The Effect of Internal Variables of the Banks on Their Profitability: Empirical Study on Banks Listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange

Alaa Al Saedi

Abstract

This study investigates the profitability levels and the effects of certain internal variables on these levels for commercial banks listed on the Qatari Stock Exchange. The study adopts Panel Data for a sample of eight banks over the period 2008 to 2017. The fixed-effect regression model was used to examine this sample to test the effect of equity, size, liabilities, liquidities, cash flow, investment, credit and deposits on the return on equity in the commercial banks in the Qatari context. The study concludes that there is a positive significant relationship between profitability of Qatari banks and the variables of equity, deposit and credit. However, there was no significant relationship between the profitability of Qatari banks and the variables of total assets, cash flow, liability, liquidity and investment, which means that Qatari banks depend on the core of banking business for their profitability.