Deregulation and productivity changes in banking: evidence from European unification

Over the 1990s European banking markets became increasingly deregulated as European unification progressed. National borders become less relevant, and product line restrictions diminished, increasing competitive pressures on institutions to operate more efficiently. A stochastic frontier cost function is estimated for commercial banks across 15 nations in the European Union (EU) to obtain a better understanding of how banks adapted in this period of rapid change in the competitive environment. It is found that the banking systems in all individual countries became more efficient. Country rankings according to productivity changed little over the sample period, and productivity differences between banking systems narrowed. These results suggest that the policy of reducing restrictions and harmonizing regulations was consistent with promoting banking efficiency across the EU.