The Economic Efficacy Of Banking Mergers: 2006-2008

The most recent financial crisis has spurred a number of mergers and acquisitions in the financial industry, specifically among banks. This study examines the hypothesis that mergers and acquisitions did not produce better performing institutions during the 2006 to 2008 period. Data were compiled for six accounting-based ratios for 105 firms directly involved in mergers or acquisitions during this period. An empirical comparison of both firm-to-firm and firm-to-industry performance shows that firms did not benefit from the mergers for the majority of ratios tested. On the whole, these results reveal the inefficiencies of mergers and acquisitions, supporting the hypothesis of this study.