Author(s)

Hassan Kablay^*, Victor Gumbo

Department of Mathematics, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana.

Banks play a vital role in the financial system of any country. This study aims to examine the financial performance of eleven banks in Botswana for the period 2015 to 2019 using Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), and Cost-to-Income (C_I) ratio as the financial measures (dependent variables), and fifteen other ratios (independent variables) as the drivers of financial performance. ROA was used to measure the internal-based performance of banks, ROE was used to study and understand the amount of a bank’s income that is returned as shareholders’ equity, and C_I ratio was used to study and understand the productivity and efficiency of banks. The data were obtained from the financial statements and annual reports of the banks under study. The study employed correlation and multiple regression analysis and it was established that the most significant driver of a bank’s ROA and ROE is the “interest income on loans over average total assets” (II_AVG_TA) ratio. However, this ratio was the least significant driver of the C_I ratio. The most significant driver of the C_I ratio was found to be the “interest expense over assets” (IE_A) ratio.

Financial Performance, Multiple Regression Analysis, ROA, ROE, C_I

Kablay, H. and Gumbo, V. (2021) Financial Performance of Banks in Botswana. Journal of Mathematical Finance, 11, 386-397. doi: 10.4236/jmf.2021.113022.