Inside the crisis:: An empirical analysis of banking systems in distress

Using aggregate and bank-level data for several countries, the paper studies what happens to the banking system following a banking crisis. Crises are not accompanied by a significant decline in aggregate bank deposits relative to GDP, although depositors leave weaker banks for stronger ones. Credit slows substantially, but the credit-to-GDP ratio is higher after the crisis. Output recovery begins in the second year after the crisis while credit still stagnates. Banks, including healthier ones, reallocate their asset portfolio away from loans, suggesting a lack of loan demand or collateral. Banks also improve their cost efficiency. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.