Financial Integration and Economies of Scope: A Cross-Industry Analysis of Bancassurance in Taiwan

Using unique bancassurance data from Taiwan, we examine whether banks improve their scope economies by engaging in bancassurance activities. We adopt an econometric approach to identify the relation between economies of scope and bancassurance. The empirical results show that higher involvement in bancassurance helps banks improve their cost scope economies but may also lead to revenue scope diseconomies. However, the overall results indicate that banks in Taiwan realized greater gains from cost scope economies than losses from revenue scope diseconomies by engaging in bancassurancc activities. In particular, banks with higher levels of bancassurance premium income and subsidiaries of financial holding companies are more likely to realize cost scope economies. On the other hand, banks with more correspondent insurers, larger numbers of branches, greater numbers of customers, a more intensive product focus, and a higher proportion of invested assets are more likely to realize revenue scope economies.