Duties of the publisher and Editorial Policy
The publication of the results of scientific research is a complex process that demands rigour and accuracy of all those involved (publishing house, editorial director, members of the committees, referees, authors).
Since 1921 the Italian Banking Association has promoted Bancaria in order to contribute to the knowledge and in-depth analysis of developments in the national and international banking and financial system, following an editorial policy inspired by criteria of quality and innovation.
Bancaria Editrice, ABI’s publishing house, has therefore defined and made public the Editorial Policy of Bancaria, which draws on international best practice, and constantly monitors its application. Bancaria Editrice requires original publications — written in compliance with copyright law and not under consideration by other journals at the same time — and publishes the journal pursuing high quality of content and of editorial processes, timely publication and wide circulation.
Bancaria Editrice promotes and monitors the use of peer review as the method for selecting articles, guarantees the independence of research, opposes copyright infringement and plagiarism, and requires and promotes original contributions based on sound data.
Bancaria Editrice also works with the Italian Publishers Association to enhance Italian scientific research, and engages with the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research, with ANVUR and with the scientific societies, in particular the Italian Academy of Business Administration and the Italian Association of Professors of Financial Intermediaries and Markets.
Duties of the editorial bodies and the peer review process
In line with the Editorial Policy of Bancaria, Bancaria Editrice has defined a careful and formalised Peer Review Process designed to ensure the highest standards of efficiency, fairness and independence. On this basis, Bancaria’s Editorial Management guarantees the correctness of the systems used to assess, accept or reject the articles submitted by authors and, in particular, oversees the double blind peer review process and the anonymity of authors and referees throughout the assessment; avoids any conflict of interest and any discrimination on grounds of gender, sexual orientation, religion, political belief or geographical origin; ensures the utmost promptness in managing the process and in publication times; and promptly updates authors and referees on every development in the assessment process.
Bancaria’s Editorial Management checks that no plagiarism or copyright infringement occurs in the articles under examination. Moreover, where serious errors, conflicts of interest or cases of plagiarism are established, it issues an erratum or asks for the article to be withdrawn.
The Editorial Board is responsible for the journal’s editorial policies and is required not to disclose any information about the manuscripts submitted. Unpublished material contained in manuscripts submitted to the journal may not be used by members of the Editorial Board for their own research.
Duties of the referees
Referees, chosen among academics and researchers with particular expertise in the subjects to be assessed, assist the journal’s Editorial Management in the process of evaluating the articles, meeting the deadlines set. The review must be conducted objectively and with clear, documented reasoning. Articles under assessment must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with anyone.
Referees must not accept manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest arising from competition, collaboration or any other connection with authors, companies or bodies related to the subject of the manuscript.
It is the referee’s task to point out to the authors any improvements useful for publication and to identify relevant bibliographical material that has not been cited.
Duties of the authors
The author guarantees that the article submitted for assessment is original, unpublished and not under consideration by other journals at the same time, and must accept the arrangements for selecting articles and the double blind peer review process. Should the article be accepted, the author grants the publisher the right of publication, accepting all the forms of use set out on the Bancaria website.
When submitting the contribution for assessment, the author undertakes to declare any possible conflict of interest that may have influenced the content of the manuscript.
The author must cite the sources of the material used correctly, and obtain the permissions needed to publish images, tables or other previously published content, as required by copyright law. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements are unethical behaviour and are unacceptable.
The author guarantees that the data presented in the paper are truthful and that their own interpretations are objective. Those data must be reported accurately and in enough detail to allow others to replicate the study if they wish.
Everyone who actually took part in writing the text, saw and approved its final version and agrees to its publication must be included in the manuscript and named as an author. Where other people have made substantial contributions to relevant parts of the article, they must be acknowledged as contributors.
Should the author find significant errors or inaccuracies in the published manuscript, it is their duty to inform the editorial committee promptly and to provide the appropriate errata corrige.