Purpose – The purpose of this thesis was to investigate empirically whether sectoral and geographical diversification has an impact on bank performance in the MENA region. Design/methodology/approach – Sprouting from a positivist approach, the study encompassed 35 listed commercial banks from 11 countries in the MENA region during 2009-2015. Multiple regression on a balanced panel was used as the parametrical tool to test the impact of diversification on banks' risk and return in the MENA region. The consolidated sample of banks was divided also into 3 sub-samples to achieve homogeneity. ...