What Drives Stock Market Performance of Banks / Universal Banks? A Critical Examination of Literature

The purpose of this paper is to determine performance drivers of universal banks using review of literatures as research method. Universal banks combine commercial loan services and public deposit functions with investment, and other services such as home and auto financing, mutual funds, pension and insurance to name a few. The importance of universal banks have been recognized in emerging economies, and its growth spur economic growth and development of many countries in the world. Most universal banks are listed in stock exchanges, and as financial intermediaries, not only these banks expand their already wide portfolios but they allow more global investors into the fold, almost like a foreign direct investor, the difference only is, the investor don’t have to leave the home country. Since these banks are considered to be among the key players in stock markets, and this study seeks to understand what factors drive their performance in stock exchange so that global investors be aided in making investment decisions on universal banks. The variables dividend policy, dividend yields, ROE, ROA, EPS, P/E ratio, and bank size can form basis for model development that would drive bank value in stock markets. These variables can be utilized for future research endeavours.