IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/irapec/v30y2016i4p507-526.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Looking at the determinants of efficiency in banking: evidence from Italian mutual-cooperatives

Author

Listed:
  • Francesco Aiello
  • Graziella Bonanno

Abstract

Italy has experienced a restructuring and consolidation process in the banking industry since the 1990s that is expected to foster efficiency and competition. Despite the reforms, a peculiarity of the industry is the persistence of small mutual-cooperative banks (Banche di Credito Cooperativo, BCCs) active in narrow markets. The scope of this paper is to analyze the determinants of BCCs’ efficiency in the 2006--2011 period. In the first step of the study, a stochastic cost frontier is used to yield bank efficiency. Then the cost efficiency becomes the dependent variable of fixed and random effect models. The reference market of BCCs is the province (NUTS3). We find that BCC cost efficiency is positively affected by market concentration and demand density and inversely related to branching. Importantly, these results are robust to any sample restriction anchored to the distribution of efficiency. While the evidence regarding the credit quality is inconclusive for all BCCs, the sensitivity analysis shows that the risk in local markets is a source of BCC cost inefficiency.

Suggested Citation

  • Francesco Aiello & Graziella Bonanno, 2016. "Looking at the determinants of efficiency in banking: evidence from Italian mutual-cooperatives," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(4), pages 507-526, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:irapec:v:30:y:2016:i:4:p:507-526
    DOI: 10.1080/02692171.2015.1122747
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/02692171.2015.1122747
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/02692171.2015.1122747?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alin Marius Andries, 2011. "The Determinants of Bank Efficiency and Productivity Growth in the Central and Eastern European Banking Systems," Eastern European Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(6), pages 38-59, November.
    2. Maudos, Joaquin & Pastor, Jose M. & Perez, Francisco & Quesada, Javier, 2002. "Cost and profit efficiency in European banks," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 33-58, February.
    3. Leopold Simar & Paul Wilson, 2000. "A general methodology for bootstrapping in non-parametric frontier models," Journal of Applied Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(6), pages 779-802.
    4. Wagner, Wolf, 2010. "Diversification at financial institutions and systemic crises," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 373-386, July.
    5. Bos, J.W.B. & Kool, C.J.M., 2006. "Bank efficiency: The role of bank strategy and local market conditions," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(7), pages 1953-1974, July.
    6. Cristian Barra & Sergio Destefanis & Giuseppe Lubrano Lavadera, 2011. "Risk and Regulation: The Efficiency of Italian Cooperative Banks," CSEF Working Papers 290, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    7. Joseph P. Hughes & Loretta J. Mester, 2008. "Efficiency in banking: theory, practice, and evidence," Working Papers 08-1, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    8. Gillen, David & Lall, Ashish, 1997. "Developing measures of airport productivity and performance: an application of data envelopment analysis," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 261-273, December.
    9. Hausman, Jerry A & Taylor, William E, 1981. "Panel Data and Unobservable Individual Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 49(6), pages 1377-1398, November.
    10. Berger, Allen N, 1995. "The Profit-Structure Relationship in Banking--Tests of Market-Power and Efficient-Structure Hypotheses," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 27(2), pages 404-431, May.
    11. Berger, Allen N. & Mester, Loretta J., 1997. "Inside the black box: What explains differences in the efficiencies of financial institutions?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 21(7), pages 895-947, July.
    12. Francesca Battaglia & Vincenzo Farina & Franco Fiordelisi & Ornella Ricci, 2010. "The efficiency of cooperative banks: the impact of environmental economic conditions," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(17), pages 1363-1376.
    13. Berger, Allen N. & Miller, Nathan H. & Petersen, Mitchell A. & Rajan, Raghuram G. & Stein, Jeremy C., 2005. "Does function follow organizational form? Evidence from the lending practices of large and small banks," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(2), pages 237-269, May.
