It is generally acknowledged that the exchange industry shares the typical features of network industries, forcing exchanges to merge across countries. This process was first urged by the need to keep up with technological developments and increased competition from peers and new competitors....

In the asset quality review (AQR) framework, bank authorities have defined several financial measures for use to determine loan portfolio risk, and consequently, the adequate level of provisioning and capitalization. In concrete terms, with regard to a firm's loans, the AQR exercises and ECB...