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Macau has the uppermost population density and the fourth-highest GDP per capita in the world. Macau’s banking system is regarded as one of the most important indicators of Macau’s macroeconomic growth and stability during its transformation into a wealthy and modern metropolis. In this study, we use a sample of 26 banks to explore the relationship of bank competition, efficiency and stability in Macau from its return to China in 1999 to 2016. Our results demonstrate that bank competition does cause efficiency in Macau throughout the study period. We also find indications of a positive but not significant connection between bank market power and bank fragility including income volatility and insolvency risk. Moreover, this study finds no evidence that the size of operations proxied by total bank loans and total assets would impact bank efficiency, indicating that economies of scale or bank market share don’t necessarily bring about efficiency in Macau. Our evidence contributes to the literature by being the first to thoroughly examine the relation of bank competition, efficiency and stability in Macau. The findings provide meaningful implications to the practitioners and policymakers to make sound decisions accordingly, especially to closely monitor and maintain a proper level of competition in Macau’s banking sector.

The international trade in goods showed remarkable resilience and set a new record in Q3 2021 despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using primary data from California, this study focuses on the perceived effectiveness of a critical driving force, the government assistance programs, including traditional export assistance programs (EAPs) and COVID-19 economic assistance programs (CEAPs), by the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) engaged in international trade before and during the pandemic. Results from the SMEs survey and data gathered from semi-structured interviews with EAP representatives and community bankers indicate that certain traditional EAPs were perceived less effective during the pandemic, while SMEs more actively sought specific CEAPs, especially the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan. Furthermore, community banks played a vital role as a bridging agent in government assistance programs which could be extended and enhanced in the post-pandemic era.