Editorial introduction
The Editors of the Journal of Banking and Finance are pleased to publish this selection of papers presented at the VI and VII Financial Conferences held at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. The ®rst group of papers were presented at the Conference on: ``Public Debt Management, Financial Markets and Policy Issues'' that took place on 20/22 November 1997, the second at the Conference on ``Competition Among Financial Systems and Bank±Firm Relationship After Euro'' that took place on 26/27 November 1998.
We wish to gratefully acknowledge the help of Professor Michele Bagella of the University of Rome, Tor Vergata, who organized the Conferences, and of Professor Anthony M. Santomero of the Wharton School for his help in the selection of the manuscripts.
CONTENTS
A. Cybo-Ottone and M. Murgia, Mergers and shareholder wealth in
European banking 831
F. Drudi and R. Giordano, Default risk and optimal debt management 861 M. Bagella, L. Becchetti and A. Carpentieri, ``The ®rst shall be last''. Size and value strategy premia at the London Stock Exchange 893 A. Amato and M. Tronzano, Fiscal policy, debt management and exchange rate credibility: Lessons from the recent Italian experience 921
---A.M. Santomero and J.J. Seater, Is there an optimal size for the
®nancial sector? 945
F.C. Bagliano, A. Dalmazzo and G. Marini, Bank competition and
ECB's monetary policy 967
M. Dietsch and A. Lozano-Vivas, How the environment determines banking ef®ciency: A comparison between French and Spanish
S. Kleimeier and H. Sander, Regionalisation versus globalisation in European ®nancial market integration: Evidence from co-integration
analyses 1005
O. De Bandt and E.P. Davis, Competition, contestability and market structure in European banking sectors on the eve of EMU 1045
