Structure and Competition in the Uruguayan Banking Sector

Miguel Mello Costa () and Jorge Ponce

No 2019006, Documentos de trabajo from Banco Central del Uruguay

Abstract: Using a quarterly data set for 14 banks in Uruguay between 2004 and 2018, we find that this sector is a concentrated oligopoly that exhibits global economies of scale. Specific product economies of scale are only significant in loans to households. Likewise, we find statistically significant economies of scope between loans to households in foreign and in local currency, as well as between loans to firms and deposits in local currency. The credit market to households is the less competitive, behaving like a monopoly or under implicit collusion. The credit market to firms exhibits greater competition than that suggested by the structure of the market, specially in local currency. Overall, the results suggest that there exists room for the development and increasing competition of the Uruguayan banking sector.

Keywords: Cost function; economies of scale and scope; market structure; competition; banks; Uruguay (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G21 L10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 37 pages
Date: 2019
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ban, nep-com and nep-lam
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bku:doctra:2019006

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