The impact of income diversification on the profitability and stability of Jordanian commercial banks

Abstract

The current study examines the impact of income diversification on the profitability and stability of Jordanian commercial banks. The study sample consisted of (13) commercial banks operating in Jordan for the period 2010-2022. The secondary data included in the financial reports and annual budgets issued by the Jordanian commercial banks are also considered. The study employs the ratio of non-interest income to total operating income and the Hirschman-Herfindahl index to measure income diversification, while the return on assets and return on equity indices were used to measure bank profitability. To measure financial stability, the z-score value was calculated. The Panel Data regression model was employed, and the random effect model was chosen to test the study hypotheses. The results showed that the ratio of non-interest income has a positive and significant impact on the profitability of Jordanian commercial banks. This indicates that increasing reliance on non-interest income sources enhances the performance and profitability of Jordanian commercial banks. The results also showed that the HHI index has a positive and significant effect on the profitability and stability of Jordanian commercial banks, which means that increasing the level of diversification in income sources leads to increased profitability and financial stability in Jordanian commercial banks. The study recommended the necessity of encouraging commercial banks to innovate financially and provide digital banking services and other non-traditional services due to their role in increasing profits and financial stability in Jordanian commercial banks.