Question

Bank corporate mergers. Corporate merger is a means through which one firm (the bidder) acquires control of the assets of another firm (the target). Recently, there was a frenzy of bank mergers in the United States, as the banking industry consolidated into more efficient and more competitive units.

a. Construct a brief questionnaire (two or three questions) that could be used to query a sample of bank presidents concerning their opinions of why the industry is consolidating and whether it will consolidate further.

b. Describe the population about which inferences could be made from the results of the survey.

c. Discuss the pros and cons of sending the questionnaire to all bank presidents versus a sample of 200.

Short answer

a. Question 1: What benefits can the banks and the customers get after the completion of mergers?

Question 2: Will the consolidation increase more in the future?

b. All bank presidents will be considered as population.

c. Pros: Insight into real thought processes and future plans; getting the idea of the impact of consolidation in the future.

Cons: It might not reveal the probable problems which can develop in the future.

Step-by-step solution

Specifying the questions

The first question is about the banks' benefits as well as the benefits to the customers after 'bank mergers.' The second question is to find out whether more banks can consolidate in the future.

Determining  the population

The researchers have considered the presidents of the respective banks to understand their opinions.As a result, the researchers have chosen a sample of a few presidents for conducting the research.

Explaining the pros and cons

One of the pros of doing this research is to get the exact thought processes and plans of the banking operations after the merger of banks. Secondly, it will help get the idea of the impact of consolidation of banks in the future upon the banks and the customers. One of the cons is that the presidents might not disclose the secret plans that they have already decided to implement in the future.