Does Economic Growth Influences the Relationship Between Financial Intermediaries and Securities Market Development in Kenya?

Abstract

Available evidence from previous studies show that financial intermediaries influence operations at the securities market. Another strand of literature also show that economic growth has a positive influence on securities market operations. A research gap still exists as to how this influence of financial intermediary development on securities markets may be influenced by economic growth. This study examined the relationship between financial intermediary development and securities market development in Kenya and attempted to answer a critical question of how economic growth influences the relationship between commercial banks and securities market in Kenya? Financial intermediary development was proxied by the ratio of the gross domestic bank savings to GDP, while securities market development was proxied by an index nuancing the market capitalization ratio, value traded ratio, and market turnover ratio. The empirical results show that there is a distinct positive relationship between financial intermediary development and securities market development in in Kenya. The results further show that this positive relationship was moderated by the level of economic growth within the economy. The study recommends that any strategy to develop the securities market must also address the development of the financial intermediaries through savings mobilization as well as macroeconomic stability and growth.

Keywords: Commercial Banks, Financial Intermediary Development, Securities Market Development, Nairobi Securitas Exchange