The core function of a commercial bank is the provision of credit facilities to its customers and to keep the flow and cycle of economic and financial resources balanced. Banks can only perform these functions if they are well regulated and efficient. The main focus of this study is to analyse the efficiency of African banks, most importantly after the 2008 global financial crisis when the Basel III regulations were popularly adopted by banks globally. The research focus was examined in two ways, the first part focused on investigating the impact of the Basel III capital regulations on the operational and investment efficiency of African banks by using the random effects and pooled ordinary least square panel data regression models. The second part examined if the African banks are indeed efficient by analysing their level of efficiency using the input-oriented DEA approach. The study used audited bank-level data from 45 listed banks operating in six African nations, namely, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Malawi, that have adopted the Basel III Accord for the period from 2010 to 2019. The bank-level data were obtained from the IRESS database. The findings revealed that capital buffer premiums significantly affect the operating and investment efficiency of African banks positively. This relationship implies that the capital buffer premium does not only serve as cushion capital against financial, market and economic shocks but also improves the banks’ efficiency by influencing the banks’ decisions and perspective on cost containment strategies. Another key finding is the positive influence the liquidity coverage ratio has on banks’ operational efficiency. The implication of this relationship may simply mean that African banks with well-performing liquidity ratios are efficient in their operations with the ability to meet their short-term obligations such as meeting customers’ credit needs, unannounced depositors’ withdrawals and creditors’ repayments, amongst others. This result could well be interpreted that adopting stricter liquidity requirements creates a liquidity buffer for African banks, giving them cushion confidence to undertake profitable and high-yielding projects, which invariably lead to increased profitability and operational efficiency. Furthermore, the DEA results showed that the sampled banks are operationally efficient with an aggregate of 84.8%, and for their investment efficiency, an aggregate of 94.9%. These findings suggest that African banks are largely efficient and can survive any possible financial or economic crisis. It can be put forward that it is probable that banks that are yet to adopt the Basel III Accord or strengthen their capital and liquidity base, are less efficient and might fail during a global crisis. The current work suggests some appropriate policy-based recommendations.

Financial institutions, particularly banks, have long grappled with the dilemma of structuring their capital optimally. This process, commonly referred to as capital structure decision-making, is of paramount importance, especially within the financial services sector, where strict regulations are imposed by reserve and central banks in alignment with global Basel guidelines. This study unveils the key factors that determine the capital structure choices of African banks, using panel data encompassing 45 listed banks across six nations that had embraced the Basel III Accord spanning the years 2010 to 2019. The study used the system-generalised moment methods (sys-GMM) estimator to fit the formulated panel data regression model. The study findings showed positive associations between ZSCORE, an indicator of bank financial stability, and net interest margin ratio (NIMR) with bank leverage (TCTE). In addition, the results revealed positive correlations between earnings volatility (EV), profitability (P), and risk (R) with bank leverage (TDCE). This suggests that profitable banks are inclined to favour debt financing, a phenomenon driven by their ability to comfortably service debt obligations with free cash flows. This study’s overarching conclusion underscores the dominant influence of the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) on African bank capital structures. Whether assessing traditional or Basel III-prescribed measures of bank leverage, LCR consistently emerged as the primary determinant. This finding is of significant relevance to bank executives and regulators, offering them essential insights for informed decision-making by considering striking a balance between equity and debt financing based on financial stability, profitability, and risk profiles.

