IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/eurasi/v11y2021i3d10.1007_s40821-020-00155-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Board independence and Chinese banking efficiency: a moderating role of ownership restructuring

Author

Listed:
  • Ramiz ur Rehman

    (Xián Polytechnic University)

  • Junrui Zhang

    (Xián Jiaotong University)

  • Muhammad Akram Naseem

    (University of Lahore)

  • Muhammad Ishfaq Ahmed

    (University of Lahore)

  • Rizwan Ali

    (University of Lahore)

Abstract

This study investigates how Chinese banking sector reforms have affected the relationship between banking performance and bank board structure. The study analyzes data from listed commercial Chinese banks between 2000 and 2013, and banking efficiency scores are estimated using the stochastic frontier approach (SFA) and data envelopment analysis (DEA). The impact of board structure and structural reforms on banking efficiency is further analyzed using panel data regression. We find that board independence has a negative influence on banking efficiency, but it becomes positive when the banks are listed on the stock market. This finding confirms the soft-budget constraint theory, which holds that large banks are less efficient than smaller ones as the former can more easily obtain financial support during times of distress. Further, the listing of state-owned banks positively moderates the relationship between board independence and banking efficiency. The study contributes to the literature on banking reforms, board structure, and banking efficiency. It confirms the theoretical basis for Chinese banking reforms and that banking efficiency has improved since the ownership restructuring.

