Revisiting the Merger and Acquisition Performance of European Banks

The study examines the value creation of Merger and Acquisition (M&A) deals in European Banking from 1990-2004. This is performed, first, by examining the stock price reaction of banks to the announcement of M&A deals and, second, by analysing the determinants of this reaction. The findings provide evidence of value creation in European banks as the shareholders of the targets have benefited from positive and (statistically) significant abnormal returns while those of the acquirers earn small negative but non-significant abnormal returns. In the case of the shareholders of the acquirers, domestic M&As and especially those between banks with shares listed on the stock market, seem to be more beneficial compared to cross-border ones or those when the target is unlisted. Shareholders of the targets earn in all cases positive abnormal returns. Finally, although the link between abnormal returns and fundamental characteristics of the banks is rather weak, it appears that the acquisition of smaller, less efficient banks generating more diversified income are more value creating, while acquisition of less efficient, liquid and characterised by higher credit risk banks is not a value creating option.Bank mergers; mergers and acquisitions; abnormal returns

Revisiting the merger and acquisition performance of European banks

The study examines the value creation of Merger and Acquisition (M&A) deals in European Banking from 1990-2004. This is performed, first, by examining the stock price reaction of banks to the announcement of M&A deals and, second, by analysing the determinants of this reaction. The findings provide evidence of value creation in European banks as the shareholders of the targets have benefited from positive and (statistically) significant abnormal returns while those of the acquirers earn small negative but non-significant abnormal returns. In the case of the shareholders of the acquirers, domestic M&As and especially those between banks with shares listed on the stock market, seem to be more beneficial compared to cross-border ones or those when the target is unlisted. Shareholders of the targets earn in all cases positive abnormal returns. Finally, although the link between abnormal returns and fundamental characteristics of the banks is rather weak, it appears that the acquisition of smaller, less efficient banks generating more diversified income are more value creating, while acquisition of less efficient, liquid and characterised by higher credit risk banks is not a value creating option.Bank mergers; mergers and acquisitions; abnormal returns;

The determinants for the survival of firms in the Athens Exchange

This study examines the survival of firms in the Athens Exchange for the period 1993-2006, by applying a number of alternative parametric and non-parametric models. A company is considered not to survive, if its shares have been either under supervision or their trading is suspended for over six months. According to the results, firms characterised by a high degree of debt or by small size or firms that are active in sectors in which new competitors can penetrate easily, run higher risks of non-survival. By contrast, factors such as the corporate governance and the business cycle do not seem to offer a plausible explanation for the probability of non-survival. In addition, it appears that the risk of non-survival is increasing during the first years of a firm's listing in the stock exchange, peaking after approximately 7 years and then decreasing; this suggests that investments in stocks should have a long-term focus.survival models; company delisting

Single Resolution Board: another Meroni extension or another Chapter to Europe's Constitutional Transformation?

The establishment of the Single Resolution Board (SRB) has pushed the constitutional boundaries of agencification further. After elaborating on the SRB’s powers and safeguards, one can argue that its governance structure combined with its policymaking powers distinguish the SRB from all other agencies. While trying to assess its legality of establishment and empowerment, this paper seeks to identify the nature of the empowerment, whether Meroni is still fit for purpose, and whether the limits of institutional balance have been bent or indeed broken. After expressing concerns as to the SRB’s compliance with the current EU institutional framework, the paper offers an alternative for exiting this constitutional deadlock by applying Weiler’s theory of constitutional transformation. Such a solution would legitimize the SRB as well as facilitate the functioning of Banking Union

In CCP We Trust ... Or Do We? Assessing the Regulation of Central Clearing Counterparties in Europe

As part of financial market infrastructures, central counterparties (CCPs) have long been deemed systemically important and are likely to gain in importance due to the regulatory developments mandating central clearing for an increasing number of financial products. This paper focuses on the regulation as well as the recovery and resolution of CCPs in Europe. The existing CCP regulatory framework consists of ex-ante measures, including, among others, capital and liquidity requirements, initial and variation margins, and loss sharing mechanisms. In addition, the European proposal for the recovery and resolution of CCPs (the Proposal) contains several ex-post regulatory measures mainly in the form of rules for recovery and orderly resolution. Having studied the prudential regulatory measures for CCPs contained in the European Market Infrastructure Regulation and the ex-post recovery and resolution measures of the Proposal, this paper puts a spotlight on the specific shortcomings of the existing and proposed rules, in particular in terms of misaligned incentives, externalities, collective action problems, and certain practical impediments, and concludes that it would be misguided to inordinately rely on ex-post measures. Highlighting the limitations of the recovery and resolution mechanisms, this paper proposes that given the systemic importance of CCP functions, it is critical to improve the ex-ante measures whose objective is to prevent the failure of a CCP, rather than ex-post measures, which kick in after its failure. Accordingly, recommendations for making such improvements are proposed

