Societal trust and Sukuk activity

Saqib Aziz (1) , Dawood Ashraf , Rwan El-Khatib (2)

1 ESC [Rennes] - ESC Rennes School of Business
2 Zayed University

Sukuk investments require investors and issuers to adhere to subtle moral and ethical standards beyond following mere profit maximization objectives. Investor trust manifested through the level of societal trust could be vital in the global Sukuk investment surge. This study investigates the relationship between the societal trust level and Sukuk activity. It employs a global sample of Sukuk issuances spanning over 2001–2019 and finds that a country’s societal trust level significantly and positively influences the amount of Sukuk issued. Moreover, this positive effect supersedes the negative effects of higher information asymmetry associated with equity-based Sukuk or Sukuk issued by risky firms. Ultimately, trust is both a deterrent and critical for Islamic finance success.

Mots clés: Trust; Sukuk; Islamic finance; Information asymmetry; Culture

Domaines: Économie et finance quantitative [q-fin]

Saqib Aziz, Dawood Ashraf, Rwan El-Khatib. Societal trust and Sukuk activity. Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, 2021, 74, pp.101384. ⟨10.1016/j.intfin.2021.101384⟩. ⟨hal-03330282⟩