Banking law--United States

The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) of 2008, often referred to as the “bank bailout of 2008”, was an act of Congress that created a billion-dollar Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to purchase distressed assets during the Financial Crisis. The EESA was one of the “bailout measures” taken by congress to help repair the economic damage of 2007-08. Although the EESA is a fiduciary-centered act of congress, its long-term implications affected everyday Americans through its policy impacts. One central question in this policy evaluation is to analyze whether the EESA bailout unjustly assisted prominent banks and broker-dealers or whether the EESA was essential to ensure the prevention of the U.S. financial system from collapsing. Because the Financial Crisis of 2007-08 had such a broad impact, especially since many distressed assets were within the residential market [of average Americans], analyzing this Act through research and policy evaluation is especially fitting. This Policy Evaluation explores public policy in emergency circumstances, implications outside the financial sector for the public, and the overall synthesis between major financial markets and institutions and the American general public.

This study empirically investigates the market reaction to acquisitions of thrift institutions and banks occurring since the passage of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) of 1989. The study tests several hypotheses related to characteristics of the acquiring firm, the target firm, and the acquisition. The overall market reaction to the acquisitions is negative. The study also reveals that there are cross-sectional factors which influence the share price response. The results of the empirical tests are relevant to depository institutions contemplating acquisitions, to the Resolution Trust Corporation, and to taxpayers.