Financial intermediation is low in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) compared to other regions of the world. This paper examines the determinants of bank interest margins using a sample of 456 banks in 41 SSA countries. The results show that market concentration is positively associated with interest...

This study examines the determinants of financial intermediation costs of banks in ten Emerging Economies (EEs) in the period 2000-2018 using panel data of 1335 banks. Empirically, this study applies the single-stage dealership model and its extensions by introducing new bank and country-level...

We analyze factors driving persistently higher financial intermediation costs in low-income countries (LICs) relative to emerging market (EMs) country comparators. Using the net interest margin as a proxy for financial intermediation costs at the bank level, we find that within LICs a...