Authors
1 Associate Professor, Allame Tabatabaie University
2 M.A. in Economics
Abstract
Electronic banking is one of the applications of the information and communication technology (ICT) in money market and banking industry. In this paper, we investigate the effects of electronic banking on the commercial banks profitability using an econometric model. The model is based on the* Structure-Conduct-Performance* approach in which the return of total assets (ROA) depends on market concentration, bank size, the number of automated teller machines (ATM), and the membership in the SHETAB network. We estimate the model using a panel data method consisting of the six major commercial banks (Tejarat, Refah Kargaran, Sepah, Saderat, Mellat and Melli banks) over the period 1998-2004. The results show that the number of automated teller machines (ATM) has a positive effect on profitability of commercial banks and the effect increases after joining the SHETAB network. We conclude that the expansion of electronic banking has a positive and significant effect on the commercial banks profitability.
Keywords
)