We study whether formal enforcement actions, imposed on U.S. banks during 2000–2014 for serious financial safety and internal control problems, affect the probability that punished banks become targets of mergers and acquisitions (M&As). We find an increase in the probability of punished banks' acquisitions of at least 0.7%. A similar pattern is identified during both the financial crisis period of 2008–2009 and beyond the 2008–2009 period. Furthermore, these acquisitions improve the operating performance of post-acquisition combined entity, lending support to the hypothesis that punished banks' M&As serve as a means to replace inefficient management and restore the target banks' performance.

This study examines the interplay between political influence and regulatory decision-making. Political influence is captured based on whether a bank is headquartered in a state where an elected official holds a chair position on a congressional committee related to the banking and financial services industry. Using data of US commercial banks over the period 2000–2015, we show that our measure of political influence reduces a bank's probability of receiving a formal regulatory enforcement action. Results are robust to the use of alternative model specifications and the sample restrictions. However, we find that various bank and environmental characteristics are important conditional factors.