Download or read book Measuring Commercial Bank Efficiency written by Dimitri Vittas and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1991 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Measuring bank efficiency is difficult because there is no satisfactory definition of bank output. International comparisons based on operating costs and margins are fraught with problems. These stem from substantial differences in capital structure (leverage), business or product mix, range and quality of services, inflation rates, and accounting conventions (especially about the valuation of assets, the level of loan loss provisioning, and the use of hidden reserves). Facile and uncritical use of ratios cannot substitute for detailed knowledge and understanding of banking structure and practice.