Jbf Review Process

---
name: jbf-review-process
description: Use to understand the Journal of Banking & Finance (JBF) editorial pipeline — the desk screen, double-anonymized refereeing, the role of the USD 350 fee in reviewer rewards, and what to expect between submission and decision. Sets expectations; pair with jbf-rebuttal once you receive an R&R.
---

# Review Process (jbf-review-process)

## When to trigger

- Before submitting, to understand how JBF handles a manuscript
- After submission, to interpret status changes in Editorial Manager
- When deciding how to engage with the fee, the desk screen, and reviewers

## How JBF review works (verified 2026-06-01; lead-editor masthead 待核实)

- **Publisher / platform.** Elsevier; the editorial pipeline runs in **Editorial Manager**, reached from the journal homepage on ScienceDirect.
- **Lead editor.** **Christa H. S. Bouwman** (Texas A&M University) has led the journal since **February 2025**, succeeding **Geert Bekaert** (2015–Feb 2025). The journal's lead masthead title appears to be **"Managing Editor."** A secondary AI-generated claim naming Iftekhar Hasan as "Editor-in-Chief" could not be confirmed against the official board — **待核实**; treat the exact title and co-editor list as unverified.
- **The fee funds review quality.** The **USD 350 non-refundable** submission fee is explicitly used to fund academic activities and **reviewer rewards for timely, high-quality reports**. This is unusual among top finance journals and signals an emphasis on review turnaround.
- **Desk screen first.** Editors can **desk-reject without sending the paper to referees** — even after the fee is paid. A clean, on-scope, well-anonymized submission is what clears this first screen. Free **SSRN** posting becomes available once the paper passes this initial desk review.
- **Double-anonymized refereeing.** Identities of both authors and reviewers are concealed. Referees assess scope fit (banking / intermediation / capital markets / corporate finance / regulation), contribution, identification, data, and robustness.
- **Decisions.** Expect the standard ladder: reject, major/minor revision (R&R), or accept. Treat any positive decision short of accept as an R&R and route to `jbf-rebuttal`.

## What clears the desk screen

- [ ] In scope for a **bank/intermediation-focused** finance journal (see jbf-topic-selection)
- [ ] A defensible identification/empirical design (see jbf-identification-strategy)
- [ ] Fully **anonymized** manuscript + separate title page
- [ ] Fee paid or waiver code entered; declarations complete

## Anti-patterns

- Treating the fee as a guarantee of full review — it is not; desk rejection still happens
- Submitting a paper out of JBF's bank/finance scope and hoping referees stretch it
- Naming a specific "Editor-in-Chief" in correspondence on the basis of unverified secondary sources
- Breaking anonymity and forcing an administrative bounce-back before review

## Output format

```
【Scope】fits banking/intermediation/markets/regulation? [Y/N]
【Desk readiness】anonymized + declarations + fee/waiver? [Y/N]
【Status read】desk screen → referees → decision
【Next step】on R&R → jbf-rebuttal
```

## Supplementary resources

- [`../../resources/official-source-map.md`](../../resources/official-source-map.md) — sources for editor, fee, and review-model facts (and 待核实 notes)