The banking industry is consolidating at an accelerating pace, yet no conclusive results have emerged on the benefits of mergers and acquisitions. We analyze the Italian market, which is similar to other main European countries. By considering both acquisitions (i.e. the purchase of the majority...

In response to fundamental changes in regulation and technology, the financial industry around the world is undergoing an unprecedented wave of consolidation. A growing body of empirical literature has attempted to measure the efficiency gains from M&As; however there is little sense of how the...

The general conclusion of the empirical literature is that in-market consolidation generates adverse price changes, thereby harming consumers. Previous studies, however, look only at the short-run pricing impact of consolidation, ignoring all effects that take a longer time to materialize. Using...