Affiliation:
1. Rey Juan Carlos University, Spain
2. Universidad de Jaén, Spain
Abstract
The banking system is an indicator of macroeconomic stability. Banking practices and regulation affect their operability, and hence, their efficiency in a competitive environment. Efficiency measures the optimal degree to which the needed resources to obtain the banking services are used. Knowledge on how to identify the combination of variables improves efficacy and, thus, assures the survival of financial entities in that competitive environment, also reinforcing macroeconomic stability. In this study the authors focus on Spain with the aim of analyzing the evolution of the efficiency in the Spanish banking system, segmented by size, during 2005 – 2020; thereby including different economic stages and regulation modifications carried out by the Bank of Spain about banking restructuring to improve its efficiency and profitability. Using the methodology of the analysis of ratios proposed by the International Monetary Fund, results evidence uneven effects for profitability and cost efficiency depending on the size of financial entities.