Comparative Analysis of Liquidity Position of Banks: A Study on Some Selected Conventional and Islamic Banks in Bangladesh

The issue of liquidity crisis drew global attention during the recent global recession after several hundred of commercial banks, including few giants, across the globe turned bankrupt following cash starvation putting the savings of their consumers at great stake. Banking sector of Bangladesh faced the ripple effect of the global financial crisis quite heavily. The issue of adequate liquidity maintenance became a great concern for the commercial banks ever since. They felt the liquidity flow issue is of paramount importance to keep the banking system smooth. The study focused on the liquidity management of six commercial banks under two categories - Conventional commercial banking and Islamic commercial banking. A comparative analysis has been carried out to compare the liquidity position of the leading banks in Bangladesh from the period of 2007 to 2011. The analysis took into account both the short-term and the long-term liquidity position and also maturity-wise liquidity position of the six banks. The researchers also analyzed the liquidity position by using the key performance indicators (KPI) of those banks and observed that in case of maintaining liquidity, Islamic banks are in better position than the conventional banks.