The Determinants of the Profitability of the Tunisian Deposit Banks

Thanks to the study of twelve Tunisian deposit banks, the researchers were able to identify the influence of these determinants on the bank profitability, using a technique of panel data over the period of 1995-2005. The empirical results suggest that the bank capitalization, as well as the size, have a positive and significant effect on the bank profitability. The empirical results indicate that the variables of financial structure, the ratio of the bank assets to the GDP and that of the stock market capitalization to the banking assets have a negative and a statistically significant effect. As for the impact of the macroeconomic indicators, the researchers conclude that the variables do not have a significant effect on bank profitability. Finally, the results indicate the substitutability between banks and financial markets.