Revisiting the merger and acquisition performance of European banks

The study examines the value creation of Merger and Acquisition (M&A) deals in European Banking from 1990-2004. This is performed, first, by examining the stock price reaction of banks to the announcement of M&A deals and, second, by analysing the determinants of this reaction. The findings provide evidence of value creation in European banks as the shareholders of the targets have benefited from positive and (statistically) significant abnormal returns while those of the acquirers earn small negative but non-significant abnormal returns. In the case of the shareholders of the acquirers, domestic M&As and especially those between banks with shares listed on the stock market, seem to be more beneficial compared to cross-border ones or those when the target is unlisted. Shareholders of the targets earn in all cases positive abnormal returns. Finally, although the link between abnormal returns and fundamental characteristics of the banks is rather weak, it appears that the acquisition of smaller, less efficient banks generating more diversified income are more value creating, while acquisition of less efficient, liquid and characterised by higher credit risk banks is not a value creating option

Revisiting the merger and acquisition performance of European banks

The study examines the value creation of Merger and Acquisition (M&A) deals in European Banking from 1990-2004. This is performed, first, by examining the stock price reaction of banks to the announcement of M&A deals and, second, by analysing the determinants of this reaction. The findings provide evidence of value creation in European banks as the shareholders of the targets have benefited from positive and (statistically) significant abnormal returns while those of the acquirers earn small negative but non-significant abnormal returns. In the case of the shareholders of the acquirers, domestic M&As and especially those between banks with shares listed on the stock market, seem to be more beneficial compared to cross-border ones or those when the target is unlisted. Shareholders of the targets earn in all cases positive abnormal returns. Finally, although the link between abnormal returns and fundamental characteristics of the banks is rather weak, it appears that the acquisition of smaller, less efficient banks generating more diversified income are more value creating, while acquisition of less efficient, liquid and characterised by higher credit risk banks is not a value creating option

The effect of M&A announcement on Greek bank stock returns

This study examines the response of Greek bank stock prices to the announcement of intended mergers and acquisitions(M&As)during the period 1998-1999, applying a standard event study methodology. The results show that both the acquiring banks and, albeit to a lesser extent, the target banks experience significant positive abnormal stock returns that last for a few days around the announcement date. These returns are more evident in the period before the announcement thus indicating either that rumours circulate or that inside information is being abused. The efficient market hypothesis in its semi-strong form seems to be violated for the period under examination, as abnormal returns remain evident for several days after the announcement date

External financing, growth and capital structure

The study focuses on Greek non-financial firms listed on the Athens Exchange in the period 1998-2002 and shows that only a small fraction of these firms were in a position to finance their growth by exclusively using internal resources with the findings varying depending on the firms’ size. For those firms that had to resort to external financing, short-term financing was favoured compared to long-term financing. While the need for short-term debt did not differ significantly between small and large firms, the need for additional long-term debt was clearly greater for large firms. As regards the determinants of capital structure(as measured by the total-debt-to-assets ratio), the effect of profitability is negative and statistically significant supporting the “pecking order” theory. As expected, tangible assets and firm size have a positive and statistically significant effect on the total debt-to-assets ratio, while short-term assets have the anticipated positive effect only on short-term external financing

The effect of M&A announcement on Greek bank stock returns

This study examines the response of Greek bank stock prices to the announcement of intended mergers and acquisitions(M&As)during the period 1998-1999, applying a standard event study methodology. The results show that both the acquiring banks and, albeit to a lesser extent, the target banks experience significant positive abnormal stock returns that last for a few days around the announcement date. These returns are more evident in the period before the announcement thus indicating either that rumours circulate or that inside information is being abused. The efficient market hypothesis in its semi-strong form seems to be violated for the period under examination, as abnormal returns remain evident for several days after the announcement date