We study economic efficiency in 142 financial intermediaries from eighteen countries over the period 1989-1998 and the relationship between efficiency, productivity change and shareholders' wealth maximization. A non-parametric frontier analysis (DEA) is applied to estimate the relative efficiency of commercial banks of different geographical areas. A Malmquist decomposition is then carried out in order to separate efficiency change from technical change. We evaluate the relationship between economic efficiency and wealth maximization. Results show different productivity patterns among three geographical areas (North America, Japan and Europe) over the sample period. The estimates of economic efficiency and productivity changes are consistent with the wealth maximization criterion.