Banking remains the dominant financial segment in the East Asian countries, with banking sector assets accounting for almost 60 percent of GDP on average. Thus the performance and issues pertaining to the banking sector continue to be of paramount importance to the overall financial systems in the region. With an appropriate regulatory and policy environment, East Asian banks could become more efficient and serve a wider set of needs, while strengthening their soundness. Banking sector health in East Asia has improved considerably since the crisis… 
Although there still considerable variation across countries and the region is still below others on average… 
Efficiency has improved, although banks have still to reap the benefits from consolidation (economies of scale and scope)… 
The reach of the banking sector is quite broad (at least through the combination of banks and ATMs), but there is still scope for enhancing access particularly in countries such as China, Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand. 
To improve the efficiency and reach of banks it will be important to ensure that banks operate in a competitive environment. Also important is the strengthening of informational infrastructure, including credit registries, and the quality of information disclosure, as well as creditor rights and the overall functioning of the legal systems. 
The region has undertaken significant efforts to improve prudential regulations and supervision to strengthen the stability of the banking system, but several areas still need to converge to international standards… 
Please buyor download(2.3mb.pdf) the report to read in deeper detail about recent developments in the East Asian banking system, measures to improve efficiency, to enhance the reach of the sector, and how to ensure the stability of the system. Additional reading on this topic (Please note that these are not necessarily related to the findings of the report, or to the East Asian region in particular. The views of these readings do not necessarily correspond to the views of the World Bank, its Executive Directors, or the countries they represent.) Beck, T., A. Demirguc-Kunt, and S. Martinez-Peria. “Reaching Out: Access to and Use of Banking Services across Countries” Claessens, Stijn. 2006. “Competitive Implications of Cross-Border Banking” Barth, James, Gerard Caprio and Ross Levine. 2005. “Rethinking Bank Supervision and Regulation: Until Angels Govern”. , Cambridge University Press. Demirguc-Kunt, Asli, Luc Laeven, and Ross Levine. 2004. “Regulations, Market Structure, Institutions, and the Cost of Financial Intermediation,” Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking, 36(3), June, 2004, 593-622. Dermiguc-Kunt, A., and E. Kane. 2002. “Deposit Insurance Around the Globe: Where Does it Work?” Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 16 (2), Spring 2002. Detragiache, Enrica, Poonam Gupta, and Thierry Tressel, 2005, “Foreign Banks in Poor Countries: Theory and Evidence,” Working paper, IMF. |
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