Mergers and Acquisitions on Operational Cost Efficiency of Banks in Ghana: A Case of Ecobank and Access Bank

Abstract

In Ghana, Mergers and Acquisition strategy has been used widely in the banking sector. It is a strategy adopted by the organizations globally to meet the needs of recent dynamic business environment. This paper empirically examines the impact of mergers and acquisitions on the operational cost efficiency of banks in Ghana with specific emphasis of two banks; Ecobank and Access Bank-Ghana. If any improvements in operating efficiency from these mergers are large relative to any adverse effects of price changes created by increases in market power, then such mergers may be in the public interest. The financial data was analyzed by the use of Ratio analysis. Models that are commonly employed by bankers and other financial institutions in Ghana to compute the overall operational efficiency was also used. In terms of operational cost efficiency, results were incoherent for the two banks which the researchers strongly attributed to some fundamental limitations. However, the study revealed that mergers and acquisitions could potentially offer financing option for banks as well as promote economic efficiency through improvements in costs.