Liquidity and credit risks during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from a dual banking system

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between liquidity risk and credit risk of Islamic and conventional banks in a predominantly Muslim country (Indonesia) adopting a dual banking system. Design/methodology/approach To investigate liquidity-credit risk nexus, this study used a sample of 72 Islamic and conventional banks in Indonesia for a period between 2019 Q4 and 2022 Q1. This paper used a generalized method of moments (GMM) and generalized least square (GLS) estimators. Findings This study found that there is a nonlinear (inverted U-shaped) relationship between liquidity risk and credit risk in dual banking system. Liquidity risk was found to increase credit risk if it is below the optimal threshold, and above this optimal threshold, liquidity risk begins to decrease credit risk, both before and during the pandemic. In addition, the impact of liquidity risk on credit risk is higher in Islamic banks compared to conventional banks. Originality/value This paper reinvestigates the puzzle between credit risk and liquidity risk by taking a sample of a dual banking system country and by considering the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. To the authors’ knowledge, this approach has not been addressed in prior empirical studies.