SPOUDAI - Journal of Economics and Business

3-21

Authors: Ioannis Koliousis

The European Transport Industry has been heavily deregulated during the past 30 years, through initiatives that increase competition among incumbents primarily by reducing the entry restrictions and by opening the market(s) for non-state owned companies. This paper discusses the impact the latest interventions by the European Commission in terms of further opening the transport industry have had. By analyzing current data, the impact of economic deregulation on the volume of transport industry production is studied. The empirical evidence confirm the positive impact on the system wide level suggesting the further use of deregulatory tools in order to support the industry growth. Additionally, recommendations for further research are made in order to understand more in depth the indirect effects of deregulation. JEL Classification: L51, L91, R40

32-45

Authors: Nikos Alabanos, Sotiris Theodoropoulos

As administrative burden’s reduction (AB) is of crucial importance in order to ensure competitive conditions for national economies, measurement standardization and objectivity is a key component for the implementation of good regulation principles and administrative cost reduction. International experience designates both the main challenges and the limitations in which existent models are subjected to. Moreover, a thorough comparison among the existent administrative burden models’ (ABM’s) stresses specific gaps mainly on data and sampling measurement methods, while the widespread need for a common comparison benchmark among different countries should be addressed. JEL Classification: G38, K20, L51 Keywords Administrative burden, administrative costs, substantive costs, regulatory compliance, international comparison.

79-107

Authors: Psillaki Maria, Georgoulea Eleftheria

The recent global financial crisis (GFC) of 2007-2008 revealed several critical shortcomings in the existing Basel II international banking supervisory framework. The Basel Committee adopted a set of reform measures inclusive of additional solvency and liquidity rules, known as "Basel III". Through a new Directive and Regulation known as the CRD IV and CRR package, the European Union implemented Basel III in January 2014. We investigate the effects of the new liquidity and leverage requirements (CRDIV/CRR) under Basel III on the performance of Greek banks for the period 2004 to 2013 which includes both the GFC and the Sovereign Debt Crisis in Europe. We find that the leverage ratio shows a statistically significant albeit positive association with performance indicators (ROA and ROE) during the crisis period, indicative of the fact that higher values of performance ratios due to increased leverage imply increased solvency risk for banks. The effect of the liquidity ratio on bank performance is positive both in the period of crisis and the preceding credit boom period, reflecting the fact that the increased liquidity of banks helps to exploit opportunities presented directly and at lower cost, thereby increasing their profitability. However, the net stable funding ratio (NSFR) has a negative effect on both ROA and ROE in the crisis period. Reduced lending activity or recapitalizations are likely to adversely affect bank profitability during a stress period. Our findings provide some guidance on the unintended consequences of new solvency and liquidity standards, viz., new leverage requirements may force banks to shed highly liquid assets from their balance sheet thereby compromising their ability to manage liquidity when under stress. JEL Classification: G01, G21, G28 Keywords: bank performance, liquidity coverage ratio (LCR), net stable funding ratio (NSFR), Basel III, leverage ratio, Greek banks.