Bank mergers in the financial crisis: A competition policy perspective

Arbeitspapier

We analyze a large merger in the Dutch banking market during the financial crisis using disaggregated data. Based on a merger simulation model, we evaluate merger-induced changes in the interest rates for savings accounts. We find that the merging banks decreased interest rates by 3 to 5 percent and competitors by up to 1 percent. These anti-competitive effects translate into a loss of consumer welfare by roughly 69 million euros in 2010. We identify heterogeneous effects indicating that less educated consumers with lower savings are most affected. Our findings highlight the important role of competition policy during financial crisis mitigation.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: ZEW Discussion Papers ; No. 19-047

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis ; Banks; Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages ; Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Voting; Proxy Contests; Corporate Governance ; Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms ; Firm Performance: Size, Diversification, and Scope ; Antitrust Issues and Policies: General ; Monopolization; Horizontal Anticompetitive Practices
• Subject: antitrust ; competition policy ; merger analysis ; state aid ; retail banking ; random-coefficients logit models ; differentiated products

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Hellwig, Michael ; Laser, Falk Hendrik
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): ZEW - Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung
• (where): Mannheim
• (when): 2019

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/206418
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET