Recent research questions whether diversification in financial conglomerates enhances or destroys shareholder value, thus whether financial conglomerates trade at premium or discount compared to specialized banks. Empirical evidence shows that prior to the financial crisis, there existed substantial and persistent conglomerate discount among financial intermediaries. However, the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 and the European debt crisis of 2010-2011 have sparked off an active debate among financial economists about the so-called "diversification discount" or lack thereof, as the value of diversification might have changed, and if so, why. The aim of this book is to provide an innovative analysis of the financial conglomerate phenomenon by combining both theoretical and empirical research methods. Moreover, new empirical evidence of the impact of diversification during the 2008-2009 and 2010-2011 financial crises on the shareholder value is presented. The book also discusses current issues and future directions for research.

Claudia Curi is Assistant Professor of Corporate Finance at the Faculty of Economics and Management of the Free University of Bolzano-Bozen since 2012. She teaches Corporate Finance and Project Finance. Before joining Free University of Bolzano-Bolzen Claudia was Research Economist at the Central Bank of Luxembourg and Postdoctoral Researcher at the Luxembourg School of Finance. Her main research interests are on the theory and empirical analysis of corporate finance and financial intermediation. She has published articles on international banking, bank business models, and financial crisis. She holds a PhD in Economics and Management Engineering and an MBA from the University of Rome, Tor Vergata.