The article aims to contribute to the debate on the implications of changes in the regulatory architecture for banks in the wake of the global financial crisis. The main research question is whether the post-crisis regulatory architecture will have a positive or negative long-term impact on bank stability and efficiency, with a focus on Central and Eastern European (CEE) banks. To answer these questions, the article analyzes how CEE banks reacted to two different periods: the pre-crisis period of dynamic credit market expansion and the period of the global economic slowdown after the 2008 crisis. Efficiency is analyzed using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method, in addition to competitive conditions measures (H-statistics), and the Z-score index. The empirical part of the article supports the assertion that safe and efficient banks in CEE create sound systems and have survived the global financial crisis in better condition than their counterparts in Western Europe. However, post-crisis regulatory restructuring will likely have a negative impact on their long-term growth, the authors say.