Time: 13:00-15:00 (UK Time), Wednesday, 23 November 2022
Presenter: Dr. Athina Petropoulou, SOAS University of London
Co-authors: Dr. Vasileios Pappas (University of Kent), Prof. Steven Ongena (University of Zurich), Prof. Dimitrios Gounopoulos (University of Bath), and Dr. Richard Fairchild (University of Bath)
Chair: Prof. Victor Murinde, SOAS University of London

Abstract
The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) recently redrew its criteria to identify community banks by including location and business strategy. We analyze the resultant re-classification of community banks and show it affects a wide array of salient outcomes. The thus-defined community banks are one-fifth more cost-efficient than other banks. Most of this efficiency advantage finds its origin in market structure, regulatory, and business environment factors, with corresponding substantial state-level heterogeneity. Community banks fare especially better when competing with large non-community banks and where financial access is limited.

Presenter

Dr. Athina Petropoulou is a post-doctoral Research Fellow in the Centre for Global Finance at SOAS University of London. Athina joined CGF in 2020 under the AXA Chair in Global Finance. She joined us from the University of Bath. Her core research interests lie in the areas of banking, where she investigates credit risk, liquidity risk, efficiency and competition across alternative banking models (e.g., community banks). Her other research interests also include finance and financial econometrics and she has been involved in research projects at the University of Bath and the University of Kent. Her research work has been presented at leading international academic conferences such as IFABS and INFINITI among others. She has also published in the Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money.