International Journal of Finance & Managerial Accounting

International Journal of Finance & Managerial Accounting

Financial Inclusion and Banking Sector Performance: Evidence from Quantile Panel Regression in Iran

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 PhD student, Department of Financial Management, Qazvin Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qazvin, Iran.
2 Associate Professor, Department of Financial Management, Qazvin Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qazvin, Iran
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Economics and Accounting, Guilan University, Rasht, Iran.
4 Assistant Professor, Department of Financial Management, Qazvin Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qazvin, Iran
10.30495/ijfma.2025.78127.2209
Abstract
Banks play a vital role in the economy of countries and are like its main arteries. Banks, as economic firms, seek to maximize profits. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the factors affecting their profits. According to various studies, several factors can affect the profitability of banks. One of the most important of these factors is financial inclusion. Therefore, in this study, the effects of financial inclusion on the profitability of selected banks listed in the Tehran Stock Exchange during the period 2010 to 2023 have been studied. The quantile panel regression method has been used to estimate the model.
The results of the model estimation showed that the components of financial inclusion have a positive effect on the profitability of the studied banks. The high level of these variables indicates that more people have bank accounts, make deposits in banks, and receive facilities. Therefore, banks have sufficient funds to grant loans and invest in profitable opportunities, and this has a positive effect on the profitability of banks. The cost-to-income ratio and the amount of non-performing loans also have a negative and significant effect on bank profitability and reduce it. The effect of capital adequacy on bank profitability is positive but not statistically significant. In addition, GDP growth and inflation also have a positive and significant effect on the profitability of the studied banks
Keywords: Financial inclusion, Profitability, Iran, Panel Quantile Regression, Bank
Keywords

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