The recent financial crisis and the rapid changes in the economic and technological environment have highlighted the need for further reinforcement of the financial sector. Banks have been forced to be competitive and to implement risk assessment and management systems. Due to the competitive financial environment that has been developed, the principles of the Second Banking Directive, have provided equal competitive conditions for all European banking institutions, and lead us to the principles of Basel III. Moreover, new banking products and techniques are developed to accommodate increased customer needs. The establishment of these new products requires the implementation of innovative processes for their efficient management. There is plenty of research about bank efficiency and especially with the methodological tools that can be used to improve performance of the banking sector. Therefore, the purpose of this edited volume is to contribute to the understanding of issues dealing with new trends in bank efficiency during the years of financial crisis, covering a range of banking problems, such as bank performance, efficiency, profitability, credit risk and stress testing.
