Assessing the impact of banks’ high-tech investments on efficiency. What is the actual relationship direction?

This paper analyses whether there is any relationship between the efficiency level achieved by Euro Area banking groups and their attitude toward high-tech investments proxied by high-tech patents. We measure banking efficiency via Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The period considered is the decade between 2012 and 2021. The results obtained show that there is a generally negative relationship between the two topics under investigation. The evidence obtained justifies the importance of an appropriate level of attention by regulators since increasing levels of technological innovation pursued through significant growth in intangible assets, could negatively affect the overall financial system efficiency.