The impact of diversification on the profitability and risk of Chinese banks: evidence from a semiparametric approach

This paper analyzes the effects of banking diversification and focus strategies on the profitability and risk of Chinese banks in the post-crisis years (2008–2019). For this purpose, semiparametric estimates are used. The main results indicate that Chinese banks do not gain much benefit in terms of profitability and risk from following income or asset diversification strategies, although the former are more beneficial than the latter. These results have important implications for the design of specific diversification strategies for different types of banks. Results suggest that state-owned banks could benefit from a greater degree of diversification to obtain more profits and simultaneously decrease their risk levels, while national shareholding commercial banks and city commercial banks should evaluate these strategies with more caution as the benefits from them are less obvious.