This paper examines the role of country-level investor protections on the value of relationships between investment banks (IBs) and their corporate clients. Using an event-study approach and an international sample of consolidation activities in the investment banking industry, we document that clients of target IBs acquired by banks from stronger (weaker) investor protection countries realize lower (higher) returns upon merger announcement. This is consistent with a substitution effect between country-level investor protections and IB-level monitoring of client firms. Overall, our analysis highlights the economic role of country-level investor protections on the relationships between IBs and client firms in an international context.

本文研究了国家级投资者保护在投资银行（IB）与公司客户之间关系价值上的作用。使用事件研究方法和投资银行业合并活动的国际样本，我们记录了银行从实力较强（较弱）的投资者保护国家/地区收购的目标IB客户在合并公告后实现了较低（较高）的回报。这与国家级投资者保护和IB级客户公司监管之间的替代效应是一致的。总体而言，我们的分析突出了国际背景下国家级投资者保护对IB与客户公司之间关系的经济作用。