Given the pivotal role of banks in modern economies, the worldwide phenomenon of a high level of bank M&A activity and the consensus view in empirical studies that bank mergers destroy value for acquiring bank shareholders, it is highly surprising that the influence of corporate governance on...

Women and ethnic minority groups hold few boardroom positions. In this paper, we adopt a novel empirical strategy to test whether this is caused by a lack of suitable candidates for director positions or, alternatively, by discriminatory barriers that prevent these groups from progressing up the...