Suggested Citation

  • Ramiz ur Rehman & Junrui Zhang & Muhammad Akram Naseem & Muhammad Ishfaq Ahmed & Rizwan Ali, 2021. "Board independence and Chinese banking efficiency: a moderating role of ownership restructuring," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 11(3), pages 517-536, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eurasi:v:11:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s40821-020-00155-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s40821-020-00155-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s40821-020-00155-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s40821-020-00155-9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fungáčová, Zuzana & Pessarossi, Pierre & Weill, Laurent, 2013. "Is bank competition detrimental to efficiency? Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 121-134.
    2. Berger, Allen N. & Hasan, Iftekhar & Zhou, Mingming, 2009. "Bank ownership and efficiency in China: What will happen in the world's largest nation?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 113-130, January.
    3. Dan Luo & Shujie Yao, 2010. "World financial crisis and the rise of Chinese commercial banks: an efficiency analysis using DEA," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(19), pages 1515-1530.
    4. Aebi, Vincent & Sabato, Gabriele & Schmid, Markus, 2012. "Risk management, corporate governance, and bank performance in the financial crisis," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(12), pages 3213-3226.
    5. Tripe, David, 2003. "Trends in New Zealand Bank Efficiency over Time," Applied Econometrics and International Development, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 3(1).
    6. Renee B. Adams & Benjamin E. Hermalin & Michael S. Weisbach, 2010. "The Role of Boards of Directors in Corporate Governance: A Conceptual Framework and Survey," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 48(1), pages 58-107, March.
    7. Soedarmono, Wahyoe & Machrouh, Fouad & Tarazi, Amine, 2013. "Bank competition, crisis and risk taking: Evidence from emerging markets in Asia," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 196-221.
    8. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez‐De‐Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 2002. "Government Ownership of Banks," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(1), pages 265-301, February.
    9. Firth, Michael & Lin, Chen & Liu, Ping & Wong, Sonia M.L., 2009. "Inside the black box: Bank credit allocation in China's private sector," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 1144-1155, June.
    10. Andres, Pablo de & Vallelado, Eleuterio, 2008. "Corporate governance in banking: The role of the board of directors," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(12), pages 2570-2580, December.
    11. Jan Boone, 2008. "A New Way to Measure Competition," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(531), pages 1245-1261, August.
    12. Jan Boone, 2008. "A New Way to Measure Competition," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(531), pages 1245-1261, August.
    13. Delis, Manthos D & Papanikolaou, Nikolaos I, 2009. "Determinants of bank efficiency: Evidence from a semi-parametric methodology," MPRA Paper 13893, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. repec:zbw:bofitp:2010_004 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Lampe, Hannes W. & Hilgers, Dennis, 2015. "Trajectories of efficiency measurement: A bibliometric analysis of DEA and SFA," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 240(1), pages 1-21.
    16. Michael C. Jensen, 2010. "The Modern Industrial Revolution, Exit, and the Failure of Internal Control Systems," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 22(1), pages 43-58, January.
    17. Daniel J. Bradley & Bradford D. Jordan & Jay R. Ritter, 2003. "The Quiet Period Goes out with a Bang," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(1), pages 1-36, February.
    18. Hasan, Iftekhar & Marton, Katherin, 2003. "Development and efficiency of the banking sector in a transitional economy: Hungarian experience," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(12), pages 2249-2271, December.
    19. Milton Harris & Artur Raviv, 2008. "A Theory of Board Control and Size," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 21(4), pages 1797-1832, July.
    20. Sherman, H. David & Gold, Franklin, 1985. "Bank branch operating efficiency : Evaluation with Data Envelopment Analysis," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 297-315, June.
    21. Adams, Renée B. & Mehran, Hamid, 2012. "Bank board structure and performance: Evidence for large bank holding companies," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 243-267.
    22. Wenfeng Wu & Chongfeng Wu & Oliver M. Rui, 2012. "Ownership and the Value of Political Connections: Evidence from China," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 18(4), pages 695-729, September.
    23. Beltratti, Andrea & Stulz, René M., 2012. "The credit crisis around the globe: Why did some banks perform better?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(1), pages 1-17.
    24. Jiang, Chunxia & Yao, Shujie & Zhang, Zongyi, 2009. "The effects of governance changes on bank efficiency in China: A stochastic distance function approach," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 717-731, December.
    25. Berger, Allen N. & Hasan, Iftekhar & Zhou, Mingming, 2010. "The effects of focus versus diversification on bank performance: Evidence from Chinese banks," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(7), pages 1417-1435, July.
    26. Jiyun Xu (Janet) & Christopher Gan & Baiding Hu, 2015. "An empirical analysis of China’s Big four state-owned banks’ performance: A data envelopment analysis," Journal of Banking Regulation, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 16(1), pages 1-21, January.
    27. Liang, Qi & Xu, Pisun & Jiraporn, Pornsit, 2013. "Board characteristics and Chinese bank performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 2953-2968.
    28. Michiel van Leuvensteijn & Jacob Bikker & Adrian van Rixtel & Christoffer Kok Sørensen, 2011. "A new approach to measuring competition in the loan markets of the euro area," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(23), pages 3155-3167.
