-driven decision-making (β = 0.312, p < 0.01), while organizational agility was shown to positively moderate the HR analytics-competitiveness relationship (β = 0.297, p < 0.01). These findings highlight the strategic value of HR analytics in enhancing decision-making processes and emphasize the role of agility in unlocking its full potential. The study contributes valuable insights for banking leaders seeking to align HR analytics with competitive strategy in dynamic environments.