Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the Asian economy. They make up more than 96% of all Asian businesses that provide two out of three private sector jobs in the continent. Therefore, it is vitally important for the Asian economies' economic success that they have...

We document that a firm's culture — specifically, its religiosity — affects its cost of debt. Firms in higher-religiosity counties have higher credit ratings and lower debt costs. The impact of religiosity is stronger for firms with greater information asymmetry and during recessions....

The aim of the paper was to analyse the factors influencing European banks' credit ratings by taking into account the size of these institutions. A literature review onthe indicators that can impact bank notes has been made. As a result, the following hypotheses have beendrawn:banks' capital...

Targets defined in accordance with Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria confront the business world, particularly the banking industry, with new challenges. The aim of this paper is to study the effect of ESG controversies on the credit rating of the European banking sector,...