    29. K. R. Shanmugam & A. Das, 2004. "Efficiency of Indian commercial banks during the reform period," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(9), pages 681-686.
    30. Bauer, Paul W. & Berger, Allen N. & Ferrier, Gary D. & Humphrey, David B., 1998. "Consistency Conditions for Regulatory Analysis of Financial Institutions: A Comparison of Frontier Efficiency Methods," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 85-114, March.
    31. Tan, Yong & Floros, Christos, 2013. "Risk, capital and efficiency in Chinese banking," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 378-393.
    32. Ning Ding & Hung-Gay Fung & Jingyi Jia, 2015. "What Drives Cost Efficiency of Banks in China?," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 23(2), pages 61-83, March.
    33. Shujun Ding & Zhenyu Wu & Yuanshun Li & Chunxin Jia, 2010. "Executive compensation, supervisory board, and China’s governance reform: a legal approach perspective," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 35(4), pages 445-471, November.
    34. Erkens, David H. & Hung, Mingyi & Matos, Pedro, 2012. "Corporate governance in the 2007–2008 financial crisis: Evidence from financial institutions worldwide," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 389-411.
    35. Anup Agrawal & Charles R. Knoeber, "undated". "Firm Performance and Mechanisms to Control Agency Problems between Managers and Shareholders (Revision of 29-94)," Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research Working Papers 08-96, Wharton School Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research.
    36. Bing Xu & Adrian Van Rixtel & Michiel Van Leuvensteijn, 2013. "Measuring bank competition in China: a comparison of new versus conventional approaches applied to loan markets," BIS Working Papers 422, Bank for International Settlements.
    37. Oxelheim, Lars & Randoy, Trond, 2003. "The impact of foreign board membership on firm value," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(12), pages 2369-2392, December.
    38. Shujie Yao & Zhongwei Han & Genfu Feng, 2008. "Ownership Reform, Foreign Competition, and Efficiency of Chinese Commercial Banks: A Non-Parametric Approach," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2008-38, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    39. Joel F. Houston & Chen Lin & Yue Ma, 2012. "Regulatory Arbitrage and International Bank Flows," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(5), pages 1845-1895, October.
    40. Sun, Jianjun & Harimaya, Kozo & Yamori, Nobuyoshi, 2013. "Regional economic development, strategic investors, and efficiency of Chinese city commercial banks," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 1602-1611.
    41. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2012_011 is not listed on IDEAS
    42. Chen, Xiaogang & Skully, Michael & Brown, Kym, 2005. "Banking efficiency in China: Application of DEA to pre- and post-deregulation eras: 1993-2000," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 229-245.
    43. Arun Upadhyay & Ram Sriram, 2011. "Board Size, Corporate Information Environment and Cost of Capital," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(9-10), pages 1238-1261, November.
    44. Boubakri, Narjess & Cosset, Jean-Claude & Saffar, Walid, 2008. "Political connections of newly privatized firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(5), pages 654-673, December.
    45. Yin, Haiyan & Yang, Jiawen & Mehran, Jamshid, 2013. "An empirical study of bank efficiency in China after WTO accession," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 153-170.
    46. Asmild, Mette & Matthews, Kent, 2012. "Multi-directional efficiency analysis of efficiency patterns in Chinese banks 1997–2008," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 219(2), pages 434-441.
    47. Shujie Yao & Chunxia Jiang & Genfu Feng & Dirk Willenbockel, 2007. "WTO challenges and efficiency of Chinese banks," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(5), pages 629-643.
    48. Shujie Yao & Zhongwei Han & Genfu Feng, 2008. "Ownership Reform, Foreign Competition and Efficiency of Chinese Commercial Banks: A Non‐parametric Approach," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(10), pages 1310-1326, October.
    49. Barros, Carlos P. & Chen, Zhongfei & Liang, Qi Bin & Peypoch, Nicolas, 2011. "Technical efficiency in the Chinese banking sector," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 2083-2089, September.
    50. Core, John E. & Holthausen, Robert W. & Larcker, David F., 1999. "Corporate governance, chief executive officer compensation, and firm performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 371-406, March.
    51. Coles, Jeffrey L. & Daniel, Naveen D. & Naveen, Lalitha, 2008. "Boards: Does one size fit all," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 329-356, February.
    52. Pathan, Shams & Faff, Robert, 2013. "Does board structure in banks really affect their performance?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 1573-1589.
    53. Jonathan R. Macey & Maureen O'Hara, 2003. "The corporate governance of banks," Economic Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, vol. 9(Apr), pages 91-107.
    54. Jacob A. Bikker & Jaap W.B. Bos, 2005. "Trends in Competition and Profitability in the Banking Industry: A Basic Framework," SUERF Studies, SUERF - The European Money and Finance Forum, number 2005/2 edited by Morten Balling, May.
    55. Jiang, Chunxia & Yao, Shujie & Feng, Genfu, 2013. "Bank ownership, privatization, and performance: Evidence from a transition country," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 3364-3372.
    56. Philip Hardwick & Mike Adams & Hong Zou, 2011. "Board Characteristics and Profit Efficiency in the United Kingdom Life Insurance Industry," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(7-8), pages 987-1015, September.
    57. Clark, Jeffrey A & Siems, Thomas F, 2002. "X-Efficiency in Banking: Looking beyond the Balance Sheet," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 34(4), pages 987-1013, November.
    58. Anup Agrawal & Charles R. Knoeber, "undated". "Firm Performance and Mechanisms to Control Agency Problems between Managers and Shareholders (Revision of 29-94)," Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research Working Papers 8-96, Wharton School Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research.
    59. repec:zbw:bofitp:2012_031 is not listed on IDEAS
