DETERMINANTS OF ISLAMIC BANKS PERFORMANCE IN GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL REGION

Abstract

This study analyzed the performance of Islamic banks in Gulf Cooperation Council over the period of 2004-2014. This study has investigated the influence of external characteristics such GDP and inflation, and internal characteristics such as total capital ratio, non-interest-margin, profit-margin, consumer and short term fund to total asset, total loan to total assets and overhead to total assets on the performance of Islamic banks. The performance metrics used are return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE). A cross-sectional time series (panel data) of 37 Islamic banks was used. For data analysis, regression analysis was applied on the selected sample of banks to test the influence of the identified variables on Islamic bank performance. The test result of the models indicate that there is positive relationship between GDP, non interest margin, profit-margin, loan to total assets, have significant positive impact on the performance of Islamic bank in GCC. Total capital ratio, consumer and short term fund to total asset, overhead to total assets and inflation did not have significant impact on the performance of Islamic bank in GCC.