Conference Paper

This study sets out to discover similarities regarding the efficiency of financial institutions within the CEE countries. Similarities are also required within SEE countries that are not EU members to understand better their financial development. We apply cluster analysis techniques for the period 2003-2010 in order to see the trend of homogeneity of these countries. The results show that Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are more integrated countries, while Hungary and Poland have fewer similarities by comparison with the other countries. Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina have greater similarities with the other CEE countries that are EU member states than with Serbia, Albania and Montenegro, which are usually classified in a separate group. Therefore, because of their position we included Greece in the cluster analysis of the SEE countries that are not members of the EU. This inclusion clarified the position of Albania, which seemed to have many more similarities with this country. Furthermore, it seems even more obvious that Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are included in the same group, while Serbia is again at some distance from the other countries. Such differences appear to be maintained during the period under consideration, leaving scope for further integration.