Competition in the Polish banking market prior to recent crisis for the period 1997–2007 – empirical results obtained with the use of three different models

The aim of this analysis is to assess the changes in the measures of competition of the Polish banking sector in the period between 1997–2007 (before the financial crisis) with the use of quantitative methods based on the theory of competition measurement in the banking sector (the Industrial Organisation Approach to Banking). In this paper three models have been used for the evaluation of competition: the Panzar and Rosse model (P-R), the Lerner index (LI) and the Boone indicator (BI). Empirical analysis shows that the degree of competition in the Polish banking market in the period between 1997–2007 followed a slight upward trend. This results are confirmed by the Panzar and Rosse model (P-R), the Lerner index (LI) and the Boone indicator (BI). The same channels (increase in mergers and acquisitions and deregulation) which had an impact on changes in the competition of banking sectors in the euro zone countries, had an impact on the Polish banking sector due to the involvement of the capital from the euro zone.