ABSTRACT
As of December 2017, the Kenyan banking sector registered a decline in performance with the subdued economic activities. The industry reported a decrease in profit after tax by 9.6 % during the year 2017. A decline in asset quality was reported, with the NPLs ratio increasing to 12.3 % in December 2017 from 9.3 % in December 2016. The general aim was to establish how financial performance of selected Kenya commercial banks is affected by shariah-compliant banking. The research was guided by Innovation diffusion theory, Modern portfolio, and Agency theory. The descriptive research design was employed in the research this is since it aided in constructing a problem for a more precise investigation. The population was 4 commercial banks operating shariah Banking. The justification for this population was because the study only considered commercial banks operating shariah banking in Kenya. Since the population is fairly small, a census design was employed to ensure that all commercial banks operating shariah banking in conjunction with its core business are participants to the study. Secondary panel data were used. Data on Liquidity, asset quality, efficiency, and management quality for the period 2013 to 2017 was obtained from the CBK Bank supervision reports and selected bank final audited financial and income statements. The data analysis was executed using the Statistical Package for the Social Science software, (SPSS). SPSS was used to observe, analyze and document the data. The descriptive statistical tools assisted in describing the data and the extent to be used. The finding of the study indicated that asset quality of commercial banks had a positively influence on the financial performance of the commercial banks in Kenya. The positive relationship further indicates that asset quality to financial performance through attracting potential clients. Secondly, the study concluded that liquidity management had positively influenced selected commercial banks financial performance. Asset quality ratios revealed how the selected banks performed in placements and advancements. The study findings indicate a relative stability growth in liquidity management in financial performance of the selected commercial banks. Credit risk monitoring and management enables banks to safeguard its assets and secure the interests of shareholders. The study identified a weak positive correlation between firm size and financial performance of the selected commercial banks in Kenya. Over a span of five years, the selected banks showed an increasing trend in firm size leading to the conclusion that firm size positively affects the financial performance of the banks in Kenya. The study finally concluded that management efficiency has a significant effect on financial performance of commercial banks. The findings revealed a steady increase of management efficiency of the selected commercial banks over a span of 5 years and a proportional increment in banks performance under the same duration. This research recommends that bank management should place more emphasis on cost efficiency in ensuring attainment of optimal expense level in banks. The research recommends that for banks to continue achieving sound liquidity position they should obtain liquidity protection from central bank by increasing pre-positioned assets that can be used as collateral in crisis period.
