We study the effects of bank mergers and acquisitions in the U.K. from 1885 to 1925. The lack of a regulatory authority and the confidential nature of merger negotiations allows us to precisely measure the wealth effects of M&As in a laissez-faire environment. We find positive wealth effects for...

We investigate the impact of increasing bank concentration on bank loan contracts in a lightly regulated environment. This environment allows us to abstract from possible confounding effects of regulation to focus on the “pure” effects of competition on bank lending. We study over 30,000...

We study how relationships between firms and banks evolved between during the Twentieth century in Britain. We document and explain a remarkable transition from single to multiple firm-bank relationships during the last twenty years of the sample period. Larger, global, or transparent companies...

We study how relationships between firms and banks evolved since the end of the Nineteenth century until the end of the Twentieth century in Britain. We document and explain a remarkable shift from bilateral to multilateral relationship banking during this period, in particular during the last...