MEASURING THE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF THE EUROPEAN SYSTEMICALLY IMPORTANT BANKS

This paper investigates the major determinants of bank performance in the European sector, taking into consideration the most important financial groups from this region. To account for performance, we have applied two fixed-effects regression models to a panel of European banks that covers the period 2004-2012, where profitability was assessed through two variables, namely return on average equity and net interest margin. The estimation results show that all bank-specific determinants affect bank profitability significantly, but not always in the anticipated way. Finally, the business cycle has a positive, albeit asymmetric impact on bank profitability, suggesting that profitability is pro-cyclical.