This study aims to examine whether banks are compliant with adopting sustainability regulations and guidelines, and how they disclose their sustainable finance activities in sustainability reporting by providing case of Indonesian banking. Previous research provided discussions on the role of governance in supporting many variables as quantitative studies, but failed to demonstrate on going practices of how banking industries implement sustainable finance governance. Hence, this study provides originality by analyzing the extend of disclosures in order to evaluate their commitments in responding to sustainability regulations and guidelines, through disclosures of economic, environment, social, and governance (EESG) information in annual and sustainability reports. The samples were undertaken by examining the contents of sustainability and annual reports published for the financial year 2016 to 30 June 2021, for the Indonesian banks listed in business category 4, business category 3, and international banks, with the total of 202 reports. The results indicate that the implementation of sustainable finance in EESG information increases annually with social performances are the highest information disclosed, while the governance and economic information received the lowest level of disclosure. Results of this study will benefit policymakers, banks, and related companies to understand sustainable finance governance, and reveal the importance the role of banking industries to support Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Providing the insights of the ongoing discussions are expected to suggest following actions for further policies to support the implementation of sustainable finance, in particular to establish sustainability governance as a foundation of commitments, beyond complying to regulations.

This research aims to determine the strategy of the Jakarta Provincial Government in increasing the resilience and growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) within a collaborative governance framework post-COVID-19. This study explores the effectiveness of SMEs and facilities in accessing financing and fostering collaborative partnerships between SMEs, government agencies, and financial institutions by utilizing USAID’s Theory of Change (TOC). This research uses a qualitative approach supported by in-depth interviews and Focus Group Discussions to enrich the insights of SME stakeholders, large companies, and SME actors and assess the impact of their roles. The results of this research highlight the critical role of SME Cooperative Banks (SCB) in improving SMEs’ access to credit and financial services, including collaborative governance frameworks and partnerships between SMEs, government agencies, and banks, which were identified as necessary to improve policy coherence and encourage conducive SME business environment conditions. The main findings of this research underscore the importance of the SCB model, demonstrating its potential to improve SME resilience and economic sustainability. This SCB model enriches the TOC indicators introduced by USAID. The study identifies gaps in digital infrastructure and market access that hinder SME growth and recommends targeted interventions to address these challenges. This study shows that SCB offers a promising pathway to increase the resilience and growth of SMEs in Indonesia, especially if accompanied by effective collaborative governance strategies. These initiatives can encourage inclusive economic development and strengthen the role of SMEs as drivers of the local economy. Recommendations include expanding the SCB model to other regions, encouraging digitalization, facilitating market access, advocating for a supportive policy framework, and integrating these strategies to advance the principles of USAID’s Theory of Change, fostering sustainable SME development and economic resilience.

Purpose: The major objective of this study is to measure the impact of various attributes, such as social attraction, physical attraction, and task attraction on para-social relationships. The study also seeks to measure how the para-social relationship mediates the association between the three attributes (above-mentioned) on perceived credibility and informational influence, and consumers’ intention to purchase banking products. Study design/methodology: PLS-SEM has been used as it is believed to be most suited for the study due to the multivariate non-normality in the data, and the small sample size. Data has been collected using the 5-point Likert scale from approximately 151 respondents, who were selected using the non-random sampling method based on purposive sampling coupled with convenience-based sampling. The data was collected from January 2023 to August 2023. Findings: Largely, the findings reveal that both social and physical attractions do have a positive impact on the para-social relationship, further leading to perceived credibility and informational influence. Notably, this perceived credibility and informational influence lead to consumers’ intentions to purchase banking products, albeit with the use of artificial intelligence-based chatbots and digital assistants. Originality: This is possibly among the first-ever studies extending the para-social theory for purchasing banking products and services using artificial intelligence-based chatbots and virtual assistants.

To fight inflation, European Central Bank (ECB) announced 10 successive interest rate hikes, starting on 27 July 2022, igniting an unprecedented widening of interest rate spreads in the euro area (ΕΑ). Greek banks, however, recorded among the highest interest rate spreads, far exceeding ΕΑ median and weighted average. Indeed, we document a strong asymmetric response of Greek banks to ECB interest rate hikes, with loan interest rates rising immediately, whilst deposit interest rates remained initially unchanged and then rose sluggishly. As a result, the interest rate spread hit one historical record after another. Greek systemic banks, probably taking advantage of the high concentration and low competition in the domestic sector benefited from key ECB interest rate hikes, recording gigantic increases in net interest income (NII), and consequently, substantial profits (almost €7.4 billion in the 2022–2023 biennium). Such excessive accumulation of profits (that deteriorates the living conditions of consumers) by the banking system could be called the inflation of “banking greed”, or bankflation. This new source of inflation created by the oligopolistic structure of the Greek banking sector counterworks the very reason for ECB interest rate increases and requires certain policy analysis recommendations in coping with it.