Institute of European Finance, Bangor Business School

The Institute of European Finance conducts topical and innovative academic research in banking, finance, accounting, and data analytics. Drawing on the wide experience of our core and associate members, the Centre offers expert analysis of current issues and challenges facing the banking and financial sectors. The Centre works with multilateral organisations, national governments, regulatory authorities, and public and private financial institutions to promote evidence-based policy decisions, competitiveness within the industry, economic growth, and to achieving more inclusive economies and societies.

Our Mission Statement

The Research Centre leverages The Albert Gubay Business School global reputation in banking and finance research to focus on addressing national and international environmental, social and economic issues. Since its foundation in 1973, the Institute of European Finance has a mission of leading cutting-edge research that has a real impact on the banking and finance industries, and to disseminate its outputs through publications, conferences, and events..

About Us

The Centre has a proven track record of successfully delivering major projects and research consultancies, supervising postgraduate to a high standard, and engaging with industry participants at all levels. Drawing on the expertise of a broad range of academics and researchers, the Institute of European Finance provides:

Access to leading experts for commissioned research
Industry standard and prominent databases for research purposes
Postgraduate opportunities
Published research materials and seminars
An unrivalled collection of specialist market research material

OUR RESEARCH PLANNING GROUPS Accounting and Governance

Members of the Accounting & Governance research planning group explore the different means and aspects of accounting (including corporate communication) and governance, in relation to a broad range of organisations and stakeholders, and using a wide range of theoretical frameworks and methodologies. The aim is to explore how organisations interact with interested audiences, via text (e.g. annual report documents, CSR report, press releases, proxy statements), financial statements, and engagement (e.g., proxy voting), and how communications, governance mechanisms, and institutions influence internal and external audiences’ perceptions and decisions, and organisational outcomes.

Our group members include:

Emeritus staff:

Professor Doris Merkl-Davies
Professor Lynn Hodgkinson
Professor Aziz Jaafar

PhD students:

Paul Roberts
Esther Fiattor
Khatera Naseri
Ricardo Verschueren
Mujahid Aljanabi
Nkiruka Arene
Mujahid Aljanabi
Osama Hussainey
Yasser Hussainey
Alessio Mengoni (visiting student)

Visiting Professors:

Lara Al-Haddad
Doaa Shehata Abdelreheem
Fahd Almudhaf
Ghada Al-Lami
Jing Yang
Taghred Moawad
Waseem Haddad

To view a list of PhD projects we have an interest in supervising please visit our PhD course page.

OUR RESEARCH PLANNING GROUPS Credit Risk

This research planning group focuses on empirical research on credit risk. This group incorporates staff across the accounting, banking, economics and finance specialisms. The group intends to build on existing research in the School and to encourage new synergies and interdisciplinary research. Three members of the group have an established reputation in credit ratings research at Bangor over a period of more than ten years, along with an established and active PhD group.

Our group members include:

External members:

Dr Noemi Mantovan - Liverpool University, UK
Dr Huong Vu - University of Aberdeen, UK
Dr Vu Tran – University of Reading, UK
Dr Thy Nguyen - University of Management and Technology Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Dr Chiara Lo Re, University of Birmingham
Dr Cem Soner
Dr Hong Ngoc (Ruby) Nguyen - UEH Honours College, UEH University
Dr Ayan Orujov, University of Liverpool

PhD Students:

Mr Ahmed Dhaif
Guto Hughes
Xuanxuan Zheng

To view a list of PhD projects we have an interest in supervising please visit our PhD course page.

OUR RESEARCH PLANNING GROUPS Data Analytics and Financial Innovation

The Financial Innovation & Data Analytics research group we seek to harness the power of data analytics to uncover novel insights that enhance business practices and financial markets. Our research aims to enhance decision making in business and public sector through data-driven findings. Specific key areas of focus include understanding investor trading behaviour and enhancing the detection and prevention of fraud and related misconduct particularly when related to innovations in finance.

Our group members include:

External Members:

Dr Heather He
Kota Kobayashi
‪Nikki Cornwell‬
Yun Lu
Prof Oualid Jouini (CentraleSupelec – Universite Paris-Saclay)
Prof Zied Jemai (CentraleSupelec – Universite Paris-Saclay)
Dr Mohammad Hichame Benbitour (Ecole de Management Normandie)

Business team working through some analytics

OUR RESEARCH PLANNING GROUPS Responsible Banking

The Responsible Banking research group brings together academics to collaborate on topical and high calibre academic research in sustainable banking, industrial structures, and regulation. Through members extensive links with multilateral organisations, regulators, and industry, the research group connects academic researchers with practitioners and policymakers to address some of the biggest questions facing the banking sector.

