Title: How the internet affects the financial performance of Greek banks

Authors: Georgia Giordani; Christos Floros

Addresses: Portsmouth Business School, University of Portsmouth, Richmond Building, Portsmouth, PO1 3DE, UK ' Economics and Finance, University of Portsmouth, Richmond Building, Portsmouth, PO1 3DE, UK; Department of Finance and Insurance, TEI of Crete, Crete, 72100, Greece

Abstract: This paper examines how the internet affects the financial performance of Greek banks. Using econometric models, we examine the degree to which internet has contributed to an improvement in their profitability. Our findings suggest that the adoption of internet as a banking delivery channel has no effect on the profitability of banks in terms of the ROA and the ROE financial ratios. We show that there is a reduction in the net interest margin ratio, implying a decrease in the profits gained from the interest on loans after the deduction of the interest paid to lenders. In addition, we find that there is a decrease in the net interest revenue over average assets. Moreover, our findings suggest a reduction in the operational expenses for the banks adopting internet banking. Finally, we report that assets, net loans over total assets, and equities over total assets are unaffected by the internet banking. These results are strongly recommended to managers dealing with internet technology and banking adoption.

Keywords: internet banking; financial performance; commercial banks; Greece; banking industry; online banking; e-banking; electronic banking; econometric modelling; bank profitability.

DOI: 10.1504/IJFSM.2013.056354

International Journal of Financial Services Management, 2013 Vol.6 No.2, pp.170 - 177

Accepted: 29 Jul 2013
Published online: 13 Sep 2014 *

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