The role of Covid-19 in bank profitability convergence: evidence from a sample of US banks and club clustering

Abstract

This paper explores whether there is convergence of bank profits in the US banking sector across the periods before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. For the first time in the literature, it provides empirical evidence from 86 largest banks in the sector by making use of certain convergence methods. The empirical (robust) findings document that over the pandemic crisis, bank profits illustrated a more convergence pattern, while certain explanatory determinants of bank profitability, such as non-performing loans and digital technology, seem to stronger impact on higher convergence during the pandemic crisis.