Determinants of Dividend Payout: Evidence from Financial Sector of Pakistan

This study seeks to ascertain the determinants of dividend payout of financial sector in Pakistan. The dividend is an important indicator and serves as a measure of a firm’s financial performance and growth. Dividend is important decision for any firm and plays vital role in the growth and future progress of the firm. Study used quantitative approach to explore the effective determinants of DPO for the financial sector of Pakistan. The dependent variable of this research is dividend payout while the financial leverage, investments, liquidity, returns on equity and size are independent variables also functioning as determinants of DPO. The data were collected over a period of seven years from 2007 to 2013. However sample of this research is restricted to the selected listed financial firms of Pakistan. A sample of 53 financial firms is selected out of 181. For the analysis of data various statistical tools i.e. descriptive statistics, correlation matrix and panel data analysis are applied. Random effects model is selected to measure the determinants of DPO and their impact on it. The results conclude that financial leverage has a statistically significant and negative effect on dividend payout, while the advances to deposit ratio, return on equity, investment and size have a positive and statistically significant influence on dividend payout for the selected financial firms of Pakistan. Keywords: Dividend Payout Ratio, State Bank of Pakistan, Karachi Stock Exchang