Impact of the Financial Crisis on Banking Acquisitions: A Look at Shareholder Wealth

This paper examines the influence of the 2007–08 financial crisis on value creation for acquirer’s shareholders in the banking industry using a sample of 883 deals over 2004–12. Applying an exploratory and top-down approach, banking acquisitions are considered at the global level, narrowing the analysis step by step to consider domestic versus cross-border acquisitions. Then cross-border deals are split based on the economic development of the acquirer and target countries. It is observed that only acquisitions involving emerging-economy acquirers and developed-economy targets generate positive and significant returns to shareholders after the crisis. Major changes in the global acquisition landscape are also observed since 2007, with emerging-economy banks increasing their acquisition activity, both nationally and internationally.