Using a novel method to separate US community banks over the 1984-2013 period from their non-community counterparts we compare the two bank types on the basis of cost efficiency. We decompose cost efficiency into a persistent and a residual component; the former capturing the market structure...

It has been recognised that a major contributory factor to the current financial crisis has been the excessive risk-taking behaviour of the banking sector. The UK Banking Commission Report proposes, as a remedy, that bankers who take excessive risks that lead their banks into bail-out situations...