The estimation of banking industry staffing level benchmark: A case study on Kuwaiti banks

Abstract

This study aims to examine whether or not Kuwaiti banks are overstaffed based on the data of ten Kuwaiti banks listed at Kuwait stock exchange (KSE) over the period 2010-2018. Using panel regression analysis, the results show that six banks were overstaffed while the remaining four banks were understaffed. Kuwait Finance House (KFH) was the most overstaffed bank in Kuwait while Commercial bank was the most understaffed bank. Gulf bank was the closest to the estimated number of staff followed by AlAhli bank. The results also revealed that there was a statistically significant inverse relationship between staffing level and return on assets (ROA) while, on the other hand, there was a statistically significant direct relationship between total assets and the number of branches with staffing level.