This study aims to find the determinants of the capital structure of Islamic banks in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC). The uniqueness of the case of Islamic banks stems from the fact that they are not only subject to the supervision of financial regulatory bodies that organize the banking sector (e.g. central banks) but also subject to the guidelines of Shari’ah law governing their financial transactions, products and contracts. Such characteristics are expected to have an impact on the capital structure decisions of Islamic banks compared to their conventional counterparts.,To achieve the research purpose, an empirical model was constructed to describe the relationship between leverage and the independent variables. The empirical model was tested through multivariate regression analysis using a panel data approach of 12 Islamic banks in the GCC for the period 2005-2014. Three types of regression analysis were used as follows: ordinary least squares (OLS), fixed-effect and random-effect regressions on panel data.,The research findings show that the leverage of Islamic banks in the GCC is positively related to size of the firm (SIZE) and growth opportunity (GROWTH); and it is negatively related to profitability of the firm (ROA), tangibility of the firm’s assets (TANG) and financial market development (MRKT). The results indicate that larger Islamic banks tend to be relatively more diversified with higher credit ratings, which lower their cost of funding and relatively increase its profitability and the bank’s customer/depositor base. The results also show that higher profitability ratios indicate relatively more internal funds to cover future investments, which leads to less reliance on external funds in the form of debt and/or equity. However, the higher the growth opportunities of Islamic banks, the faster the depletion rate of internal funding, and the more external debt financing is acquired to cover the expansion plans. In addition, the results show that in developed financial markets, savers tend to purchase less traditional depository products, and they prefer to invest directly in the financial markets to avoid higher commissions. The results are in line with the pecking order theory, which states that Islamic banks in the GCC tend to prefer sources of funds that have the least transaction cost and reveal minimal information to competitors. Hence, bank management resort to internally generated funds by its operations rather than acquiring external funds. Furthermore, the results are weakly explained by the agency theory, which states that as the firm assets become more tangible, the required monitoring cost is reduced; and hence, shareholders will have less tendency to raise more debt for the purpose of sharing the monitoring cost with debt holders.,This research study contributes to the theory of capital structure in re-validating the findings of a previous theoretical and empirical study on capital structure in the GCC and abroad. It helps understand the capital structure of Islamic banks in comparison with financial and non-financial firms. Future research is recommended in several areas. In terms of the methodology, it is recommended to conduct the research topic surveying management and financial executives of Islamic banks in the GCC; this will validate the results using a triangular approach supported by the findings of this paper. It is also recommended to apply the research methodology in other parts of the world where Islamic banking exists. Finally, as studies on the capital structure of financial institutions and other regulated sectors are rare, it is recommended to intensify research effort in these sectors to strengthen our knowledge of capital structure.,From a practical perspective, this research bridges the gap between theory and practice in many aspects. The findings can serve Islamic bank executives as guidelines to understand the market and competitive reaction in response to capital structure decisions. On the other hand, research analysts and equity holders can use the findings in their debt and equity research valuations, assessment of the size of dividends and profit distributions, and to make more informed decisions to buy/sell financial securities. Furthermore, the findings help regulatory bodies to issue informed regulations in relation to capital adequacy ratios, reserve requirements, provisions and payout decisions to achieve policy intended purpose. In addition, organizations that are responsible for setting accounting and audit standards for Islamic banks will learn more about the industry practice; and hence, be able to pass practical standards. Moreover, the findings realize the recommendations of international financial regulatory bodies, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB) and other concerned organizations that emphasize the importance of further understanding of financial institution practices, to enable more effective formulation of risk management techniques, which may prevent future financial crisis.,This paper was amongst the few research studies conducted on determinants of capital structure in the GCC and specifically on the Islamic banking sector.

中文翻译：

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海湾合作委员会中伊斯兰银行的资本结构决定

这项研究旨在寻找决定海湾合作委员会国家（GCC）伊斯兰银行资本结构的决定因素。伊斯兰银行案例的独特性在于，它们不仅要受到组织银行业的金融监管机构（例如中央银行）的监督，而且还要受有关其金融交易的伊斯兰教法的指导原则的约束。 ，产品和合同。与传统银行相比，这些特征预计将对伊斯兰银行的资本结构决策产生影响。为了达到研究目的，构建了一个描述杠杆与自变量之间关系的经验模型。通过多变量回归分析对经验模型进行了检验，使用了2005-2014年期间海湾合作委员会内12家伊斯兰银行的面板数据方法。三种类型的回归分析方法分别为：面板数据的普通最小二乘（OLS），固定效应和随机效应回归。研究结果表明，伊斯兰银行在海湾合作委员会中的杠杆率与伊斯兰银行的规模正相关。公司（SIZE）和增长机会（GROWTH）；它与公司的盈利能力（ROA），公司资产的有形性（TANG）和金融市场发展（MRKT）负相关。结果表明，规模较大的伊斯兰银行往往具有较高的信用等级，相对而言更加多元化，从而降低了融资成本，并相对提高了其盈利能力和银行的客户/存款人基础。结果还表明，较高的获利率表明相对有更多的内部资金来支付未来的投资，这导致对债务和/或股权形式的外部资金的依赖减少。但是，伊斯兰银行的增长机会越高，内部资金的消耗速度就越快，并且为扩展计划而获得的外债融资就越多。此外，结果表明，在发达的金融市场中，储户倾向于购买较少的传统存托产品，并且他们更愿意直接在金融市场上进行投资以避免更高的佣金。该结果与啄食顺序理论相吻合。啄食顺序理论指出，海湾合作委员会中的伊斯兰银行倾向于选择交易成本最低，向竞争对手披露的信息最少的资金来源。因此，银行管理层依靠其运营内部产生的资金，而不是获取外部资金。此外，结果很难用代理理论来解释，代理理论指出，随着企业资产变得更加有形，所需的监控成本将减少；因此，股东将不会有更多的举债倾向以与债务持有人分担监控成本。。本研究为资本结构理论做出了贡献，从而重新验证了先前关于资本的理论和实证研究的结果。海湾合作委员会和国外的组织结构。与金融和非金融公司相比，它有助于了解伊斯兰银行的资本结构。建议在几个领域进行进一步的研究。就方法论而言 建议对海湾合作委员会中伊斯兰银行的管理人员和财务主管进行调查研究；这将使用本文的研究结果支持的三角方法来验证结果。还建议将研究方法应用于存在伊斯兰银行业务的世界其他地区。最后，由于对金融机构和其他受监管部门的资本结构的研究很少，因此建议加大对这些部门的研究力度，以增强我们对资本结构的认识。从实践的角度，本研究弥合了理论与实践之间的鸿沟。在许多方面进行练习。这些发现可以为伊斯兰银行高管提供指导，以了解市场和竞争对资本结构决策的反应。另一方面，研究分析师和股权持有人可以在债务和股权研究评估中使用这些发现，评估股利和利润分配的规模，并做出更明智的购买/出售金融证券的决定。此外，调查结果有助于监管机构发布有关资本充足率，准备金要求，准备金和支出决策的知情法规，以实现政策预期目的。此外，负责为伊斯兰银行设定会计和审计标准的组织将了解有关行业惯例的更多信息；因此，能够通过实用标准。此外，调查结果实现了国际金融监管机构（例如国际货币基金组织（IMF））的建议，