Unveiling interest rates and Islamic banking activity: empirical evidence from Saudi banks

PurposeThe purpose of this paper was to explore the impact of interest rate shocks on the deposits and financing of Islamic and conventional banks in Saudi Arabia.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use impulse response functions (IRFs) and variance decomposition (VDC) analyses over the period 2008Q1-2020Q2.FindingsThe IRFs showed that increasing interest rates reduce loans and conventional deposits. For Islamic banks, the deposits are more affected by interest rate changes than the financing. The VDC analysis found that deposits contribute up to 61% of Islamic financing variations, compared to only 25% in conventional lending ones.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the field of Islamic economics and finance by providing empirical evidence on how interest rates likely impact Islamic and conventional deposits and financing in Saudi banking system.