Banking Efficiency, Consolidation and Foreign Ownerhip: Evidence from the Polish Banking Market

The thesis consists of four separate papers that can be read individually.In the first paper “Efficiency of the Polish Banking Industry: Foreignversus Domestic Banks” we analyze the efficiency of foreign and domesticbanks. The second paper entitled “Foreign Acquisitions and Industry WealthEffects of Privatisation: Evidence from the Polish Banking Industry”investigates the reaction of Polish bank stocks to acquisition by foreigninvestors. The third paper “Consolidation of the Polish Banking Sector:Consequences for the Banking Institutions and the Public” was motivated bythe consolidation process in Poland and is the first attempt of itsanalysis. In the fourth paper “Does the Bank Lending Channel Work in aTransition Economy? A Case of Poland” we study the role of Polish banks inthe transmission of the monetary policy.Our findings indicate that foreign ownership brings a number of positivedevelopments to banks in transition countries, such as much neededcapital and know-how. Moreover, the results show that all banks, not onlythose acquired by foreign investors, benefit from increased presence offoreign investors. However, we also discover that the results are mainlydue to higher efficiency of greenfield banks and the fact that foreigninvestors target slightly more efficient institutions. Finally, we alsodocument that foreign bank ownership has an impact on the transmission ofthe monetary policy.