Our group members include:

Emeritus Staff:

External Members:

PhD students:

Chikondi Chigamba
Negar Noveiri Delshad
Yi Ou

Visiting Scholars:

Llenia Fraccalvieri
Costanza Campolongo
Dr. Greta Benedetta Ferilli
Zamparo Gioele

To view a list of PhD projects we have an interest in supervising please visit our PhD course page.

Highlights

Due to their expertise and global reputation, members of the Institute of European Finance feature frequently in the national and international media. In addition, members often write short blogs in response to current events, disseminate research findings, and inform a wide array of stakeholders. Details of media coverage and appearances, and blogs, can be found below.

Ed’s monthly article for Business News Wales is now available. The article examines rising government borrowing costs and contrasts Ireland’s improved fiscal position with the UK’s more constrained outlook. Fiscal credibility matters directly for Wales because higher UK borrowing costs affect households, businesses and investment, while reduced fiscal space limits the government’s ability to respond to future economic shocks. Article | From Ireland to Wales Why Fiscal Credibility Matters
Ed appeared on BBC Radio Cymru to discuss the new energy price cap and whether the UK government is likely to increase taxes in its forthcoming budget.
Congratulations to Hanxiong Zhang, whose paper entitled “CEO Political Organizational Experience and Firm Productivity: Evidence from China” has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Accounting Literature.
Ed has been appointed to the Ambition North Wales Business Advisory Board for a two-year term. The new Board has been established to provide independent business insight, advice and challenge to Ambition North Wales, particularly around its work to support inclusive and sustainable economic growth across north Wales.
Gwion was invited to join BBC Radio Cymru’s Dros Frecwast on Wednesday to provide his analysis of the latest ONS inflation figures. He discussed the role of higher oil prices amid ongoing conflict in the Middle East, what renewed inflationary pressures could mean for households and the wider UK economy, and the potential implications for the Bank of England’s approach to interest rates.
At the beginning of August, Khaled delivered a keynote address entitled "CEO Power, Audit Committees and Cybersecurity Risk Management in the AI Era" at the 18th Global Conference on Business and Social Sciences (GCBSS) 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand. He also delivered a workshop entitled "The Journey of Academic Article Writing and Publication," which focused on supporting researchers in developing high-quality academic publications and navigating the publication process.

