RETHINKING THE ROLE OF STATE IN ADDRESSING FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES OF THE BANKING SECTORS IN EASTERN EUROPE

Abstract

Financial problems in the banking sector have historically entailed significant government intervention and the allocation of significant funds for its rehabilitation. The recent financial crisis, manifested in Europe primarily as a banking crisis, reaffirmed the unwritten call of the state to intervene extensively to preserve economic and financial stability, but only for a set of old and developed EU Member States. The paper therefore analyzes the reformed role of the state in solving acute problems in transformed banking systems in Eastern Europe in the light of the post-crisis escalation of the volume of nonperforming loans. The focus of the role of the state was shifted from direct fiscal expenditures to raising the quality of the institutional environment and the rule of law, which enabled an impressive reduction in the rates of nonperforming loans. Foreign ownership in the banking sector has played a positive role because the financial backing of foreign subsidiaries has reduced potential fiscal costs on the one hand and on the other hand it contributed to maintaining confidence in the banking system.