The Interactional Relationships Between Credit Risk, Liquidity Risk and Bank Profitability in MENA Region

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to investigate the relationship between credit risk, liquidity risks and bank profitability within the Middle East and North African (MENA) countries. We selected data related to a sample of conventional banks observed during the period 2004–2015 and we performed the Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) method in the empirical section. The overall results suggest that profitability of MENA banks is negatively and significantly sensitive to an increase in credit and/or liquidity risks. This negative effect was confirmed for either the separate or the interaction effects of these two risks. Furthermore, the findings indicate that bank profitability decreases significantly the level of credit and liquidity risks. We also found that the law and order as institutional quality increases the profitability of MENA banks and decreases both credit and liquidity risks.