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)
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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.
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Abstract: concise/factual and ≤250 words.
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Highlights: encouraged, submitted as a separate editable file, 3-5 bullets, each no more than 85 characters.
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Data: Elsevier Option C applies. Deposit/cite/link research data or state why data cannot be shared; a data statement is required at submission.
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Generative-AI use must be declared. Free SSRN posting is offered (public once past initial desk review).
Preflight checklist
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
- Final anonymization sweep: body text, acknowledgements, footnotes, file metadata.
- Fee path confirmed: budget approval for the USD 350 or the waiver code in hand.
- Declarations drafted offline (AI use, COI, funding, data availability) for pasting into Editorial Manager.
- Upload in order: separate title page, anonymized manuscript, Highlights, declarations.
- 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
