An empirical investigation of the role of the Egyptian banking sector in attenuating the virulence of financial crises

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to compare the relative efficacy of Egyptian public, private and foreign banks in alleviating adverse macroeconomic meltdowns inflicted by financial crises by employing the Pedroni Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) method. The research contrasts two financial reforms: the liberalization phase of 1991-2003 to the Banking Reform Plan (2004-2009). The results of the study reveal that financial reforms have rendered foreign and domestic private banks more efficient in enhancing credit flow to the real sector, whilst making state-owned banks more successful in mobilizing savings during financial crises.