IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/zewdip/19047.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Bank mergers in the financial crisis: A competition policy perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Hellwig, Michael
  • Laser, Falk Hendrik

Abstract

We analyze a large merger in the Dutch banking market during the financial crisis using disaggregated data. Based on a merger simulation model, we evaluate merger-induced changes in the interest rates for savings accounts. We find that the merging banks decreased interest rates by 3 to 5 percent and competitors by up to 1 percent. These anti-competitive effects translate into a loss of consumer welfare by roughly 69 million euros in 2010. We identify heterogeneous effects indicating that less educated consumers with lower savings are most affected. Our findings highlight the important role of competition policy during financial crisis mitigation.

Suggested Citation

  • Hellwig, Michael & Laser, Falk Hendrik, 2019. "Bank mergers in the financial crisis: A competition policy perspective," ZEW Discussion Papers 19-047, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:19047
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/206418/1/1681442965.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jonas Björnerstedt & Frank Verboven, 2016. "Does Merger Simulation Work? Evidence from the Swedish Analgesics Market," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 8(3), pages 125-164, July.
    2. Carin Cruijsen & Maaike Diepstraten, 2017. "Banking Products: You Can Take Them with You, So Why Don’t You?," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 52(1), pages 123-154, October.
    3. Gregory S. Crawford & Nicola Pavanini & Fabiano Schivardi, 2018. "Asymmetric Information and Imperfect Competition in Lending Markets," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(7), pages 1659-1701, July.
    4. Pita Barros, Pedro, 1999. "Multimarket competition in banking, with an example from the Portuguese market," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 335-352, April.
    5. Anderson, Robert D.J. & Ashton, John K. & Hudson, Robert S., 2014. "The influence of product age on pricing decisions: An examination of bank deposit interest rate setting," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 216-230.
    6. Goldberg, Pinelopi Koujianou, 1995. "Product Differentiation and Oligopoly in International Markets: The Case of the U.S. Automobile Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 63(4), pages 891-951, July.
    7. Dick, Astrid A., 2008. "Demand estimation and consumer welfare in the banking industry," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(8), pages 1661-1676, August.
    8. Jonas Björnerstedt & Frank Verboven, 2014. "Merger simulation with nested logit demand," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 14(3), pages 511-540, September.
    9. Train,Kenneth E., 2009. "Discrete Choice Methods with Simulation," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521747387, January.
    10. Mark Egan & Ali Hortaçsu & Gregor Matvos, 2017. "Deposit Competition and Financial Fragility: Evidence from the US Banking Sector," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(1), pages 169-216, January.
    11. Molnar, Jozsef & Violi, Roberto & Zhou, Xiaolan, 2013. "Multimarket contact in Italian retail banking: Competition and welfare," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 368-381.
    12. Canhoto, Ana, 2004. "Portuguese banking: A structural model of competition in the deposits market," Review of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(1-2), pages 41-63.
    13. Arne Risa Hole, 2007. "Fitting mixed logit models by using maximum simulated likelihood," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 7(3), pages 388-401, September.
    14. Berry, Steven & Levinsohn, James & Pakes, Ariel, 1995. "Automobile Prices in Market Equilibrium," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 63(4), pages 841-890, July.
    15. van der Cruijsen, Carin & Diepstraten, Maaike, 2017. "Banking products : You can take them with you, so why don't you?," Other publications TiSEM a085788f-bc7d-4f5c-8a8c-5, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    16. Xavier Vives, 2016. "Competition and Stability in Banking: The Role of Regulation and Competition Policy," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 10741.
    17. Ivaldi, Marc & Verboven, Frank, 2005. "Quantifying the effects from horizontal mergers in European competition policy," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 23(9-10), pages 669-691, December.
    18. Mark Dijkstra & Maarten Pieter Schinkel, 2019. "State-aided Price Coordination in the Dutch Mortgage Market," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 19-014/VII, Tinbergen Institute, revised 13 Jul 2019.
    19. Elisabeth Honka & Ali Hortaçsu & Maria Ana Vitorino, 2017. "Advertising, consumer awareness, and choice: evidence from the U.S. banking industry," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 48(3), pages 611-646, August.
