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The economic impact of merger control legislation

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  • Carletti, Elena
  • Hartmann, Philipp
  • Onega, Steven

Abstract

Based on a unique dataset of legislative changes in industrial countries, we identify events that strengthen the competition control of mergers and acquisitions, analyze their impact on banks and non-financial firms and explain the different reactions observed with specific regulatory characteristics of the banking sector. Covering nineteen countries for the period 1987 to 2004, we find that more competition-oriented merger control increases the stock prices of banks and decreases the stock prices of non-financial firms. Bank targets become more profitable and larger, while those of non-financial firms remain mostly unaffected. A major determinant of the positive bank returns is the degree of opaqueness that characterizes the institutional setup for supervisory bank merger reviews. The legal design of the supervisory control of bank mergers may therefore have important implications for real activity.

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  • Carletti, Elena & Hartmann, Philipp & Onega, Steven, 2007. "The economic impact of merger control legislation," CFS Working Paper Series 2008/04, Center for Financial Studies (CFS).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:cfswop:200804
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    1. Carletti, Elena & Ongena, Steven & Siedlarek, Jan-Peter & Spagnolo, Giancarlo, 2015. "The Impact of Merger Legislation on Bank Mergers," Discussion Paper Series of SFB/TR 15 Governance and the Efficiency of Economic Systems 530, Free University of Berlin, Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Bonn, University of Mannheim, University of Munich.
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    3. Ongena, Steven & Penas, María Fabiana, 2009. "Bondholders' wealth effects in domestic and cross-border bank mergers," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 5(3), pages 256-271, September.
    4. Carletti, Elena & Ongena, Steven & Siedlarek, Jan-Peter & Spagnolo, Giancarlo, 2021. "The impacts of stricter merger legislation on bank mergers and acquisitions: Too-Big-To-Fail and competition," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    5. Svetlana B. Avdasheva & Dina V. Tsytsulina, 2014. "The Effects Of Competition Policy: Merger Approval, Entry Barrier Removal, Antitrust Enforcement Compared," HSE Working papers WP BRP 34/FE/2014, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    6. Kick, Thomas & Pfingsten, Andreas, 2011. "The importance of qualitative risk assessment in banking supervision before and during the crisis," Discussion Paper Series 2: Banking and Financial Studies 2011,09, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    7. Patrice Bougette & Oliver Budzinski & Frédéric Marty, 2024. "Ex-ante versus Ex-post in Competition Law Enforcement: Blurred Boundaries and Economic Rationale," Working Papers halshs-04604840, HAL.
    8. Joaquín Maudos & Xavier Vives, 2019. "Competition Policy in Banking in the European Union," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 55(1), pages 27-46, August.
    9. Apergis, Nicholas & Dastidar, Sayantan Ghosh, 2024. "Local stock liquidity and local factors: Fresh evidence from US firms across states," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(PA).
    10. Yuliya Demyanyk & Charlotte Ostergaard & Bent E. Sorensen, 2008. "Risk sharing and portfolio allocation in EMU," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 334, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mergers and Acquisitions; Competition Policy; Legal Institutions; Financial Regulation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • D4 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design

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