The research objective of this study is to isolate a few "key" financial ratios significantly explaining variation in commercial bank profitability. A methodological objective is to test the operational and statistical results of regressing only variables that strongly discriminate between...

This study constructs aggregative profitability estimating equations for commercial banks. These equations were designed to serve three purposes: (1) to give bank management and other interested parties -- such as bank stockholders, bank customers, and investors -- insight into the operating...

Overall, the study shows that all variables tested--management, size, location, time--are significant. Each variable significantly affected relative profitability and the majority of operating relationships that determine profitability. One striking result was the general influence of the...