Auditorium of Prof. Dr. Suwito, MA SPs UIN Jakarta, SPs NEWS: The Graduate School of the State Islamic University (SPs UIN) Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta held the 1642nd Doctoral Promotion Exam in the Auditorium Room of Prof. Dr. Suwito, MA SPs UIN Jakarta on Friday, August 15, 2025 with candidate Muhammad Aminul Wahid.

Amin is a student of the Doctoral program in Islamic Studies with a Concentration in Islamic Economics. Amin wrote a dissertation entitled "Policy and Performance of Sharia Regional Development Banks (Study on Bank Aceh Syariah, Bank Jabar Banten Syariah, and Bank DKI Syariah)".

This study dissects the strategic policy choices taken by Bank Aceh Syariah, Bank BJB Syariah, and Bank DKI Syariah. Each of these banks adopts a different approach, namely conversion, spin-off, and Sharia Business Unit (UUS). These strategic decisions are not only based on internal considerations, but are also influenced by the unique external environmental conditions in each of its operational areas.

To analyze the influence of the external environment, Amin uses PESTLE Analysis, a framework that analyzes political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors. The results show that the external environment is a crucial factor that shapes the policy direction of a bank. This finding is a major novelty in the study, which was previously rarely discussed in studies of this kind.

This dissertation reveals that banks that choose spin-offs tend to be in provinces with large and heterogeneous areas, large economies, and high populations, as is the case with Bank BJB Syariah. In contrast, BPDs that convert, such as Bank Aceh Syariah, operate in provinces with strong political interventions, agriculture-based economies, and high community religiosity.

Meanwhile, BPDs that maintain UUS, such as Bank DKI Syariah, operate in smaller areas with very religiously heterogeneous communities. This condition makes the market share of Islamic banking in the region relatively small and tends to be stagnant, so maintaining UUS is the most logical choice.

The results of the study also show that spin-off and conversion policies, while strategic, have significant consequences on the performance of banks. There was a significant difference in performance after the implementation of this policy, in particular an increase in Third Party Funds (DPK) and financing, but it was followed by a decrease in efficiency and profitability.

Furthermore, the data regression analysis of the panel proves that the bank's performance is consistently influenced by FDR (Financing to Deposit Ratio) and GDP (Gross Regional Domestic Product). These two factors have been proven to affect fund raising (DPK), financing, and profitability (ROA).

In addition, the bank's profitability performance was also significantly influenced by BOPO (Operating Costs to Operating Income) and NPF (Non-Performing Financing). These findings provide valuable guidance for BPD management in formulating more effective strategies, particularly in facing external challenges and maintaining financial performance.

Amin's findings also corroborate several previous researches. For example, these findings support the research of Al Arif (2018a) which concluded that spin-offs have a positive effect on deposits, and the research of Panca & Sudrajat (2023) which found that spin-offs have a negative effect on ROA. In addition, these findings are in line with the research of Al-Harbi (2020), Fahdiansyah (2021), and Nurbaiti (2022) regarding the increase in deposits and the decrease in post-conversion ROA, confirming the great contribution of this study to the Islamic banking literature.

Muhammad Aminul Wahid successfully defended his dissertation under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Ahmad Rodoni, MM, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Nur Rianto Al Arif, M.Si and Prof. Nur Hidayah, S.Ag, SE, MA, MA, Ph.D, and was tested in front of a board of examiners consisting of Prof. Dr. Zulkifli, MA, Prof. Dr. Ahmad Rodoni, MM, Prof. Nur Hidayah, S.Ag, SE, MA, MA, MA,  Ph.D, Prof. Dr. Abdul Halim, M.Ag, Prof. Dr. Ahmad Tholabi Kharlie, S.Ag, SH, MH, MA and Prof. Dr. Khamami Zada, MA.

After paying attention to the writing of the dissertation, the comments of the examiner team and the answers of the promovendus, the examiner team determined that Muhammad Aminul Wahid graduated with the title of Very Satisfactory. Muhammad Aminul Wahid is the 1642nd Doctor in the field of Islamic Studies, in the doctoral program of the Graduate School of UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta. (JA)