The IUP Journal of Bank Management

Does Bancassurance Improve the Efficiency of Banks? Evidence from Indian Banks

Article Details

Pub. Date	:May, 2019
Product Name	: The IUP Journal of Bank Management
Product Type	: Article
Product Code	: IJIT51905
Author Name	: Suman Rani and Meena Sharma
Availability	: YES
Subject/Domain	: Finance
Download Format	: PDF Format
No. of Pages	: 09

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Abstract

This paper examines whether insurance business helps in improving the efficiency of the banking sector. The previous literature had shown contradictory results regarding the impact of diversification on banks’ performance. On the one hand, past studies argued that banks engaging in a variety of insurance selling activities can benefit from economies of scope, ultimately improving both their performance and market value. On the other hand, diversification could lead to the escalation of agency problems existing between corporate insiders and small shareholders, which would ultimately destroy the value of the firm within the market. This study examined the impact of bancassurance on the efficiency of public sector banks and private sector banks in India for the period 2011-2017. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used to measure the impact of bancassurance on all public sector and private sector banks in India. The results revealed that bancassurance made an impact on the efficiency of the banking sector. An average deviation of 7.28% has been observed between the overall technical efficiency scores without bancassurance income and with bancassurance income. The observed difference supports the positive impact of bancassurance on technical efficiency of the Indian banking sector.

Description

Indian banking sector has witnessed a rapid expansion over the past decade. One of the most significant changes in the financial services sector has been the development of insurance selling culture in banks. Bancassurance is a synergy of banks and insurance companies that connotes distribution of insurance products through banking channels. Under the bancassurance model, the bank acts as an intermediary, helping in the distribution of insurance products through their own distribution channels, with the aim of escalating its market share.