Concentration and Competition in the Romanian Banking System

In this paper we try to assess banking concentration in Romania for 2001 – 2011 period, taking into account the evolution of market share of the first five banks in the system, HHI ( Herfindahl-Hirschman Index) for assets, loans and deposits, also the banking system performances highlighted by indicators like ROA and ROE. In the analyzed period there are three approaches: in the first period banks have had very good performances in the context of a less competitive banking environment, after the privatization of some state capital banks, when the leader of the market lost market share in the favor of more efficient banks and the financial crisis the banks are still facing it today.