German banks experienced a merger wave throughout the 1990s. However, the success of bank mergers remains a continuous matter of debate. In this paper we suggest a taxonomy as how to evaluate post-merger performance on the basis of cost efficiency (CE). We categorise mergers a success that...

With this paper we seek to contribute to the literature on the relation between finance and growth. We argue that most studies in the field fail to measure the quality of financial intermediation but rather resort to using proxies on the size of financial systems. Moreover, cross-country...

Should banks be diversified or focused? Does diversification indeed lead to enhanced performance and, therefore, greater safety for banks, as traditional portfolio and banking theory would suggest? This paper investigates the link between banks? profitability (ROA) and their portfolio...

Ongoing financial innovation and greater information availability increase the tradability of bank assets and reduce banks' dependence on individual bank managers as private information in the lending process declines. In this paper we argue that this has two effects on banks, with opposing...

Evidence on the interdependency between monetary policy and the state of the banking system is scarce. We suggest an integrated micro-macro approach with two core virtues. First, we measure the probability of bank distress directly at the bank level. Second, we integrate a microeconomic hazard...

In this paper we investigate the interaction between a credit portfolio and another risk type, which can be thought of as market risk. Combining Merton-like factor models for credit risk with linear factor models for market risk, we analytically calculate their interrisk correlation and show how...

Der aktuell diskutierte Gesetzentwurf für eine Reform der Einlagensicherung in Weißrussland verfolgt das Hauptziel, mehr Sparmittel der Bevölkerung für das planwirtschaftliche Wirtschaftssystem verfügbar zu machen. Bei einer nicht passgenau auf die Landessituation abgestimmten Ausgestaltung...

The value at risk measure attempts to summarize in a single number market value risk of a portfolio of financial assets.The paper focuses on the interaction between the solvency probability of a bank, on one hand, and the diversification potential of its portfolio, on the other hand, when...

Im Risikomanagement von Banken findet das Value at Risk-Konzept verstärkt Anwendung. Baut die Solvenzpolitik einer Bank auf dem Value at Risk-Konzept auf, müssen Aktiv- und Passivgeschäft der Bank simultan betrachtet werden. In einem Entscheidungsmodell für eine Bank werden die notwendige...

Vor dem Hintergrund der für die Kreditinstitute voraussichtlich zum 1.11.2007 anzuwendenden europäischen Richtlinie über Märkte in Finanzinstrumenten sowie ihrer entsprechenden Durchführungsbestimmungen stellt sich die Frage, welche Anforderungen für die Anlageberatung der Kreditinstitute...