This study analyzes the evolution of competitive conditions in the Italian banking industry using firm-level balance sheet data for the period 1983-1997. Regulatory reform, large-scale consolidation, and competitive pressure from other European countries have changed substantially the banking...

We examine the financial performance of 1,664 commercial banks chartered between 1980 and 1985, a period of intense chartering activity just preceding the banking recession of the late-1980s. We compare new banks to a benchmark sample of 2,047 small established banks. Using a split population...

Bank regulators are required to consider a bank’s record of providing credit to low- and moderate-income neighborhoods and individuals in approving bank applications for mergers and acquisitions. We test the hypothesis that banks strategically prepare for the regulatory and public scrutiny...