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Introduction
The economy of Qatar continues to demonstrate robust growth despite some trials in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). In the face of the challenges posed by the regional turbulence and the slow recovery of the global economy, the economy of Qatar remains one of the most vibrant in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) (Oxford Business Group, 2015). Qatar registered an average wealth per adult of $157,000 as of mid-2015. This is considered the highest in the whole of MENA region. An increase of 0.8 percent is recorded as compared to that of the previous year (Maceda, 2015). The small Gulf state of Qatar possesses one of the vast oil and gas deposits which bring in billions of dollars yearly into the national coffers. It is recognized as the wealthiest nation per capita in the globe in terms of oil and gas wealth (Tuttle and Koon, 2013).
In Qatar, the non-hydrocarbons sector, such as the banking sector, has been one of the main growth drivers of the economy as of 2014. The banking sector in Qatar maintained a double digit growth attained over the recent years (Oxford Business Group, 2015). In the GCC, Qatar's banking sector demonstrates the fastest growth with the ratio of total banking assets to GDP growing from 125 percent in 2010 to 132 percent at end of 2014. Qatar also recorded the highest growth in banking assets of 15.3 percent in the entire GCC region as of end 2014 as shown in Figure 1 (Qatar National Bank, 2015). Qatar National Bank is ranked the world's strongest bank according to a report by Bloomberg Markets in its third annual ranking of the world's strongest banks in 2012 (Tuttle and Koon, 2013). Similarly, Qatar Islamic banks are ranked the most efficient banks in the Islamic banking industry globally (Perumal, 2015). In spite of the above growth and prospects, the literature (Ariss et al. , 2007; Ramanathan, 2007; Grigorian and Manole, 2005; Limam, 2001) suggest low performance among banks in Qatar. However, to the best of the authors' knowledge, no study has offered a conclusive evidence with regards to this contradiction. Second, studies that provide empirical evidence based on data envelopment analysis (DEA) and Malmquist productivity index (MPI) specifically on...