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Consolidation has been the hallmark of the
European banking industry over the past two
decades. Earlier, consolidation was driven by
factors such as globalisation, deregulation of
banking activities, European integration and
introduction of the Euro. Some of the major Mergers & Acquisitions (M&As) have been Santander’s
acquisition of Abbey National in 2004, takeover of
Credit Lyonnais by Credit Agricole in 2002, HVB’s
acquisition of Bank Austria in 2000 and Royal
Bank of Scotland’s hostile takeover of Natwest.
The events of recent months, namely the ongoing
credit crisis, have further accelerated this
consolidation. In such a climate, Rym Ayadi’s book
‘Assessing the Performance of Banking M&As in
Europe’ is truly well timed.
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