Article

 

Testing the concentration-performance relationship in the Tunisian banking sector (p.41-62)

by

Abdelaziz Hakimi, FSJEG Jendouba

Helmi Hamdi, CERGAM, Aix-Marseille University

Mouldi Djelassi, ESSEC Tunis and LEO- Orléans

Keywords : Concentration, Performance, Liberalization, Tunisians banks, Panel data.

JEL classification : G21, G34, L10, L11, C51

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to investigate whether concentration affects profitability of the Tunisian banking sector for the period 1980-2009. Our sample is made up of 9 banks and our empirical analysis is based on panel data analysis. In this paper, profitability is measured by the conventional return on equities (ROE) and return on assets (ROA). In the robustness checks we add net interest margin (NIM) as a third indicator of profitability. The main results of the paper reveal that concentration has positive impacts on Tunisian banking profitability. More, the adoption of the various industrial strategies by Tunisian banks was advantageous for the banking sector and for the economy as a whole.