Efficiency in Australian building societies: an econometric cost function approach

Maximum-likelihood estimates of a stochastic cost frontier function incorporating efficiency effects are obtained for 22 Australian building societies in the period 1992-1995. Cost inefficiency scores indicate that building societies' costs were 20% above what could be considered necessary. The results also indicate that capital adequacy restrictions are not a significant influence on the level of inefficiency, though branch and agency networks, asset size, and non-core commercial activities are. At the industry level that there has been an improvement in the level of cost efficiency of Australian building societies during the period in question.