Thesis (Ph.D.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Commerce - Department of Business Administration

Purpose {u2013} The purpose of this research is to investigate the main internal and macroeconomic factors determinants that have an influence on banks' interest margin and its main components (Interest Received Percentage, Interest Paid Percentage) in banks located in high income MENA region countries and middle income MENA region countries with a particular focus on Egypt over the period from 2011 to 2018. Design/methodology/approach - This study will use panel data for 365 banks in 21 MENA region countries during 2011-2018 where a regression model will be processed by the Generalized Method of Moments 'GMM'. Findings {u2013}It is shown that interest margin for both high income MENA region countries and middle income MENA region countries are affected by operational efficiency, credit risk, bank operation size, implicit interest payments and World Governance indicator. Nevertheless, differences between the two areas exist. High income countries are additionally affected by operating costs and the degree of risk aversion; On the other hand, middle income countries are additionally affected by asset diversity, inflation rate and foreign bank share and bank specialization. Originality/value {u2013} There are comparatively few studies about determinants of banks' interest margin in emerging markets. The present study enriches the literature by showing evidence from MENA countries; a comparative analysis between high-income and low-income countries is done to analyze the effect of differences in the market structure and regulatory environment on banks' interest margins

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