applied to macroeconomic and bank-level data spanning 2000 ‐15. Findings Bank lending is supported by strong bank balance … non-oil private sector GDP. Lower bank concentration also helps, likely through greater competition, so does stronger … remained robust in 2015 despite oil prices having declined, helped by strong bank balance sheets and as banks reduced their …

Should banks be diversified or focused? Does diversification indeed lead to enhanced performance and, therefore … banks' profitability (ROA) and their portfolio diversification across different industries, broader economic sectors and … geographical regions measured by the Herfindahl Index. To explore this issue, we use a unique data set of the individual bank loan …