    20. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2008_004 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Federica Teppa & Corrie Vis, 2012. "The CentERpanel and the DNB Household Survey: Methodological Aspects," DNB Occasional Studies 1004, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Laser, Falk & Hellwig, Michael, 2019. "Agony of Choice – Trading off Stability and Competition in the Banking Markets," VfS Annual Conference 2019 (Leipzig): 30 Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall - Democracy and Market Economy 203536, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    2. Aguirregabiria, Victor & Clark, Robert & Wang, Hui, 2019. "The Geographic Flow of Bank Funding and Access to Credit: Branch Networks, Local Synergies, and Competition," CEPR Discussion Papers 13741, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Deuflhard, Florian, 2018. "Quantifying inertia in retail deposit markets," SAFE Working Paper Series 223, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.
    4. Yue Cai, 2021. "Measuring Market Power in the IPO Underwriter," Working Papers 2108, Waseda University, Faculty of Political Science and Economics.
    5. Pereira, Pedro & Ribeiro, Tiago, 2011. "The impact on broadband access to the Internet of the dual ownership of telephone and cable networks," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 283-293, March.
    6. Matteo Benetton, 2021. "Leverage Regulation and Market Structure: A Structural Model of the U.K. Mortgage Market," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 76(6), pages 2997-3053, December.
    7. Mattia Girotti & Richard Meade, 2017. "U.S. Savings Banks' Demutualization and Depositor Welfare," Working Papers 2017-08, Auckland University of Technology, Department of Economics.
    8. Pavanini, Nicola & Ioannidou, Vasso & Peng, Yushi, 2019. "Collateral and Asymmetric Information in Lending Markets," CEPR Discussion Papers 13905, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    9. Federico Ciliberto & GianCarlo Moschini & Edward D. Perry, 2019. "Valuing product innovation: genetically engineered varieties in US corn and soybeans," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 50(3), pages 615-644, September.
    10. Gregory S. Crawford & Nicola Pavanini & Fabiano Schivardi, 2018. "Asymmetric Information and Imperfect Competition in Lending Markets," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(7), pages 1659-1701, July.
    11. Haucap, Justus & Heimeshoff, Ulrich & Klein, Gordon J. & Rickert, Dennis & Wey, Christian, 2021. "Vertical relations, pass-through, and market definition: Evidence from grocery retailing," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    12. Mogens Fosgerau & Julien Monardo & André de Palma, 2024. "The Inverse Product Differentiation Logit Model," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 16(4), pages 329-370, November.
    13. Ioannidou, Vasso & Pavanini, Nicola & Peng, Yushi, 2022. "Collateral and asymmetric information in lending markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(1), pages 93-121.
    14. Lee Branstetter & Chirantan Chatterjee & Matthew J. Higgins, 2016. "Regulation and welfare: evidence from paragraph IV generic entry in the pharmaceutical industry," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 47(4), pages 857-890, November.
    15. Luo, Jinjing & Moschini, GianCarlo & Perry, Edward D., 2023. "Switching costs in the US seed industry: Technology adoption and welfare impacts," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    16. Akio Ino & Yusuke Matsuki, 2020. "Welfare analysis of bank merger with financial instability," Working Papers e149, Tokyo Center for Economic Research.
    17. Haerang Park, 2021. "Testing for Pricing Behavior in the Mortgage Loan Market," Asian Economic Journal, East Asian Economic Association, vol. 35(3), pages 270-293, September.
    18. Tovar, Jorge, 2012. "Consumers’ Welfare and Trade Liberalization: Evidence from the Car Industry in Colombia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 808-820.
    19. Tarantino, Emanuele & Pavanini, Nicola & Mayordomo, Sergio, 2020. "The Impact of Alternative Forms of Bank Consolidation on Credit Supply and Financial Stability," CEPR Discussion Papers 15069, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    20. Céline Bonnet & Pierre Dubois, 2010. "Inference on vertical contracts between manufacturers and retailers allowing for nonlinear pricing and resale price maintenance," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 41(1), pages 139-164, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    antitrust; competition policy; merger analysis; state aid; retail banking; random-coefficients logit models; differentiated products;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
    • L40 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - General
    • L41 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - Monopolization; Horizontal Anticompetitive Practices

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:19047. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/zemande.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.