BANKING SYSTEMS IN ROMANIA AND ICELAND: TWO DIFFERENT WORLDS BUT SIMILAR DEVELOPMENT

Authors

  • Claudia Gabriela Baicu Spiru Haret University
  • Mar Wolfgang Mixa Reykjavik University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26458/jedep.v6i2.534

Keywords:

Romanian banking system, Icelandic banking system, global financial crisis, Romania, Iceland

Abstract

The novelty of this paper is the comparative analysis of the Romanian and Icelandic banking systems. The study results reveal that despite the fact that Romania and Iceland are two different worlds, there are several similarities between the banking systems of these countries. They include a late development of banking systems, foreigners contributing a great deal to the development of the banking systems in the early stage of evolution. After the Second World War until the 1990s specialized banks operated in both countries. The banking systems of both countries prior to the 1990s were dominated by politics. Liberalization of banking and capital occurred both in Romania and Iceland after 1990; the bank privatization process took place during a similar period (1999-2006, Romania; 1998-2002, Iceland). Before privatization, banks in both countries lacked experience in a new banking “arena”. The global financial crisis greatly affected the two banking systems. Despite similarities, the evolution of the two banking systems was also marked by differences, notably the ownership origin of banks after privatization (foreign dominance in Romania; domestic owners in Iceland) and different business models developed by banks in the pre-crisis period.      

Author Biography

Claudia Gabriela Baicu, Spiru Haret University

Baicu Claudia Gabriela is currently an associate professor at the Spiru Haret University, Faculty of Economics Bucharest. She is graduated from Faculty of Commerce at the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest. She took her PhD in Finance with the thesis entitled “Banks and international banking activity” and later attended a post-doctoral program at the Romanian Academy, finalized with a research titled “The crisis and the regulation of financial and banking activity”.

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Published

2017-06-30

How to Cite

Baicu, C. G., & Mixa, M. W. (2017). BANKING SYSTEMS IN ROMANIA AND ICELAND: TWO DIFFERENT WORLDS BUT SIMILAR DEVELOPMENT. Journal of Economic Development, Environment and People, 6(2), 24–44. https://doi.org/10.26458/jedep.v6i2.534

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