A boom in M&A for the world’s financial institutions was widely expected a year ago, when the biggest European cross-border acquisition in financial services was announced. The tale of how Barclays lost the hand of ABN Amro, and how Fortis, Santander and RBS won it, needs no retelling here, but that merger was forecast to change the banking landscape. Growth-enhancing mergers, which would create product and geographical scale, would surely follow. Instead of that rosy picture we have a world of acquisition triggered by desperation, with the terms dictated by one party’s weakness. That Bear Stearns would end up in the arms of JPMorgan...
