The cost efficiency improvement of Norwegian banks can be explained by automation and digitalisation

Abstract

Operating costs in the Norwegian banking sector have been reduced considerably in recent decades, both as a share of income and assets. This has increased banks’ resilience to increased losses and reduced the risk of crises. In this article, I analyse how costs have been reduced and the main drivers of the cost efficiency improvement. The results suggest that automation and the digitalisation of banks’ operations have played a key role in improving cost efficiency.