The Efficiency of the Banking System in Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) 2000–2009

This study estimates the cost (technical) efficiency of the banking system in Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), using a panel of 18 banks during the period 2000–2009. Estimates have been obtained using the stochastic frontier approach. The analyses were extended to cover bank ownership (foreign and local), type (Islamic and commercial) and bank size. Results indicate that the overall cost (technical) efficiency of banks in the OPT is declining during the period of research. The mean of cost and technical efficiency was found to deteriorate through the years. Cost efficiency declined from 0.730 in 2000 to 0.666 in 2009, while technical efficiency declined from 0.733 to 0.713 during the same period. Moreover, the lower allocative efficiency (incorrect input mix rather than utilization or wasting resources) is the main cause of the decline in cost efficiency over the period of analysis. In addition, large banks have lower cost efficiency, which indicates the presence of diseconomies of scale for banks in OPT.