Bank Efficiency Assessment: A Bayesian Approach (Case Study of the Selected Banks of Iran)

The purpose of this research is to measure the efficiency of selected Iranian banks from 2010 to 2016. We estimate efficiency, productivity and efficiency changes under the Bayesian setting. In this research, we consider the Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) of banks as bad outputs, while good outputs are loans, off balance sheet assets and securities. Also, variables such as number of employees, bank capital, fixed assets and deposits play inputs role. Results show that the productivity changes of selected Iranian banks are positive over the period of the study, which is mainly due to the improvement in technology like e-banking services, while efficiency changes continued to be negative over the same period. It is observed that the average efficiency for banks is 85 percent. The Karafarin bank has the largest efficiency among selected banks while Refah Kargaran bank efficiency has the smallest one. Results also show that, during the specified period, private banks have a few better efficiency estimate in comparison with the efficiency of state owned banks.