Earlier Highlights

Khaled delivered a keynote presentation entitled “CEO Power, Audit Committees and Cybersecurity Risk Management in the AI Era” at the 12th International Management and Accounting Conference (IMAC 2026), held on 13–14 July 2026 at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
Ed appeared on S4C Newyddion at 7.30pm to discuss the economic challenges facing the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham.
Khaled presented a paper entitled “A Review of ESG Greenwashing and Decoupling Literature” at the 2nd International Workshop on “Transparency and Beyond: An International Analysis of Sustainability Reporting,” at ICN Business School in Nancy, France.
Business News Wales reported on the AI adoption project led by Fariba, Junyu and Michael. This is a Welsh Government-supported project inviting SMEs across Wales to help shape understanding of AI adoption, including opportunities, challenges and support needs.
Khaled gave a keynote speech entitled “Sustainability Disclosure in Accounting Literature” at the International Conference on Accounting, Business, and Society, organised by Universitas Negeri Makassar (Indonesia).
Congratulations to Khaled, who has been appointed as the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Performance Evaluation (IJAAPE), published by Inderscience. It is rated as 2* on the CABS list.
Congratulations to Binru, who is a member of a project which has been awarded RMB250k (circa £27k) as a 2026 Ministerial-Level Research Project by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). The project is entitled “Research on the Mechanism Linking Public Funds and Investor Interests: A Three-Dimensional Perspective of Product Design, Performance Evaluation, and Fund Company Behaviour”.
Adrian presented on the topic of “Is the Use of Raw Accounting Data and Self-Supervised Neural-Networks the Next Frontier of Financial Statement Fraud Detection?” at the 11th Business & Entrepreneurial Economics Conference – BEE 2026.
Khaled is also presenting a keynote presentation entitled: "ESG Greenwashing and Decoupling: What Do We Know and What Comes Next?" at The New Sustainability Agenda: Addressing Environmental and Social Challenges – Climate, Circularity, Biodiversity, and Equity in Uncertain Times, organised by Libera Università Mediterranea (LUM),
Ed’s monthly article for Business News Wales examines how the recent UK gilt market volatility could affect businesses and investment conditions in Wales: https://businessnewswales.com/what-rising-gilt-yields-mean-for-the-welsh-economy/
Congratulations to Zhiyong, whose paper entitled “When Nature Talks, Markets Move: Forecasting the Equity Premium with Eco-Climate Incidents” has been accepted for publication in the Financial Review.
Congratulations to Bruce and Adrian, who have had their paper entitled “Global Value and Momentum: A Balancing Act” accepted for presentation at the Royal Statistical Society 2026 International Conference in September.
Gwion was interviewed on Newyddion S4C on Tuesday about how the Middle East conflict is affecting households in Wales, particularly through rising fuel and heating costs, the broader cost-of-living pressures, and the UK government’s strategy to provide support.
Nation.Cymru highlighted Khaled’s recent paper which focused on biodiversity risk being ignored by the financial sector.
On the topic of the announcement of £25m of seed capital to support the Freeport development in Ynys Mon, last Friday Ed appeared on Newyddion S4C and BBC Wales tv news.
Ed was interviewed by The i Paper about the possibility of tax rises associated with the Iran conflict.
Congratulations to Sadeque, who has been invited on a fully funded visit to CentraleSupélec - Université Paris-Saclay to work on a topic entitled “Optimisation Models for Electric Air Traffic Flow Management: Coupling Capacity, Energy and Operations”. The visit, in June, will build on the previous British council grant (SAVEMORE).
Congratulations to Yener and Binru. Emilija Zdanavičiūtė has been awarded a fully funded WGSSS doctoral studentship under their supervision. The project is entitled "How financial markets price firm-level carbon emission intensity across financing instruments". The School's other two applicants to WGSSS have been put on the reserve list.
Congratulations to Heather, whose application to the Learned Society of Wales ECR Travel and Expenses Bursary has been successful. This will support eather's attendance at the OR Society's Sustainability & Global Challenges Forum, where she and Linda and have been invited to present on "Visitor Analytics for Sustainable and Resilient Tourism Destinations".
