Liquidity Management and Financial Performance of Microfinance Institutions in Kenya

Sound liquidity management is integral for any financial institution’s stability and profitability, since deteriorating liquidity management is the most frequent cause of poor financial performance. As with any financial institution, the biggest risk in microfinance sector is lending money and not getting it back leading to liquidity problems as most of them have no access to lender of the last resort which is the Central Bank of Kenya. The study sought to investigate the effect of liquidity management on financial performance of microfinance institutions in Kenya. The target population of the study was all the twenty-six microfinance in Kenya that are members of Association of Microfinance Institutions and were licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya as at 2017. A census of all the twenty-six 26 Microfinance Institutions in Kenya was conducted for five years from 2012 to 2016. Secondary data on the study variables was gathered from the audited financial statements of the Microfinance Institutions. The study employed random effect model on a 5-year panel data from 2012 to 2016 on all the 26 Microfinance Institutions in Kenya. The study found a positive relationship between capital adequacy and financial performance and a negative relationship between asset quality, maturity gap and financial performance. The study would help Microfinance Institutions as they would use the research findings to develop liquidity management strategies to enable Microfinance Institutions improve on their financial performance.