A comparison of super-efficiency through data envelopment analysis technique and financial ratios in Iranian stock exchange banks

Efficiency is an economic concept which shows the performance of a wide range of economic activities in different areas of an economic sector. Most of studies using frontier technique Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) do not test for the relationship of efficiency estimation with key performance indicators. This is despite the fact that DEA is one of the most effective tools for measuring and evaluating efficiency. Nevertheless, identifying the relationship between efficiency estimates and commonly accepted financial measures of performance could guide benchmarking activities, pricing decisions, and regulatory monitoring.

 In this paper, the DEA super-efficiency formula is tested in two profitability models. Four ratios of net interest income to total assets, post-tax profit to total assets, owner’s equity returns and impaired loans to total assets, were calculated with a developed profitability model; besides, the growth rate of assets was calculated with main profitability model and all the aforementioned ratios addressed a significant association with efficiency estimates.

In this study, the DEA super-efficiency formula is tested in two profitability models for 15 banks for two years. The correlation obtained is generally low. However, the four ratios of net interest income to total assets, post-tax profit to total assets, owner’s equity returns and impaired loans to total assets, in the EPM model and asset growth rate in the CPM model have a significant relationship with performance estimates. Finally, the results indicate poor credit quality in Iranian banks in 1397-1397.

In this study, for the first time, the nature of the relationship between performance and key performance indicators has been estimated. DEA technique has been used to purposefully identify criteria for analyzing financial ratios.