Dynamics of Bank Profitability and Growth in West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) Countries

Abstract

The banking sector is vital to economic activity when it develops. Its development depends on the ability of banks to generate sufficient profits to meet their commitments. In this context, we set ourselves the objective of analyzing the effect of bank profitability on economic growth. The study covers the period from 1996 to 2023, and covers 7 WAEMU countries except Guinea-Bissau, for lack of data. Methodologically, we apply Bruno's (2005) Least Square Dummy Variable (LSDVC) bias correction approach to the dynamic unbalanced panel data model. The results indicate that bank profitability has a positive influence on economic growth in the WAEMU region, whatever the profitability index used. Inflation,Political stability and investment are not unrelated to economic growth in the union. It follows from these results that the union's authorities need to strengthen supervision of the banking sector to ensure that it remains profitable.© 2024 The Author(s). This article is distributed under the terms of the license CC-BY 4.0., which permits any further distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.