M&As in Banking: A Literature Review

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have been analysed extensively by a large number of studies, from both the theoretical and the empirical points of view, during the last 30 years. At the beginning, most studies were focused on the American market, because of the number and volume of operations in that area. Later on, researchers gradually extended their analyses to the European market, with a special focus on the period following the introduction of the euro. The results vary greatly, since they depend on not only the historical period and the market analysed, but also the methodological approach (event study vs operating performance), the objectives (cost efficiencies, profit efficiencies, value creation, and so on) and the specific type operation considered (domestic or cross-border, national or international cross-sector M&As). Therefore, it still seems difficult to define a clear, stable taxonomy about the results of banking consolidation operations. Nevertheless, a complete review of the literature is considered worthwhile, on the one hand to identify any common findings and, on the other, to establish a large bibliographical basis for the development of further research on the topic.