BANKING PERFORMANCE IN SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE DURING THE INTERWAR PERIOD
Žarko Lazarević
Institute of Contemporary History
ABSTRACT
In the framework of the broader political and economic development of the individual states on Balkan Peninsula the author has made the comparison between the performance of the banking sector in Yugoslavia, Romania, Greece and Bulgaria. The analysis was carried out on the sample of balance sheets for the most important joint stock banking companies in the respective countries in the years 1928 and 1929 which represent the peak of the activity and performance of banks in region. In the following years the whole region sank in the abyss of the Great Depression of the thirties when the issue of banking performance was considered on the different way. One of the common features of the banks in region is certainly the prevailing role of short-term resources and a huge imbalance in interest incomes and incomes from other bank transactions. This fact does not only testify to high margins and effective interest rates, but also to a limited portfolio in bank services and other transactions, which was the consequence of the social and economic environment that banks had to operate in.
Keywords: South-eastern Europe; Banks; Banking; Balance sheets.
JEL classification: G21; N24.
Žarko Lazarević
Institute of Contemporary History
Foreign Research Division
Ljubljana, Slovenia
e-mail: http://www.bankofgreece.gr/publications/zarko.lazarevic@inz.si