The Efficiency of Participation Banking Sector in Turkey: A DEA Approach

There are six participation banks in Turkey, and they are expected to contribute significantly to the economy in the future. The aim of this study is to assess the efficiency of these participation banks based on financial data from 2010 to 2020. Data envelopment analysis (DEA), a non-parametric efficiency approach, is used in this study with three input variables (profit share expenses, personnel expenses, and total funds) and two output variables (profit share income and net profit). While Kuveyt Türk, Ziraat Katılım, and Türkiye Finans are found to be the most efficient, Albaraka Türk and Vakıf Katılım are inefficient—at least when the most recent observations (2018–2020) and the 4-year moving average efficiency score for both outputs and inputs are used. As for the overall average scores, Türkiye Finans is the most efficient participation bank, followed by Ziraat Katılım and Vakıf Katılım. The least efficient participation banks are Kuveyt Türk and Albaraka Türk. For participation banks to gain a larger share of the market and to continue contributing to overall economic growth, policymakers must pay attention to these underperforming banks.