    14. Bonin, John P. & Hasan, Iftekhar & Wachtel, Paul, 2005. "Privatization matters: Bank efficiency in transition countries," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(8-9), pages 2155-2178, August.
    15. Robert Lensink & Aljar Meesters, 2014. "Institutions and Bank Performance: A Stochastic Frontier Analysis," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 76(1), pages 67-92, February.
    16. Barbara Casu & Philip Molyneux, 2003. "A comparative study of efficiency in European banking," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(17), pages 1865-1876.
    17. Pietro Alessandrini & Andrea F. Presbitero & Alberto Zazzaro, 2009. "Banks, Distances and Firms' Financing Constraints," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 13(2), pages 261-307.
    18. Berger, Allen N. & Humphrey, David B., 1997. "Efficiency of financial institutions: International survey and directions for future research," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 98(2), pages 175-212, April.
    19. Adriano Giannola, 2009. "Bank Mergers and Credit Allocation Among Italian Regions," Springer Books, in: Damiano Bruno Silipo (ed.), The Banks and the Italian Economy, chapter 0, pages 125-133, Springer.
    20. Viral V. Acharya & S. Viswanathan, 2011. "Leverage, Moral Hazard, and Liquidity," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(1), pages 99-138, February.
    21. Hung-jen Wang & Peter Schmidt, 2002. "One-Step and Two-Step Estimation of the Effects of Exogenous Variables on Technical Efficiency Levels," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 129-144, September.
    22. Casu, Barbara & Girardone, Claudia, 2010. "Integration and efficiency convergence in EU banking markets," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 260-267, October.
    23. Leigh Drake, 2001. "Efficiency and productivity change in UK banking," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(5), pages 557-571.
    24. Kasman, Adnan & Tunc, Gokce & Vardar, Gulin & Okan, Berna, 2010. "Consolidation and commercial bank net interest margins: Evidence from the old and new European Union members and candidate countries," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 648-655, May.
    25. Vander Vennet, Rudi, 2002. "Cost and Profit Efficiency of Financial Conglomerates and Universal Banks in Europe," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 34(1), pages 254-282, February.
    26. Claudia Girardone & Philip Molyneux & Edward Gardener, 2004. "Analysing the determinants of bank efficiency: the case of Italian banks," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(3), pages 215-227.
    27. Delis, Manthos D & Papanikolaou, Nikolaos I, 2009. "Determinants of bank efficiency: Evidence from a semi-parametric methodology," MPRA Paper 13893, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    28. Fiordelisi, Franco & Mare, Davide Salvatore, 2013. "Probability of default and efficiency in cooperative banking," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 30-45.
    29. Hannan, Timothy H. & Prager, Robin A., 2009. "The profitability of small single-market banks in an era of multi-market banking," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 263-271, February.
    30. Baele, Lieven & De Jonghe, Olivier & Vander Vennet, Rudi, 2007. "Does the stock market value bank diversification?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 1999-2023, July.
    31. Vallascas, Francesco & Keasey, Kevin, 2012. "Bank resilience to systemic shocks and the stability of banking systems: Small is beautiful," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 1745-1776.
    32. Jimborean, Ramona & Brack, Estelle, 2010. "The cost-efficiency of French banks," MPRA Paper 23471, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    33. Dietsch, Michel & Lozano-Vivas, Ana, 2000. "How the environment determines banking efficiency: A comparison between French and Spanish industries," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 985-1004, June.
    34. David Hauner, 2005. "Explaining efficiency differences among large German and Austrian banks," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(9), pages 969-980.
    35. McDonald, John, 2009. "Using least squares and tobit in second stage DEA efficiency analyses," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 197(2), pages 792-798, September.
    36. Santiago Carbo Valverdie & David Humphrey & Francisco Rodriguez Fernandez, 2003. "Deregulation, Bank Competition and Regional Growth," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(3), pages 227-237.
    37. Goldberg, Lawrence G. & Rai, Anoop, 1996. "The structure-performance relationship for European banking," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 745-771, May.
    38. Trevor Fitzpatrick & Kieran McQuinn, 2007. "Measuring bank profit efficiency," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(1), pages 1-8.
