Assessing the Intellectual Capital of Value Creation Process of Commercial Banks in the European Union

Abstract This study examines the impact of intellectual capital on the overall value of commercial banks within the European Union (EU). The research aims to identify how these banks can evaluate and enhance their intellectual capital to improve operational performance. The study employs the value-added intellectual coefficient (VAIC) model to measure the efficiency of three types of capital: structural capital (SC), which is the value added by the company minus human capital; employed physical and financial capital (CE), representing the total financial capital available to the company; and human capital (HC), calculated based on employee costs. Data were sourced from the BankScope database, comprising published financial reports of 599 commercial banks. Control variables included loan quality, fund utilization ratio, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The research identifies a significant positive correlation between financial capital, human capital, and the value-added function of banks. These findings suggest that financial and human capital are critical determinants of value addition in commercial banks within the EU. This study uniquely focuses on the intellectual capital performance of EU-based banks. To the best of our knowledge, such a comprehensive analysis on this subject within the context of EU banks has not been previously conducted.