Hassan Mohamed Mohamed Hafez

The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficiency of two different banking systems operating in Egypt (Islamic versus conventional banks). A sample of 35 banks has been used to examine the technical efficiency before and after the financial crisis using data envelopment analysis model. Evaluating the technical efficiency of Egyptian banks will enable policymakers to support which banking system is more efficient to facilitate the financial inclusion and enhance the economic development.
Before the financial crisis, conventional banks outperformed conventional banks with Islamic windows and Islamic banks, scale technical efficiency outperformed pure technical efficiency when analyzing conventional banks and conventional banks with Islamic windows. In terms of Islamic banks, pure efficiency outperformed scale efficiency. After the financial crisis, technical efficiency of all banks decreased. However, pure technical efficiency of Islamic banks has improved as a result of the quality of management and outperformed both conventional banks and conventional banks with Islamic windows. These results imply that Islamic banks have not been affected by the financial crisis. Therefore, the increased adoption and support of the Islamic banks in Egypt is addressed to develop the economy and push forward entrepreneurship projects, support the financial inclusion and the informal economy integration.

The efficiency of banks is an important factor that effectively contributes to the stability of the world financial system, thus reducing financial failure rates of banks and international financial crises that leads to the stability of the global financial system. This study aims to investigate whether the efficiency of Egyptian banks adversely affects financial stability. A sample of 30 banks operating in Egypt was selected to answer this question using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach and financial ratios. This study enables the Central Bank of Egypt to identify which banking system (Islamic banks or traditional banks) is more efficient and contributes significantly to boost economic growth. Results revealed that the efficiency of banks is a core factor to affect financial stability. The statically explanatory power of this effect is significant but weak at 14.1% for all Egyptian banks, 6.3% for traditional banks, strong for traditional banks with Islamic window at 22%, and stronger for Islamic banks at 55%. Consequently, the Islamic banking system in Egypt is more efficient compared to traditional banks and has a greater impact on financial stability as one of the pillars of financial inclusion to boost economic growth in Egypt.