Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/206418 
Year of Publication: 
2019
Series/Report no.: 
ZEW Discussion Papers No. 19-047
Publisher: 
ZEW - Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung, Mannheim
Abstract: 
We analyze a large merger in the Dutch banking market during the financial crisis using disaggregated data. Based on a merger simulation model, we evaluate merger-induced changes in the interest rates for savings accounts. We find that the merging banks decreased interest rates by 3 to 5 percent and competitors by up to 1 percent. These anti-competitive effects translate into a loss of consumer welfare by roughly 69 million euros in 2010. We identify heterogeneous effects indicating that less educated consumers with lower savings are most affected. Our findings highlight the important role of competition policy during financial crisis mitigation.
Subjects: 
antitrust
competition policy
merger analysis
state aid
retail banking
random-coefficients logit models
differentiated products
JEL: 
D22
G21
G34
L11
L25
L40
L41
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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