The Journal of Finance

Learning by Observing: Information Spillovers in the Execution and Valuation of Commercial Bank M&As

Published: 01/11/2007   |   DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6261.2007.01205.x

GAYLE DELONG, ROBERT DEYOUNG

We offer a new explanation for why academic studies typically fail to find value creation in bank mergers. Our conjectures are predicated on the idea that, until recently, large bank acquisitions were a new phenomenon, with no best practices history to inform bank managers or market investors. We hypothesize that merging banks, and investors pricing bank mergers, learn by observing information that spills over from previous bank mergers. We find evidence consistent with these conjectures for 216 M&As of large, publicly traded U.S. commercial banks between 1987 and 1999. Our findings are consistent with semistrong stock market efficiency.

Risk Overhang and Loan Portfolio Decisions: Small Business Loan Supply before and during the Financial Crisis

Published: 09/04/2015   |   DOI: 10.1111/jofi.12356

ROBERT DEYOUNG, ANNE GRON, GӦKHAN TORNA, ANDREW WINTON

We estimate a structural model of bank portfolio lending and find that the typical U.S. community bank reduced its business lending during the global financial crisis. The decline in business credit was driven by increased risk overhang effects (consistent with a reduction in the liquidity of assets held on bank balance sheets) and by reduced loan supply elasticities suggestive of credit rationing (consistent with an increase in lender risk aversion). Nevertheless, we identify a group of strategically focused relationship banks that made and maintained higher levels of business loans during the crisis.