Non-interest Income, Risk and Bank Performance

This study examines the determinants of non-interest income and the implications of non-interest income for bank risk-return trade-offs, medium-term profitability and profit variability. Over a number of specifications, we find that cost-efficiency is key to generating and profiting from non-interest income as are volume of loans generated and liquid assets held by a bank. Large banks may also profit from non-interest income but do not seem to rely on it for their profits. We do not find non-interest income detrimental to bank solvency in our sample, perhaps because the nature of non-interest income of our sample banks may not expose bank capital to significant risk of loss. This could change as the economy and financial services demand increases in sophistication.