Banking reform in transition countries

An important debate about financial reform in transition economies is whether or not governments should try to rehabilitate existing state-owned banks or allow a new or parallel banking system to emerge. A comparison of institutional development of banks in twenty-five transition countries suggests that more rapid progress can be made with the entry of new banks as opposed to rehabilitation, especially relative to initial conditions. In most countries, however, a cadre of weak banks still exists. Regression estimates suggest that the progress of these weak banks is inhibited by poor troubled-bank intervention, preferential treatment and limited entry.