On Tuesday 24^th March at 2pm (Teams), the AGBS Executive Education hosted a webcast titled Managing Risk in Financial Services – Challenges and Opportunities, featuring CBMBA graduate Vincent Mok, Group Chief Risk Officer at GXS Bank. With over 25 years’ industry experience, Vincent will share practical insights on today’s fast‑moving risk landscape. Recent research by SAS and FT Longitude shows banks face rising credit risk, operational pressures from digital services and increasing regulatory complexity. This session will explore how leaders can respond confidently and effectively.
Congratulations to Adrian and Sadeque (and Thora from ACL), whose Smart Partnership with Community Energy Wales, entitled “Visualising the energy future”, has been awarded funding of £76k.
Congratulations to Khaled, whose paper entitled "Why Firms Intend to Adopt ISSB Standards Before Regulation: Evidence from an Emerging Muslim-Majority Economy" has been accepted for publication in Business Strategy and the Environment.
Congratulations to Kefu Liao (postdoc researcher on the DAFI group’s SMART project). His paper entitled “The Role of Price‐Volatility Cojumps in Volatility Forecasting” has been published in the Journal of Futures Markets.
Gwion spoke on BBC Radio Cymru Dros Ginio (18:06) to share his perspectives on the current UK student loan situation. He explored the wider implications for both students and universities, and discussed potential pathways towards addressing the challenges currently facing the higher education sector.
Ed spoke on BBC Radio Cymru Post Prynhawn (<https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002s8tc>) to discuss the economic impact of the war involving Iran. He covered the impact on interest rates, energy prices and food prices.Ed’s monthly article for Business News Wales discusses how businesses in Wales should not worry about whether we are in an AI bubble or not but they should focus on how to use the new technology to improve the performance of their business. https://businessnewswales.com/are-we-in-an-ai-bubble-does-it-even-matter/
Several AGBS colleagues participated in the Future of AI Conference hosted this week by the School of Computer Science and Engineering. Binru chaired the Business & Finance session which included the following presentations:
- Machine Learning in Financial Markets - Bruce Vanstone
- AI in Corporate Narrative Reporting - Khaled Hussainey
- AI and Business Strategies - Siwan Mitchlemore
Congratulations to Binru, whose paper entitled “Private equity sponsors, law firm relationship, and loan contracts in leveraged buyouts” has been accepted for presentation at the IBEFA-WEAI conference in Denver, Colorado in June.
Earlier this week, Khaled this week I delivered an online presentation entitled “How to Develop a Quality Research Article and Avoid a Journal Desk Rejection” as part of a seminar series at Princess Noura Bint Abdulrahman University in Saudi Arabia.
Congratulations to Khaled, whose paper titled “FinTech-Driven Corporate Sustainability Performance: A Systematic Review, Practical Insights, and Future Research Agenda” has been accepted for publication in Business Strategy and the Environment.
Ed’s monthly article for Business News Wales is now available. He considers what was discussed at Davos and what this means for the Welsh economy in 2026. What Davos Told Us About Today’s Global Economy.
Congratulations to Binru who, together with co-authors, has won the 4th CFA Society Greece Research Award (worth €2,000) for their paper entitled “Imbalanced ESG Investing”. The award will be presented at their flagship event, the 10th Annual Forecast Dinner, taking place on February 10th.
Congratulations to Heather, whose bid for WREC Conference funding has been approved. The funding enable her to attend OR68, the Operational Research Society’s Annual Conference, in Nottingham.
Congratulations to Khaled, who has secured £5,500 funding from the Ministry of Higher Education in Oman for his contribution to a project entitled project is titled “Impacts of Islamic Green Finance and Islamic Sustainable Investment on Oman’s Economic Growth”.
On 28-29 January, Valantis visited the CRETA centre in Warwick University’s Economics Department where he presented a paper on Messy Data.
The university staff bulletin highlighted the School’s KTP with Snowdon Timber. Details here: https://www.bangor.ac.uk/news/2026-01-20-albert-gubay-business-school-partners-with-snowdon-timber-on-knowledge-transfer.
Ed appeared on Newyddion S4C (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0mrv64d) to comment on the potential impact on the Welsh economy of Donald Trump's threat to impose a 10% tariff on European countries. Ed appeared on BBC Radio Wales (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002q141) discussing the same topic and the options available to the UK Prime Minister.
Heather and Linda are hosting and organising an Operational Research Society webinar on 3rd February, entitled "Data Analytics in Tourism: Global Perspectives, Applied Practice, and Skills Development".

