When it comes to mergers, timing is everything

Europe has recently witnessed two giant cross-border banking transactions. Last year, Spain's Banco ...

Europe has recently witnessed two giant cross-border banking transactions. Last year, Spain's Banco Santander Central Hispano SA paid £9.2bn for the UK's Abbey National. Earlier this month, Italy's UniCredito Italiano agreed to pay e19.2bn to gain control of Germany's HVB Group in the biggest cross-border deal ever in European banking. The two purchases look similar. Both buyers are big Mediterranean banks going beyond their home markets with acquisitions. Both are using paper to fund their ambitions and both aim to establish themselves at the top of their industry. Yet the the two deals...