This paper looks at the role of both commercial and investment banks in providing merger advisory services. In this area, unlike some areas of investment banking, commercial banks have always been allowed to compete directly with investment banks. In their dual role as lenders and advisors to...

"We hypothesize that banks become better able to manage acquisitions, and investors become better able to value those acquisitions, as these parties "learn-by-observing" information that spills-over from previous bank M&As. We find evidence consistent with these hypotheses for 216 M&As of large,...