Ayman Abdalmajeed Alsmadi

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between oil prices and oil production capacity and financial market performance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and how oil prices and oil production capacity influence the decision making and uncertainty factors in Saudi Arabia’s financial markets. The key variables considered are oil prices and oil production capacity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Other variables such as foreign direct investment decisions and domestic investment decisions are adopted to explore their impact and reaction to the various risks identified. Therefore, data was collected from online sources to analyze qualitative and quantitative information to understand risks, uncertainties and decision-making considerations. The findings of this paper indicate that rising oil prices increase the value of the Saudi Arabian financial market.
The study showed that the diversification of the investor portfolio increases the stability of Saudi Arabia’s financial market. Also, the KSA’s financial market volatility primarily reflects oil price fluctuations, and the Saudi Arabian oil production capacity directly affects its financial market performance. Saudi Arabia’s oil production was also found to pose insignificant risk to long-term economic growth and stability, thereby putting investors’ long-term investments at risk. The study also showed that investors in Saudi Arabia’s financial market fail to objectively analyze risks by focusing on short-term high-profit margins from oil prices.

Acknowledgment
All authors have contributed equally to this paper.

The main purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of business enablers and financial technology (Fintech) on the banking industry in order to determine whether it is an opportunity or a disruption. The applied research design is quantitative, and the hypotheses and the model were tested. To achieve the objectives, the study used a questionnaire to collect data. 150 managers in Saudi Arabia banks were surveyed. The participants provided 130 substantial and valid responses, and the PLS-SEM technique was used. Based on the analysis, it was concluded that the presence of business enablers facilitated Fintech progress, which led to the increase in bank performance, from the economic, social and environmental point of view. In addition, Fintech also plays a mediating role, by increasing the positive impact of business enablers. Therefore, Fintech provides several opportunities, not a disruptive technology, for the banking industry. The research paper explains the importance of Fintech progress in Saudi Arabian banking. Many have viewed Fintech as a disruptive technology, but this study found that it presents various opportunities for the Saudi Arabian banking industry.

This paper analyzes the importance of size and capital for risk-taking incentives of Jordanian banks using panel data of 13 commercial banks for the period 2007–2017. The results reveal that size and capital add to stability, consistent with the economies of scale and scope hypothesis. In developing countries, banks are more conservative and less involved in market-based activities; however, they are interconnected just as in developed countries. The results of the first model and second model reveal that as size increases by 1 percent, risk decreases by 0.11 percent and 0.03 percent, respectively, implying that too-big-to-fail is not present and that moral hazard is not a serious issue. In both models, large size is driven by diversification not by risk-taking incentives. In terms of capital, the results of the first model and second model reveal that as capital increases by 1 percent, risk decreases by 0.48 and 0.12 percent, respectively. The fact that Jordanian banks are overcapitalized indicates that the central bank regulation is not binding. Banks increase their capital adequacy ratios to reduce risk. It is clear that there is economic benefit from increased size. However, the failures of large banks are systemic due to their interconnectedness. Therefore, regulators need to pay special attention to them in accordance with Basel III Accord.