This empirical study seeks to identify, for the period 1933-1998, determinants of the rate of return on bank assets (ROA). The study finds that the ROA has been an increasing function of the interest rate yield on bank loans to the private sector, the growth rate of real GDP, and the percentage...

This exploratory note empirically investigates determinants of the annual percentage rate of return on commercial bank assets over the period 1959-1998. The findings indicate that this rate of return has been an increasing function of the average annual interest rate yield on three-year U.S....