Banking Globalization: International Consolidation and Mergers in Banking

This paper surveys recent literature on international mergers and acquisitions in banking. We focus on three main questions. First, what are the determinants of cross-border mergers of commercial banks? Second, do cross-border mergers affect the efficiency of banks? Third, what are the risk effects of international bank mergers? We begin with a brief summary of the stylized facts, and we conclude with implications for policymakers.mergers and acquisition, international banking, survey

Cross-Border Bank Mergers: What Lures the Rare Animal?

Although domestic mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the financial services industry have increased steadily over the past two decades, international M&As were relatively rare until recently. This paper uses a novel dataset of over 2,300 mergers that took place between 1978 and 2001 to analyse the determinants of international bank mergers. We test the extent to which information costs and regulations hold back merger activity. Our results suggest that banks operating in more regulated environments are less likely to be the targets of international bank mergers. Hence, the lifting of regulations can spur growth in cross-border bank mergers. Also, mergers tend to be less frequent if information costs are high

Cross-Border Bank Mergers: What Lures the Rare Animal?

Although domestic mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the financial services industry have increased steadily over the past two decades, international M&As were relatively rare until recently. This paper uses a novel dataset of over 2,300 mergers that took place between 1978 and 2001 to analyse the determinants of international bank mergers. We test the extent to which information costs and regulations hold back merger activity. Our results suggest that banks operating in more regulated environments are less likely to be the targets of international bank mergers. Hence, the lifting of regulations can spur growth in cross-border bank mergers. Also, mergers tend to be less frequent if information costs are high.cross-border banking, information costs, regulations, mergers and acquisitions

The Effects of Cross-Border Bank Mergers on Bank Risk and Value

This paper examines the effects of cross-border bank mergers on the risk and (abnormal) returns of acquiring banks. We find that overall, the acquirers ’ risk neither increases nor decreases. In particular, on average neither their total risk nor their systematic risk falls relative to banks in their home banking market. The abnormal returns to acquirers are negative and significant, but are somewhat higher when risk increases relative to banks in the acquirer’s home country