Impact of the global financial crisis 2008 on bank efficiency : an experience of the Anglo-Saxon countries : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Banking Studies at Massey University, Manawatu Campus, New Zealand

Abstract

This thesis investigates the differences in the impact of the Global Financial Crisis 2008 (GFC) on the banking sectors of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK, and the United States from 2003 to 2015. The selected banking sectors are based on a common Anglo-Saxon banking system and belong to developed economies for which the GFC showed varying degrees of severity. The measures of cost, profit, alternative profit, and shareholder value efficiency are used to assess the impact of the GFC on bank efficiency of the five countries. The aim of this study is achieved with four major objectives: first, the theoretical analysis of the varying impact of the GFC on the banking sectors of the developed and integrated economies is confirmed with econometric analyses; second, the impact of different banking environment variables on bank efficiency is assessed to identify the reasons behind the variation in the impact of the GFC on the efficiency of the selected banking sectors; third, this study compares the results for the U.S. banking sector with other developed economies using a common frontier; fourth, it assesses the change in banking risk, structure, and shareholder value during the study period. A common frontier is drawn with a one-stage Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) model among the selected group of relatively homogenous economies, and remaining economic variations are controlled with banking environment variables. A group of 29 large and systemically important banks is selected from all five countries for this study. The empirical results confirm the superiority of the Australian and Canadian banking sectors in cost efficiency compared to New Zealand, UK, and U.S. sectors from 2003 to 2015. Profit efficiency of the U.S. and British banks is most negatively impacted by the GFC, and the banking sectors of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand are among the least impacted. A significant impact of the GFC is observed during 2008 and 2009, and the selected banking sectors are not able to achieve pre-GFC efficiency levels in the post-GFC period. Cost-efficient banking is found to be more resilient, and the level of bank liquidity and equity play a vital role in the stability of the banks during the crisis period. The level of risk has declined over the study period, however, the negative influence of the risk on bank efficiency is reported. A higher ratio of lending assets provided earning stability for banks during the crisis period. Bank size, market concentration, and population density of chosen economies are not favorable for bank efficiency. Shareholder value was also impacted by the GFC during the same period and was found to be closely associated with the profit efficiencies of the banks during the study period. The trend and scores of the selected four efficiency models are consistent over the study period and found to be robust to various alternative tests. The findings of this thesis support the enhanced standards of the bank liquidity and equity, however, we recommend some regulatory initiatives to lower regulatory cost, bank size, and market concentration of selected banking sectors. A few limitations of the thesis are identified, and some guidelines for future research are also provided.