In the last few years, there has been an extensive debate as to whether ownership matters for bank performance in less developed countries. This paper investigates whether privately-owned banks outperform state-owned banks and whether foreign ownership enhances bank performance. Based on a range...

Of all of the EU member states, Germany has the largest banking market. However, not all German banking institutions necessarily face fierce competition. Because the industry is highly fragmented, strict separation of the three existing banking pillars may impede competition, with negative...

This paper examines capital buffer fluctuations over the business cycle and provides empirical evidence on determinants of capital buffers for the banking sectors of 13 Latin American and Caribbean countries for the period 2001–2012. Results indicate that there is a negative and significant...

Using a sample of 272 commercial banks from fifteen Latin American countries for the period 2001-2008, we estimate cost and revenue efficiency scores, financial stability scores (Z-scores) and competition scores (Lerner indexes and Boone indicators) at the bank level. The Granger causality...