A large number of studies (DeYoung et al., 2009) analyze merger outcomes in the financial industry, while other forms of business cooperation are still poorly investigated. Our paper examines results of strategic alliances and joint ventures in European and US banking over the period 1999 and...

We investigate the causal relationship between the efficiency of country’s judicial system and the quality of bank lending, using the contracts enforcement reforms that have been implemented in four European countries as a quasi-natural experiment. We find that strengthening of contract...