Mind the gap: the profitability of the Italian banking system in a changing world

The recent financial crisis has had a particularly significant impact on the international banking system, opening the debate on the profitability of different bank business models.Banks have experienced a sharp decline in profitability, making it essential for them to rebalance costs and revenues and reconsider growth strategies.This is particulary true for the Italian banking system, which has esperienced a long term fall in profitability.We use bank-level data to explore this topic to find the link between profitability and its determinants during the crisis and we identify peer groups of Italian banks that can be judged more virtuous in an international comparison.