This paper provides evidence of the impact of the new European bank resolution regime on the sovereign-bank nexus. The implementation of the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) is considered as an exogenous shock which provides the setting for a natural experiment. This investigation tests the financial markets' perception of the effectiveness of the new rules in weakening the tight interconnectedness between sovereign and bank risk. A Difference-in-Differences (DiD) approach is adopted, building evidence from the Credit Default Swap (CDS) market for banks and nonfinancial corporates over the period 2011-18. The main findings do not indicate a significant weakening in the interaction between bank and sovereign CDS spreads, compared to the corresponding evidence for the non-financial corporate sector. An overall narrowing of the gap between bank and sovereign risk occurs, which initially implies a lack of credibility of the BRRD in financial markets. However, substantial cross-country variations are identified, particularly for Italy and non-euro area countries. These insights make a significant contribution to the policy debate on effective regulation of the sovereign-bank nexus, in the light of recent developments in the EU postcrisis reform agenda.

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This paper should not be reported as representing the views of the European Central Bank (ECB). The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the ECB.

This paper investigates ex-ante factors influencing international bank acquisition of FinTech companies from 2010–2018. Using hand-collected data, we show that bank boards with a larger female presence as well as those that have CEOs with longer tenure are more likely to pursue FinTech acquisitions. The financial performance also matters as banks with greater capital strength and liquidity are more likely to be acquirers. In line with prior expectations, banks with higher IT spending, suggesting greater in-house development of digital solutions, are less likely to target FinTech acquisitions. In addition, younger CEOs and banks with lower IT spending are also found to be more likely to make multiple FinTech acquisitions. The nationality diversity in the boardroom matters for cross-border bank-FinTech deals. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10693-022-00396-x.

How did announcements about the implementation of the Banking Union (BU) in Europe impact on financial markets? This paper investigates the effect of the overall bank regulatory reform, considering each associated individual announcement, on Credit Default Swaps (CDS), bank stocks and stock futures during 2012-14. Announcements related to the implementation of the supervisory mechanism, as well as those on the new resolution framework, led to a surge in bank CDS spreads, while having a detrimental effect on the wealth of banks' shareholders. The CDS market response to sub-events associated with the ECB's 2014 Comprehensive Assessment (CA) was positive and reflected in a decrease in bank CDS spreads. Furthermore, CDS of Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs) demonstrated a significant reaction to the implementation steps in the BU. Banks' stock prices reacted in a consistent manner with the CDS market. The stock futures market did not reveal any strong reaction to the changes in the European regulatory landscape. Cross-sectional analysis reveals that bank capitalization is positively associated with responses of G-SIBs' CDS spreads, but is inversely related to responses of CDS spreads for other bank groups. Weak underlying credit quality is also a relevant factor in explaining abnormal increases in quoted CDS spreads. For the stock market, positive associations of the cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) with capital levels and with the business model orientation are revealed.