The Effect of Saving Culture on the Financial Performance of Savings and Credit CoÂoperatives in the Banking Sector in Kenya

Saving is an important factor in economic development as it enables the conversion of resources into capital which is in tum invested to enhance the growth of organizations, individuals and the country at large. Co-operatives provide an important framework for mobilization of capital resources. The tendency to save is closely associated to culture. This study sought to establish the influence of saving culture on the financial performance of savings and credit co-operatives (SACCOs) in the banking sector in Kenya. This study adopted a descriptive and quantitative research design. The target population was co-operatives in the banking sector in Kenya. Stratified sampling and simple random sampling was used to obtain the sample items. A Likert scale questionnaire was used to gather primary information and a secondary data collection sheet was used in gathering secondary information regarding co-operatives performance. Information was sorted, coded and input into the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 21.0 for production of graphs, tables, descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The results indicated that there was a positive relationship between saving culture and the financial performance of SACCOs in the banking sector in Kenya, with a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.636, coefficient of determination (r2) of 0.405 and with at­ value of 0.000. The study concluded that, saving culture is statistically significant in explaining the financial performance of SACCOs in the banking sector in Kenya. The study recommends that SACCOs should offer incentive and also conduct member education so as to encourage member savings hence improve their financial performance and in tum stir up economic growth and eradicate poverty.