RESEARCH OF CHANGE IN CROATIAN BANKING INDUSTRY CONCENTRATION 1993-2000

The crucial aspects of the banking industry concentration in the Republic of Croatia are analyzed in this paper. We have presented basic information about banking industry concentration in 1993-2000. We measured industrial concentration by 4-bank, 8-bank and 20-bank concentration ratio, Hirschman-Herfindahl index, Entropy index, Lorenz curve, and Gini Coefficients. The results of the study indicate that Croatian banking industry is relatively concentrated. Industry has an unstable oligopolic structure with two big players, several medium banks, and almost fifty small commercial banks. The study has shown that merging and acquisition trends are prevalent during few last years.