Institutional environment and market structure as drivers of banking industry performance

We analyze the effects of market concentration, income diversification, and institutional environment on banking industry performance. We used a sample of 168 countries for the 1994-2019 period and the GMM estimators for dynamic panel data regressions. Our results show that market concentration and diversification have a positive effect on bank performance. The institutional environment, both public-political and private-regulatory, has a negative effect on bank profitability, showing that these financial institutions obtain higher returns in countries with institutional weaknesses. When countries have a high institutional quality, the positive impact of market concentration and income diversification is reversed. Strengthening countries’ institutional quality makes it possible to combine competition between banks and specialization in traditional activities with higher performance. These results are relevant for bank stability and financial policy design, given that the institutional framework includes both direct and indirect channels that affect the general behavior and strategies of banks in the industry.We analyze the effects of market concentration, income diversification, and institutional environment on banking industry performance. We used a sample of 168 countries for the 1994-2019 period and the gmm estimators for dynamic panel data regressions. Our results show that market concentration and diversification have a positive effect on bank performance. The institutional environment, both public-political and private-regulatory, has a negative effect on bank profitability, showing that these financial institutions obtain higher returns in countries with institutional weaknesses. When countries have a high institutional quality, the positive impact of market concentration and income diversification is reversed. Strengthening countries’ institutional quality makes it possible to combine competition between banks and specialization in traditional activities with higher performance. These results are relevant for bank stability and financial policy design, given that the institutional framework includes both direct and indirect channels that affect the general behavior and strategies of banks in the industry.