Best financial practices analysis and efficiency of small financial institutions: Evidence from cooperative rural banks in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Many small financial institutions (SFIs) in developing countries make great effort to provide efficient services to poor house holders. It is generally accepted that maintaining the best financial practices which are of importance in corporate governance mechanism of institutions, has a close relationship with the efficiency of financial institutions, although they are small. This paper seeks to test best financial practices of cooperative rural banks in Sri Lanka (CRBs) and whether these practices have a significant impact on the efficiency of these institutions. The financial practices of CRBs was assessed using ratios of capital adequacy, liquidity, asset quality, loan to deposit, profitability, loan portfolio yield, operational efficiency, and operational self-sufficiency. The efficiency of CRBs in Sri Lanka was examined by using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Based on the data extracted from CRBs’ financial statements, correlation coefficients showed that several ratios have significant associations with the efficiency of CRBs. This confirms that efficient CRBs maintain best financial practices which contribute to their higher levels of efficiency.