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The purpose of this paper is to suggest a model that yields a sustainability performance index for Islamic banks (IBs). This index is expected to account for stakeholders’ viewpoints while considering sustainability and Maqasid Al-Shariah as bases.

First, based on the relevant literature review refined through consultations with academic, banking and Shariah experts, the main stakeholders and their corresponding lists of relevant attributes and sub-attributes are identified. Then, adopting a multi-attribute utility approach and based on a second step of interviews with experts, an aggregated index is suggested. Finally, the developed index is applied to five famous Islamic banking groups over the period 2005–2019.

Empirical evidence shows that the banks used in the implementation do not achieve high scores of the suggested index. This can be interpreted through a lack of Islamic normative aspects and low adherence to sustainability practices. Specifically, they are not functioning on a justice basis and are deficient in providing sufficient varieties of Islamic products. They are also more interested in economic sustainability and are not involved in environmental and social ones.

The developed index not only considers the compliance of the banking activities with Shariah, but it also addresses their sustainability from the main stakeholders’ perspectives. The suggested model provides a transparent performance evaluation tool for IBs omitting all causes of conflict of interests and certifies the fairness of the resulting assessments.

The purpose of this study is to assess the social utility of the Islamic banking system, with a focus on the Tunisian market as a case example.

The authors study individuals’ potential demand for Islamic financial products in different Tunisian regions. To do that, the authors conducted a national survey based on the quota sampling method to select the number of interviewed by governorate and sex. The authors then obtained a sample that included 1,600 persons from different social categories with a minimum age of 18 years.

The survey results show that this potential demand is significant but Tunisian Islamic Banks should work more to enlarge their existing customer base. Indeed, they should consider the level of Islamic finance knowledge and the sociodemographic characteristics (such as governorate, level of education and annual income) to ensure social welfare. They should also supply Islamic microfinance products to ensure the inclusion of poorer agents. In addition, Islamic banks should provide competitive products and services at lower cost and higher quality that are compliant with the Sharia principles to encourage entrepreneurs or richer agents to invest in profitable and innovative projects, especially in economically disadvantaged regions. This would strengthen accountable decentralization and fight income inequality in Tunisia.

This work reflects the behavior and preferences of all Tunisians (adopters or non-adopters of IFPS) including the Tunisian inland areas inhabitants. To do this, we include the socio-demographic factors in our analysis.

The purpose of this chapter is to synthesise research on the concept of sustainable development in finance. Indeed, since the mid-1990s under the leadership of the United Nations and various non-governmental organisations, sustainable development has experienced an unprecedented boom that affects many areas. This synthesis is organised around two main themes: sustainable finance and fintech/digitalisation.