We show that compensation and other manager characteristics that attract public scrutiny in the banking industry only describe a small amount of the heterogeneity in the business models of banks. Instead, idiosyncratic manager effects that cannot be explained by observable manager...

While there is some evidence on the impact of international M&As on bank risk profiles, there is a paucity of research on the impact of domestic M&As on bank risk. This paper exploits a rich database of Spanish banks during 1986-2010 to study the changes in bank risk profiles immediately before...

Market structure affects the informational and real frictions faced by traders in equity markets. Using bid-ask spreads, we present evidence which suggests that while real frictions associated with the costs of supplying immediacy are less in order-driven systems, informational frictions...