Western Balkan Countries have comparable economic determinants due to their geographical position, small size economy and issues experienced during economic crises. The world’s precarious situation during the Covid-19 Pandemic was the initial motivation for this research. Due to the consequences that economic crises would have on the whole economies of these bank-structured countries, it is important to analyze their banking performance during times of economic instability. The primary objective of this study is to compare the banking performance of Western Balkan Countries during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and Covid-19 Pandemic Crisis. This study will provide as a reflection for policymakers to evaluate whether these countries learned from the GFC and were more prepared in their latest crises. The approach used in the research is a comparison of the performance of different countries, and the time period analyzed is divided into three distinct time pillars. The first one in Global financial Crisis (2008-2009), the second one is Post Crisis and Recovery (2010-2018) and the last one is Crisis Covid 19 Pandemic (2020-2021). Indicators selected for this research revealed a substantial negative tendency during periods of crises, with modest differences across countries that are positively correlated with their economic development, as shown by the results.

Highlights

• The article aims to compare the banking performance of Western Balkan Countries during the Global Financial Crisis and the Covid-19 Pandemic Crisis, in order to assess whether lessons were learned from the previous crisis and to provide insights for policymakers, highlighting negative tendencies and modest differences across countries.