jbf-submission

Submission Preflight (jbf-submission)

When to trigger

• Submitting this week — last check before pressing submit in Editorial Manager
• Unsure what Editorial Manager expects at initial submission
• Confirming anonymization, fee, and declarations are JBF-compliant

Process facts (verified 2026-06-20 on the official ScienceDirect guide)

• Elsevier; submission exclusively through Editorial Manager (via the journal homepage on ScienceDirect).
• A USD 350 fee applies to unsolicited new manuscripts, paid in Editorial Manager. It is non-refundable, and a paper may be desk-rejected without review even after payment. Waiver/discount codes exist for authors with limited means or from developing countries — request one pre-submission, then enter it in Editorial Manager.
• Review is double anonymized: an anonymized manuscript (no names, affiliations, or identifying acknowledgements) plus a separate title page.
• Provide editable Word/LaTeX source files; Editorial Manager converts uploaded article files into a single peer-review PDF.
• First submission has no strict reference-format requirement if references are complete and consistent; JBF's proof-stage style is numbered Elsevier references.
• Provide 1-7 English keywords. Keep JEL codes if useful for finance discoverability, but do not treat them as a current JBF hard rule.
• Abstract: concise/factual and ≤250 words.
• Highlights: encouraged, submitted as a separate editable file, 3-5 bullets, each no more than 85 characters.
• Data: Elsevier Option C applies. Deposit/cite/link research data or state why data cannot be shared; a data statement is required at submission.
• Generative-AI use must be declared. Free SSRN posting is offered (public once past initial desk review).

Preflight checklist

• Anonymized manuscript (no identity in body or PDF metadata; self-citations neutral)
• Separate title page (authors, affiliations, corresponding author, acknowledgements, funding)
• Consistent references; 1-7 English keywords; optional JEL codes; Highlights (3-5 bullets, <=85 characters each)
• Abstract is concise/factual and <=250 words
• Fee path settled: pay USD 350 or enter an approved waiver/discount code
• Declared any generative-AI use; opted into SSRN posting if desired
• Suggested/excluded reviewers; cover letter (question, design, headline result, JBF fit)
• COI/funding disclosures; not under review elsewhere; data statement plus deposit/link or non-sharing reason (see jbf-replication-and-data-policy)

Cover letter skeleton (JBF-tuned)

Dear Editors,
We submit "[title]" for consideration at the Journal of Banking & Finance.
[1-2 sentences: finance question + setting, anchored in banking /
 intermediation / markets / regulation]
[1 sentence: identification or design in plain terms]
[1 sentence: headline result with magnitude in finance units]
[1 sentence: contribution relative to the closest JBF-relevant strand]
The manuscript is not under review elsewhere; the fee/waiver, declarations,
and data availability statement are complete in Editorial Manager.

Highlights drafting (illustrative)

Elsevier Highlights are short result bullets: 3-5 bullets, each no more than 85 characters including spaces.

• "LCR adoption shifts large-bank lending toward short maturities" — good: result-forward.
• "We study liquidity regulation using a large panel" — bad: describes activity, not a finding.
• Lead every bullet with the finding; reserve one bullet for the policy-relevant magnitude.

Submission-day order of operations

1. Final anonymization sweep: body text, acknowledgements, footnotes, file metadata.
2. Fee path confirmed: budget approval for the USD 350 or the waiver code in hand.
3. Declarations drafted offline (AI use, COI, funding, data availability) for pasting into Editorial Manager.
4. Upload in order: separate title page, anonymized manuscript, Highlights, declarations.
5. Record the SSRN opt-in decision and the suggested/excluded reviewer list.

Last-mile failures specific to JBF

Failure	Consequence	Fix before submitting
PDF metadata shows an author name	administrative unblinding bounce	strip document properties on the anonymized file
Fee handled without budget approval	submission stalls in Editorial Manager	settle the USD 350 or the waiver code first
No data statement for licensed bank data	declarations incomplete	draft via jbf-replication-and-data-policy
Cover letter pitches only a "novel dataset"	weak desk-screen signal	re-pitch the intermediation mechanism via jbf-contribution-framing

Anti-patterns

• Budgeting zero for the fee, or expecting a refund after a desk reject
• Leaving author identity in the manuscript or PDF metadata under double-anonymized review
• Forgetting the separate title page, or the AI-use declaration

Output format

【Anonymization】body + metadata clean; title page separate? [Y/N]
【Fee】USD 350 paid OR waiver code entered? [Y/N]
【Keywords/JEL】1-7 English keywords + optional JEL set? [Y/N]
【Declarations】AI use + COI/funding + data statement? [Y/N]
【Next step】await desk screen → jbf-review-process; R&R → jbf-rebuttal

Supplementary resources

• ../../resources/external_tools.md — data sources and Stata/R/Python packages for empirical banking & finance
• ../../resources/official-source-map.md — official JBF URLs behind every fact in this pack