We exploit changes in the aggregate stock market conditions as an exogenous shock to an individual M&A deal to explore the economic motivations behind these deals. Equity deals exposed to negative stock market returns after deal announcements are less likely to be completed and deliver lower...

Bank branch density, defined as the number of bank branches to total deposits, has significantly declined over the past decade, fueled by a confluence of branch closings and the almost doubling of deposits between 2016 and 2022. During this period, banks with low branch density benefited from...