The valuation of banks is inherently complicated because of the uncertainties arising from their information opaqueness and inherent risks. Unlike non-banking firms, banks require specialised equity-side valuation approaches. This study addresses a gap in the literature by examining valuation methods used by bank equity researchers. The study used a total of 201 reports on South African banks (2018–2023), 56 reports on Nigerian banks (2018–2023), and 27 reports on Kenyan banks (2018–2023) to investigate the bank equity valuation methods utilised by analysts in the employ of Investec Ltd. and Standard Bank Group Ltd. The study’s findings show that Investec’s South African analysts predominantly used the warranted equity method, based on book value (BV), and return on equity (ROE), for valuing shares throughout the South African, Nigerian, and Kenyan banks surveyed. Furthermore, Standard Bank Group’s analysts employed this method, incorporating tangible net asset value (tNAV) and return on tangible equity (ROTE), for South African and Nigerian banks, but in Kenya their analysts used the residual income model to value the equities of the five Kenyan banks they covered. These findings suggest that the warranted equity method and the residual income model are the mostly used bank equity valuation methods in South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya. The study concludes with relevant recommendations, offering significant insights for banks, regulators, and investors to make knowledgeable decisions concerning equity valuation.

The partial adjustment model is key to a number of corporate finance research areas. The model is by its nature an autoregressive-distributed lag model that is characterised by heterogeneity among individuals and autocorrelation due to the presence of the lagged dependent variable. Finding a suitable estimator to fit the model can be challenging, as the existing estimators differ significantly in their consistency and bias. This study used data drawn from 143 non-financial firms listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) to test for the consistency and efficiency of the leading partial adjustment model estimators. The study results confirm the bias-corrected least squares dummy variable (LSDVC) initialised by the system generalised method of moments (GMM) estimator, the random effects Tobit estimator and the system GMM estimator as the most suitable estimators for the partial adjustment model. The difference GMM estimator and the Anderson-Hsiao instrumental variables estimator are inconsistent and biased in the context of the partial adjustment model.

Orientation: The decision to have an optimum mix of capital structure is an issue of concern for financial service firms as much as other firms.Research purpose: The study investigated the impact of the Basel III regulatory requirements and other bank-specific factors on African banks’ capital structure and ascertained which of these factors ultimately determines the capital structure decision.Motivation for the study: There is limited evidence of study conducted on banks’ capital structure determinants within the Basel III Accord framework in Africa.Research approach/design and method: This study employed panel data drawn from 45 listed banks from 6 African nations. The panel data regression model was fitted with the system generalised moment methods estimator.Main findings: The findings revealed that within a similar economic condition in the sampled African nations, the Basel III minimum capital requirements, bank risk and size play the most important role in shaping the observed capital structure decisions of African banks.Practical/managerial implications: The regulators including central and reserve banks of the sampled African nation, and CEOs should keep their leverage ratio within the Basel III leverage ratio threshold to monitor and curb the build-up of excess leverage and also pay significant attention to the minimum capital requirements, bank risk and size in order to have an optimum capital mix.Contribution/value add: The Basel III Accord has significant importance in the financing decisions of African banks as much as the bank-specific factors.

Orientation: The 2007–2008 global financial crisis (GFC) represented a negative economic shock that financially constrained most firms globally.Research purpose: This study investigated the impact of the 2007–2008 GFC on firms’ speed of adjustment (SOA) towards target leverage and whether this is a good descriptor of corporate financing for Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE)-listed nonfinancial firms.Motivation for the study: There is limited evidence, if any, on how the GFC affected firms’ SOA.Research approach/design and method: This study used panel data drawn from 104 nonfinancial firms listed on the JSE and the partial adjustment model fitted with the random-effects tobit estimator (RE tobit).Main findings: The study firstly documents that JSE-listed nonfinancial firms had positive SOAs prior to, during and post the 2007–2008 GFC. Secondly, firms’ SOA decreased during the financial crisis period, meaning that a global negative economic shock reduces the SOA of all JSE-listed nonfinancial firms. Thirdly, financially constrained firms readily eliminate their target leverage deviation spreads, as they have a persistently higher SOA than financially unconstrained firms. Lastly, the SOA of financially unconstrained firms improved after the 2007–2008 GFC.Contributions/value-add: The dynamic trade-off theory is a good descriptor of the financing behaviour of JSE-listed non-financial firms. A negative economic shock reduces the firms’ SOAs.Practical/managerial implications: Managers should therefore maintain capital buffers in the form of cash reserves and lines of credit to reduce the impact of a negative economic shock on a firms’ SOAs.