Ed appeared on Dros Ginio on BBC Radio Cymru (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m0009yv9), responding to the latest UK GDP figures, suggesting that the UK economy may have finished 2025 more strongly than anticipated. Also, Ed’s monthly article appeared in Y Cymro.
Congratulations to Binru, whose paper entitled “ESG Risk, Political Ideology, and the Syndicated Lending Relationship” has been accepted at the Journal of Accounting Literature.
Khaled is hosting two visiting scholars who have joined us this week:
- Welcome to Dr Jing Yang, who has joined AGBS as a visiting scholar for a period of 12 months. Jing joins us from the College of Economics and Management at Jiangxi Normal University, where she is currently an Assistant Professor. Jing will be working on a research project examining the role of digital finance in supporting rural women entrepreneurs, including the mechanisms through which it may influence entrepreneurial outcomes.
- Welcome to Dr. Ghada Taher, who has joined us as a Visiting Scholar at our School for a period of 12 months. Ghada joins us from the University of Sciences and Arts (Lebanon), where she currently serves as an Assistant Professor. Ghada will be working on a research project examining the synergy between digitalisation and the circular economy, with a particular focus on its impact on corporate financial performance.Gwion appeared on BBC Radio Cymru’s Post Prynhawn to discuss the Bank of England’s base rate change, explaining its implications for borrowers, savers, and the wider economy.
Khaled was a keynote speaker at the A’Sharqiyah University Annual International Conference, organised by the College of Business Administration, held in Oman on 15 December 2025. The title of his presentation was “Beyond the Numbers: The Rise of Digital Technology Disclosures in Corporate Storytelling”.
Khaled was a Keynote Speaker at the 2025 IEEE International Conference on Advanced Technologies in Supply Chain Management, held at Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah University in Fez (Morocco) on 21–22 November 2025. His talk was entitled “Beyond the Numbers: The Rise of Emerging Technologies in Corporate Storytelling.” He also delivered an interactive workshop entitled “Publishing Smart: Strategies to Get Your Paper Accepted in Indexed Journals.”
Congratulations to Danial and Lynn, whose paper entitled “Corporate Governance Characteristics, Shareholder Dissent and Agency Cost of Debt” has been accepted for publication in the International Review of Financial Analysis.
Congratulations to Valantis, whose paper entitled “Full dollarization and economic performance revisited” (co-authored with our former Head of School, John Thornton) has been accepted for publication in the International Journal of Finance & Economics.
Valantis had a meeting earlier this week with a representative of the US Embassy in Athens, which has shown interest in his European Economic Review paper entitled “The Effects of Exposure to Refugees on Crime: Evidence from the Greek Islands”.
Osama Hussainey (PhD student) presented his paper entitled “Digital Transformation in Accounting: A Systematic Literature Review” at the 8th International Conference of Entrepreneurship for Sustainability and Impact 2025 at Qatar University.
Ed was interviewed by BBC Radio Cymru (Dros Frecwast) on the latest UK unemployment data and gave a view on whether or not the data will influence the decisions taken by UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her Budget later this month.
Ed appeared on BBC Radio Cymru BBC Sounds to discuss the latest UK GDP figures, providing an explanation for the slowdown in the economy, and what impact this could have on the Budget.
Ed’s monthly article for Business News Wales is now available online. The article reflects on the UK Chancellor’s speech on Tuesday about the state of UK public finances and the difficult choices ahead to bring in additional tax revenues.
Congratulations to Khaled, whose paper entitled "Nature at Risk, Finance at Stake: A Systematic Literature Review of Biodiversity Risk in Finance Research" has been accepted for publication in Business Strategy and the Environment.
Congratulations to Zhiyong, whose paper entitled “Enhancing Market Return Forecasts with an Incident-Based ESG Indicator” has been accepted for publication in the International Journal of Forecasting.
Congratulations to Danial, and our former colleague Aziz, whose paper entitled "On Quality of Earnings in SPAC Transactions" has been accepted for publication in The European Journal of Finance.
Yener has spent this week visiting the University of Calabria, giving several research seminars as well as presenting a paper at their workshop and furthering his existing collaboration with their Mafia research group.
Danial and Khaled have been invited to deliver Keynote Addresses and participate in a “Meet the Editors” panel session at the International Conference on Digital Transformation, FinTech, and Business Innovation (ICDFB 2025), which will be hosted by Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Jordan, on 26–27 October 2025. The title of Danial's keynote address is "Genetic AI as artificial economic agent? Avenues for new research in finance and accounting". The title of Khaled's keynote address is" Corporate Narrative Reporting on Digital Technologies".
Welcome to Dr Fahad Almudhaf, Associate Professor of Finance at Kuwait University, who has joined us as a visiting scholar for 12 months. Fahad is hosted by Khaled and will work on research exploring narrative disclosures and sustainability in UK real estate investment trusts (REITs).
Catching up on previously missed news, congratulations also to Bruce and Adrian, whose paper entitled “Pandemic borders and expenditure impact: Intervention and forecasting insights from Australia” was published in Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights in May.
Two of Yener’s working papers have been presented by his co-authors at the CGRM 2025 conference in Roma:
- Freilli, G., Palmieri, E. and Altunbas, Y. “Financial Innovation or Sustainability? How Fintech M&As and ESG Strategies affect Bank Performance Across Business Models”, CGRM 2025 Conference, Roma, October 2, 2025
- Altunbas, Y., Di Martino, G., Mazzuca M. and Miglietta, F., “Stranded assets and climate-related risks: The case of real estate and the credit market in Italy”, CGRM 2025 Conference, Roma, October 3, 2025.
Nation.Cymru published an article by Ed in which he considers non-technology ideas from Silicon Valley (the Dark Enlightenment in particular) and the possible impact on democracy. The article argues that there are many lessons from a start-up mentality but countries aren’t businesses. https://nation.cymru/opinion/when-startup-thinking-threatens-democracy/.
Congratulations to Binru, whose paper entitled “Can machines learn Chinese mutual funds?” has been accepted for publication in the Pacific-Basin Finance Journal.
Congratulations to Hanxiong, whose paper entitled “CEO social class origins and risk taking” has been accepted for publication in European Financial Management.
Congratulations to Heather, who has been invited to serve on the Programme Committee for the 6th ACM International Conference on AI in Finance for the second year in a row.
Congratulations to Binru, who has received the Outstanding Paper Award at the 2025 International Academic Conference on Digital Finance in China for his paper entitled “Kindred Spirits: Bank ESG Reputation Risk, Loan Syndication Structure, and Renegotiation”.

Working Papers and Publications

The Institute of European Finance is a name synonymous with research excellence. Members conduct rigorous academic analysis and combine knowledge and tools from different disciplines to meet current and future challenges. Details of members’ publications can be found below.