Exploratory study on factors influencing Malaysian banks' participation in Islamic syndicated financing

Abstract

Islamic Syndicated Financing (ISF), by which a consortium of banks forms joint participation in raising large-ticket financing for a corporation, has emerged as an alternative source of external debts for firms and a vital risk management tool for banks. ISF’s characteristics, amongst others, enable transfer and transaction of the risks such that Islamic banks may hold ISF exposure for a certain period and opt to subsequently sell down this exposure. This helps Islamic banks in managing their credit risks overtime in corresponding to industry and market changes. Despite ISF's viable features, Islamic banks’ participation in ISF issuance remains low. According to Bank Negara Malaysia, over the last decade, Malaysia’s Islamic banks, have not been actively participating in ISF origination, albeit notable growth compared to the pre-Islamic finance era. Besides, ISF has yet to receive wider mainstream acceptance among the large corporations, the latter appears to have a preference over Sukuk to fund their businesses. The purpose of this study was to explore the factors which influence banks’ decision to take part in ISF. Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews with sixteen (16) relationship bankers from thirteen (13) Islamic banks and development financial institutions. The research has discovered three (3) main challenges facing the banks in introducing ISF including lack of liquidity framework, lack of relationship banking, and lack of standardization in ISF legal documentation. There are four (4) main factors that influence the Islamic banks to participate in ISF comprising relationship banking, liquidity supply, financing parameters, and religiosity. These findings have led to several implications including the need for regulatory support and collaboration among financial institutions to achieve standardization in ISF market practice. This may be achieved through the digitization of ISF legal documentation to ease standardization efforts and reduce transaction costs. The findings also suggest the need for insourcing of client coverage role to a standalone Islamic business unit and for boosting liquidity supply through the fintech platform. The novelty of this study is underpinned by the fact that it is the first study that has produced in-depth insights into the internal workings of ISF in the Malaysian Islamic syndication market. It has yielded genuine industry-based evidence that diverges from the classical understanding of lender-borrower relationships produced in syndicated loan literature. Hence, the study has made significant contributions to the literature, in helping to bridge notable knowledge gaps in the Islamic corporate finance literature. This study has also unearthed fresh insights that pave the way for future quantitative and qualitative research in the field of ISF. Keywords: Islamic syndicated financing, syndicated loan, banking syndication