| Abstract: |
The European banking sector has experienced a process of rapid changes during the last two decades. The trend of liberalisation and deregulation led to a wave of consolidation that in a fundamental way shaped the environment of the european banking. The aim of this paper is to provide a complex analyses of recent mergers and acquisitions (M&A) that took place within the european banking industry. A part of the analyses is the description of the historical and regulatory framework. Special attention is paid to the entrance period of the third stage of the European monetary union. Concerning the introduction of the single currency, expectations were built about a startup of a wave of crossboarder M&A. An ex post evaluation of the recent development helps us to find the answer whether this expectations were fullfiled or not. Furthermore we define particular legislative or nonlegislative barriers that served as an obstruction in the process of crossborder M&A. A part of this study is a brief outline of implications and recommendations to the regulatory authorities. At the end of this study, there is a short polemic about the success of the consolidation of the european banking industry as a whole. |
