A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF EFFICIENCY IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN BANKING SYSTEMS

Abstract

The European integration process has had a great impact on the macroeconomic environment of the new member states, some effects being more visible than other. In this context it becomes interesting to analyse if the EU ascension has triggered an increase of the banks efficiency from a series of CEE countries (two from the first wave and one from the second wave of EU expansion). The analysed period is between 2003 and 2010, covering the first years after the EU ascension of these countries. In order to estimate the efficiency of the banks from our sample we have used a non-parametric technique, namely the Data Envelopment Analysis. The overall results are suggesting that there is a slight increase of the banks operating in these countries estimated efficiency between 2007 and 2010.