Shareholder value in European banks after the global financial crisis: An empirical analysis

This paper investigates the determinants of shareholder value in European banks over a seven-year period from 2011 to 2017. Using a panel fixed effects regression model, we find that banks that focused more on traditional lending activities and increased their risk-taking level generate greater shareholder value. Shareholder value is a persistent variable over time; bank size has a positive impact on shareholder value, while financial leverage has a negative influence. We also find a negative relationship between gross domestic product per capita (GDPPC) and shareholder value. Further analyses were conducted by clustering the sample into subsamples based on GDPPC, the density of bank branches and bank size. The main results are confirmed with a robustness check using a two-step IV-GMM estimate.