    60. Fries, Steven & Taci, Anita, 2005. "Cost efficiency of banks in transition: Evidence from 289 banks in 15 post-communist countries," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 55-81, January.
    61. Grant Kirkpatrick, 2009. "The corporate governance lessons from the financial crisis," OECD Journal: Financial Market Trends, OECD Publishing, vol. 2009(1), pages 61-87.
    62. Agrawal, Anup & Knoeber, Charles R., 1996. "Firm Performance and Mechanisms to Control Agency Problems between Managers and Shareholders," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 31(3), pages 377-397, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. S. M. Shamsul Alam & Mohammad Abdul Matin Chowdhury & Dzuljastri Bin Abdul Razak, 2021. "Research evolution in banking performance: a bibliometric analysis," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-19, December.
    2. Graziella Bonanno & Annalisa Ferrando & Stefania Patrizia Sonia Rossi, 2023. "Do innovation and financial constraints affect the profit efficiency of European enterprises?," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 13(1), pages 57-86, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dong, Yizhe & Girardone, Claudia & Kuo, Jing-Ming, 2017. "Governance, efficiency and risk taking in Chinese banking," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 211-229.
    2. Liang, Qi & Xu, Pisun & Jiraporn, Pornsit, 2013. "Board characteristics and Chinese bank performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 2953-2968.
    3. Thierno Barry & Laetitia Lepetit & Frank Strobel & Thu Tran, 2018. "Better than independent: the role of minority directors on bank boards," Working Papers hal-01937927, HAL.
    4. Shkendije Himaj, 2014. "Corporate Governance in Banks and its Impact on Risk and Performance: Review of Literature on the Selected Governance Mechanisms," Journal of Central Banking Theory and Practice, Central bank of Montenegro, vol. 3(3), pages 53-85.
    5. Emmanuel Mamatzakis & Theodora Bermpei, 2015. "The Effect of Corporate Governance on the Performance of US Investment Banks," Financial Markets, Institutions & Instruments, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(2-3), pages 191-239, May.
    6. Catarina Fernandes & Jorge Farinha & Francisco Vitorino Martins & Cesario Mateus, 2018. "Bank governance and performance: a survey of the literature," Journal of Banking Regulation, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(3), pages 236-256, July.
    7. Chen, Zhongfei & Matousek, Roman & Wanke, Peter, 2018. "Chinese bank efficiency during the global financial crisis: A combined approach using satisficing DEA and Support Vector Machines☆," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 71-86.
    8. Catarina Fernandes & Jorge Farinha & Francisco Vitorino Martins & Cesario Mateus, 2017. "Supervisory boards, financial crisis and bank performance: do board characteristics matter?," Journal of Banking Regulation, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 18(4), pages 310-337, November.
    9. Jayati Sarkar & Subrata Sarkar, 2018. "Bank Ownership, Board Characteristics and Performance: Evidence from Commercial Banks in India," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 6(1), pages 1-30, February.
    10. Huang, Tai-Hsin & Lin, Chung-I & Chen, Kuan-Chen, 2017. "Evaluating efficiencies of Chinese commercial banks in the context of stochastic multistage technologies," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 93-110.
    11. Muhammad Haris & Hongxing Yao & Gulzara Tariq & Hafiz Mustansar Javaid & Qurat Ul Ain, 2019. "Corporate Governance, Political Connections, and Bank Performance," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-37, October.
    12. Mavrakana, Christina & Psillaki, Maria, 2019. "Do board structure and compensation matter for bank stability and bank performance? Evidence from European banks," MPRA Paper 95776, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Bowo Setiyono & Amine Tarazi, 2018. "Does Diversity of Bank Board Members Affect Performance and Risk? Evidence from an Emerging Market," CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance, in: Belén Díaz Díaz & Samuel O. Idowu & Philip Molyneux (ed.), Corporate Governance in Banking and Investor Protection, chapter 0, pages 185-218, Springer.
    14. Laura Baselga-Pascual & Antonio Trujillo-Ponce & Emilia Vähämaa & Sami Vähämaa, 2018. "Ethical Reputation of Financial Institutions: Do Board Characteristics Matter?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(3), pages 489-510, March.
    15. Jiang, Chunxia & Yao, Shujie & Feng, Genfu, 2013. "Bank ownership, privatization, and performance: Evidence from a transition country," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 3364-3372.
    16. Shiyi Chen & Wolfgang K. Härdle & Li Wang, 2020. "Estimation and determinants of Chinese banks’ total factor efficiency: a new vision based on unbalanced development of Chinese banks and their overall risk," Computational Statistics, Springer, vol. 35(2), pages 427-468, June.
    17. Ameni Tarchouna & Bilel Jarraya & Abdelfettah Bouri, 2022. "Do board characteristics and ownership structure matter for bank non-performing loans? Empirical evidence from US commercial banks," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 26(2), pages 479-518, June.
    18. El Moussawi, Chawki & Mansour, Rana, 2022. "Competition, cost efficiency and stability of banks in the MENA region," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 143-170.
    19. Maria-Eleni K. Agoraki & Manthos D. Delis & Panagiotis K. Staikouras, 2010. "The effect of board size and composition on bank efficiency," International Journal of Banking, Accounting and Finance, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 2(4), pages 357-386.
    20. Renata Karkowska & Jan Acedański, 2020. "The effect of corporate board attributes on bank stability," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 19(2), pages 99-137, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Banking reforms; China bank performance; DEA; SFA; Banking efficiency; Board independence;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G20 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - General
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:eurasi:v:11:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s40821-020-00155-9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.