Download or read book Bank Efficiency in Sub-Saharan African Middle Income Countries written by Chuling Chen and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We use bank level data to study the efficiency of banks in Sub-Saharan African middle-income countries and provide possible explanations for the difference in the efficiency levels of banks. We find that banks, on average, could save 20-30 percent of their total costs if they were operating efficiently, and that foreign banks are more efficient than public banks and domestic private banks. Among the factors that could affect the efficiency levels are macroeconomic stability, depth of financial development, the degree of market competition, strong legal rights and contract laws, and better governance, including political stability and government effectiveness. Our findings point to the importance of policies that aim to build stronger institutions, promote more competition, and improve governance.