Cyclical behavior of price-cost margins in the Turkish banking industry

Using a dynamic panel data framework, the cyclical behavior of the banks' price-cost margins in Turkey over the period 2002Q1-2008Q2 is analyzed. The findings provide evidence towards countercyclical behavior of the margins. This is important for the Turkish economy since the countercyclicality of banks' margins may deepen the contraction by constraining the credit opportunities over economic downturn periods. Furthermore, the control variables, monetary policy, market structure and financial deepening of the economy indicate significant effect on the price-cost margins of the banks. The findings also serve as evidence towards the “financial accelerator” mechanism in Turkish economy over the sample period.