The technical efficiency of large bank production

Significant difficulties in commercial banking in the late 1980s raise questions about bank performance and efficiency. With the use of data envelopment analysis (DEA), we consider the relative technical efficiency of 201 large banks from 1984 to 1990. Bank technical inefficiency averages just over 5 percent, much lower than found in existing estimates. Larger and more profitable banks have higher levels of technical efficiency. At the same time, however, larger banks are more likely to operate under decreasing returns to scale.