Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T05:52:00.032Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Banking Sector and Recovery in the EU Economy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 March 2020

Ray Barrell*
Affiliation:
NIESR
Tatiana Fic
Affiliation:
NIESR
John Fitz Gerald
Affiliation:
ESRI, Dublin
Ali Orazgani
Affiliation:
NIESR
Rachel Whitworth
Affiliation:
NIESR

Abstract

Banks within Europe have become larger and more international as Europe has moved towards a unified financial services market, but this trend has been reversed since the crisis. In order to establish the effect of these structural changes on output in Europe, we use a micro data set to investigate the impact of size (as measured by asset size) on banks' net interest margins. We show that larger banks offer lower borrowing costs for firms, which raises sustainable output. We then use NiGEM to look at the impact of banks becoming smaller and moving back into their home territory. We investigate the impacts on output according to country size, showing that the effects are generally larger in small countries, and also larger in economies that are more dependent on bank finance for their business investment decisions.

Type
Research Articles
Copyright
Copyright © 2011 National Institute of Economic and Social Research

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barrell, R. and Davis, E.P. (2007), ‘Financial liberalisation, consumption and wealth effects in 7 OECD countries’, Scottish Journal of Political Economy, 54, May, pp. 254–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrell, R., Davis, E., Fic, T. and Karim, D. (2010), ‘Is there a link from bank size to risk taking?’, NIESR Discussion Paper no. 367.Google Scholar
Barrell, R., Davis, E. and Kirby, S. (2010), ‘Modelling the UK banking sector’, National Institute Economic Review, 214, October, pp. 6772.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrell, R., Hall, S. and Hurst, I. (2006), ‘Evaluating policy feedback rules using the joint density function of a stochastic model’, Economics Letters, 93 (1), October, pp. 15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrell, R. and Pain, N. (1997), ‘Foreign direct investment, technological change, and economic growth within Europe’, Economic Journal, 107, pp. 1770–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Demirgüç-Kunt, A. and Huizinga, H. (1999), ‘Determinants of commercial bank interest margins and profitability: some international evidence’, World Bank Economic Review, 13, 2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
European Central Bank (2010), EU Banking Structures, ECB, September.Google Scholar
European Commission (2009), European Financial Integration Report, European Commission.Google Scholar
Ho, T.S.Y. and Saunders, A. (1981), ‘The determinants of bank interest margins: theory and empirical evidence’, The Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 16, 4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kasman, A., Tunc, G., Vardar, G. and Okan, B. (2010), ‘Consolidation and commercial bank net interest margins: evidence from the old and new European Union members and candidate countries’, Economic Modelling, 27, 3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lensink, R. and Hermes, N. (2004), ‘The short-term effects of foreign bank entry on domestic bank behaviour: does economic development matter?’, Journal of Banking and Finance, 28, pp. 553–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levine, R. (2003), ‘Denying foreign bank entry: implications for bank interest margins’, Central Bank of Chile Working Papers, No. 222, August.Google Scholar
Maudos, J. and Fernandez de Guevara, J. (2004), ‘Factors explaining the interest margin in the banking sectors of the European Union’, Journal of Banking and Finance, 28, 9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walkner, C. and Raes, J. (2005), ‘Integration and consolidation in EU banking - and unfinished business’, European Commission, Economic Paper 226, April.Google Scholar