Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to assess the financial performance of Romanian banks involved in M&A activities, as target banks, over a period of 10 years (1998-2008).  Performance is analyzed in terms of profitability by using traditional accounting measures: ROE, ROA and NIM. Post-M&A performance for a 3-year period is compared with the aggregate ratios from all Romanian banks. Our findings are mixed. On one hand, bank M&A in Romania does not result in improved ROE or ROA in the post M&A 3-year period under review. On the other hand, merged banks report media NIM above industry.