The close economic ties between Europe and the United States and the crucial global monetary and financial role played by the City of London were the conduits for the lightning-fast spread of the crisis triggered by the sub-prime mortgage defaults in the U.S. and the consequent fall in global...

We examine whether pre-crisis bank characteristics explain state support to European banks during the global financial crisis. We show that, before the crisis, supported and non-supported banks differ in numerous aspects and the differences reflect bank characteristics at the core of the...