Competition and concentration in the banking sector of the South Eastern European region

This paper measures the degree of concentration and competition in the South Eastern European banking sector, an emerging region that has rarely been investigated, over the period 1998-2002. In the empirical part, we opt for a methodology as proposed by Panzar and Rosse based on a non-structural estimation of the H-statistic for both interest income and total operating revenue. The empirical evidence reveals that the banking industry in the region operates under monopolistic competition. This evidence suggests that there is a non-collusive behaviour among the banks, portraying the existence of a contestable market. In addition, an equilibrium is present in the long run and over the years the market conditions are registering a gradual improvement in terms of competition.