Mncube, KeaolebogaViegi, Nicola2024-01-232024-01-232024-03Mncube, K. & Viegi, N. (2024) Measuring the unit cost of financial intermediation in South Africa: A measure of bank productivity. South African Journal of Economics, 92(1), 47–56. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/saje.12364.0038-2280 (print)1813-6982 (online)10.1111/saje.12364http://hdl.handle.net/2263/94059This paper presents evidence on productivity growth in the South African banking industry in the last 30 years. The productivity measures we construct shed light on whether the development, increased contribution and influence of the banking industry have translated into lower cost of intermediation and improved productivity and efficiency of the banking sector. Our results show that there is no apparent trend in the unit cost of intermediation in the period 1993 to 2019, which is indicative of constant productivity.en© 2023 The Authors. South African Journal of Economics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Economic Society of South Africa. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.ProductivityBank outputBanking sectorIncome shareSDG-08: Decent work and economic growthArticle