Can a stock market listing help to improve the operational performance of China's banks?

This study attempts to empirically examine the impact of initial public offerings on China's banking sector. The period considered covers the years 1996-2004. The fixed effects and random effects models are estimated, and the empirical results show that the operational performance of listed banks is inferior to that of unlisted banks. The launching of initial public offerings by Chinese banks is found to have a significant positive impact on the return on assets. Traditional interest income still accounts for by far the largest share of the Chinese banks' operating revenue.