    39. Mei-Ying Huang & Tsu-Tan Fu, 2013. "An examination of the cost efficiency of banks in Taiwan and China using the metafrontier cost function," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 387-406, December.
    40. Kodde, David A & Palm, Franz C, 1986. "Wald Criteria for Jointly Testing Equality and Inequality Restriction s," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 54(5), pages 1243-1248, September.
    41. Francesco Aiello & Graziella Bonanno, 2016. "Efficiency in banking: a meta-regression analysis," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(1), pages 112-149, January.
    42. Iannotta, Giuliano & Nocera, Giacomo & Sironi, Andrea, 2007. "Ownership structure, risk and performance in the European banking industry," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 2127-2149, July.
    43. Carnevali, Francesca, 2005. "Europe's Advantage: Banks and Small Firms in Britain, France, Germany, and Italy since 1918," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199257393.
    44. Pilloff, Steven J, 1996. "Performance Changes and Shareholder Wealth Creation Associated with Mergers of Publicly Traded Banking Institutions," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 28(3), pages 294-310, August.
    45. Battese, G E & Coelli, T J, 1995. "A Model for Technical Inefficiency Effects in a Stochastic Frontier Production Function for Panel Data," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 325-332.
    46. Aigner, Dennis & Lovell, C. A. Knox & Schmidt, Peter, 1977. "Formulation and estimation of stochastic frontier production function models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 21-37, July.
    47. Fethi, Meryem Duygun & Pasiouras, Fotios, 2010. "Assessing bank efficiency and performance with operational research and artificial intelligence techniques: A survey," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 204(2), pages 189-198, July.
    48. Sealey, Calvin W, Jr & Lindley, James T, 1977. "Inputs, Outputs, and a Theory of Production and Cost at Depository Financial Institutions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 32(4), pages 1251-1266, September.
    49. Fries, Steven & Taci, Anita, 2005. "Cost efficiency of banks in transition: Evidence from 289 banks in 15 post-communist countries," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 55-81, January.
    50. Coccorese, Paolo, 2009. "Market power in local banking monopolies," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(7), pages 1196-1210, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Cisheng Wu & Teng Liu & Xiaoxian Yang, 2023. "Assessing the Impact of Digital Finance on the Total Factor Productivity of Commercial Banks: An Empirical Analysis of China," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-16, January.
    2. Salah Mohammed Abdulahi & Mekonnen Kumlachew Yitayaw & Habtamu Legese Feyisa & Wondmagegn Biru Mamo, 2023. "Factor affecting technical efficiency of the banking sector: Evidence from Ethiopia," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(1), pages 2186039-218, December.
    3. Rishabh Goswami & Farah Hussain & Manish Kumar, 2019. "Banking Efficiency Determinants in India: A Two-stage Analysis," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 13(4), pages 361-380, November.
    4. Barra, Cristian & Ruggiero, Nazzareno, 2021. "Do microeconomic and macroeconomic factors influence Italian bank credit risk in different local markets? Evidence from cooperative and non-cooperative banks," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    5. Abayomi Oredegbe, 2021. "Cost Efficiency Determinants: Evidence from the Canadian Banking Industry," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 15(1), pages 1-86, July.
    6. Bertrand, Jérémie & Murro, Pierluigi, 2022. "Firm–bank “odd couples” and trade credit: Evidence from Italian small- and medium-sized enterprises," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    7. Maria Elisabete Neves & Catarina Proença & António Dias, 2020. "Bank Profitability and Efficiency in Portugal and Spain: A Non-Linearity Approach," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-19, November.
    8. Jeremie Bertrand & Pierluigi Murro, 2018. "Is trade credit a substitute for relationship lending credit?," CERBE Working Papers wpC25, CERBE Center for Relationship Banking and Economics.
    9. Graziella Bonanno & Filippo Domma, 2022. "Analytical Derivations of New Specifications for Stochastic Frontiers with Applications," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(20), pages 1-17, October.
