International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

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Analyzing High Interest Rate Spreads in Kenya: Panel Data Approach

Open access
The study investigated factors behind high interest rate spreads with focus on the Kenyan commercial banks. Ordinary least square model, Fixed and Random effect approaches based on Ho and Saunders (1981) were applied on a panel of 38 commercial banks for the period 2006-2015. The study revealed that bank, industry and macroeconomic factors explain interest rate spreads. However, their impact was weak. We recommend the need to explore both internal and industry-led strategies to reduce the effect of factors associated with the bank.