    10. Tiriongo, Samuel & Josea, Kiplangat & Mulindi, Hillary, 2023. "Risk-based credit pricing in Kenya: The role of banks' internal factors," KBA Centre for Research on Financial Markets and Policy Working Paper Series 64, Kenya Bankers Association (KBA).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Aiello, Francesco & Bonanno, Graziella, 2016. "Bank efficiency and local market conditions. Evidence from Italy," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 70-90.
    2. Francesco Aiello & Graziella Bonanno, 2018. "Multilevel empirics for small banks in local markets," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 97(4), pages 1017-1037, November.
    3. Francesco Aiello & Graziella Bonanno, 2013. "Profit and cost efficiency in the Italian banking industry (2006-2011)," Economics and Business Letters, Oviedo University Press, vol. 2(4), pages 190-205.
    4. Francesco Aiello & Graziella Bonanno, 2018. "On The Sources Of Heterogeneity In Banking Efficiency Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 194-225, February.
    5. Mai, Nhat Chi, 2015. "Efficiency of the banking system in Vietnam under financial liberalization," OSF Preprints qsf6d, Center for Open Science.
    6. Agostino, Mariarosaria & Ruberto, Sabrina & Trivieri, Francesco, 2023. "The role of local institutions in cooperative banks’ efficiency. The case of Italy," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 84-103.
    7. Francesco Aiello & Graziella Bonanno, 2016. "Efficiency in banking: a meta-regression analysis," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(1), pages 112-149, January.
    8. Francesca Pampurini & Anna Grazia Quaranta, 2018. "Sustainability and Efficiency of the European Banking Market after the Global Crisis: The Impact of Some Strategic Choices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-16, June.
    9. Marko Košak & Peter Zajc & Jelena Zorić, 2009. "Bank efficiency differences in the new EU member states," Baltic Journal of Economics, Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies, vol. 9(2), pages 67-90, December.
    10. Nurboja, Bashkim & Košak, Marko, 2017. "Banking efficiency in South East Europe: Evidence for financial crises and the gap between new EU members and candidate countries," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 122-138.
    11. Schure, Paul & Wagenvoort, Rien & O'Brien, Dermot, 2004. "The efficiency and the conduct of European banks: Developments after 1992," Review of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 371-396.
    12. Kalyvas, Antonios Nikolaos & Mamatzakis, Emmanuel, 2017. "Do creditor rights and information sharing affect the performance of foreign banks?," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 13-35.
    13. Johann Burgstaller, 2020. "Retail‐bank efficiency: Nonstandard goals and environmental determinants," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 91(2), pages 269-301, June.
    14. Cristian Barra & Sergio Destefanis & Giuseppe Lubrano Lavadera, 2013. "Regulation and the Crisis: The Efficiency of Italian Cooperative Banks," CSEF Working Papers 338, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    15. Lee, Chi-Chuan & Huang, Tai-Hsin, 2017. "Cost efficiency and technological gap in Western European banks: A stochastic metafrontier analysis," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 161-178.
    16. Graziella Bonanno, 2014. "The Efficiency of the Italian Banking System over 2006-2011. An Application of the Stochastic Frontier Approach," Rivista italiana degli economisti, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 2, pages 277-306.
    17. Belousova, Veronika & Karminsky, Alexander & Kozyr, Ilya, 2018. "The macroeconomic and institutional determinants of the profit efficiency frontier for Russian banks," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 49, pages 91-114.
    18. Benjamin M. Tabak & Dimas M. Fazio & Daniel O. Cajueiro, 2011. "Profit, Cost and Scale Efficiency for Latin American Banks: Concentration-Performance Relationship," Working Papers Series 244, Central Bank of Brazil, Research Department.
    19. Otero, Luis & Razia, Alaa & Cunill, Onofre Martorell & Mulet-Forteza, Carles, 2020. "What determines efficiency in MENA banks?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 331-341.
    20. Francesca Battaglia & Vincenzo Farina & Franco Fiordelisi & Ornella Ricci, 2010. "The efficiency of cooperative banks: the impact of environmental economic conditions," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(17), pages 1363-1376.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C13 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Estimation: General
    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance
    • P13 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Cooperative Enterprises

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:irapec:v:30:y:2016:i:4:p:507-526. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/CIRA20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.