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Biography

Franck Bancel is Professor of Finance at ESCP Europe. He holds a Doctorate from the University of Grenoble II and a post-doctoral degree (Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches) from the University of Paris IX Dauphine. His field of specialisation is Corporate Finance, International Finance, Financial Engineering and Corporate Governance.
Professor Bancel has published a number of books (Flexibilité et choix des investissements, Economica, 2002 ; La gouvernance des entreprises, Economica, 1997, etc.) and articles in academic journals such as Financial Management, European Financial Management, Revue d’Economie Financière, Revue d’Economie Industrielle, etc. He has published several articles with Professor Mitto comparing European and US corporate financial practices and measuring distances between theories and practices.
Franck Bancel managed the ESCP Europe Specialized Master in Finance in Paris and the parallel programme at our sister school, ESA, in Beirut. He was Associate Dean for research from 2002 to 2006 and Director of the ESCP Europe Ph.D. programme on the Paris Campus from 2003 to 2006.
Professor Bancel is also a consultant for banks and financial institutions (Paribas, Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, etc.) and companies in the energy sector. He was Vice President for Corporate Finance with BNP Paribas and has been involved in several M&A deals. He published a book with Professor Duval Hamel (Paris II) on best practices in Mergers and Acquisitions of European firms (weblink).

Current research

Financial Flexibility and the Impact of Global Financial Crisis: Evidence from France

Professors Bancel and Mittoo survey Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) of French firms in June 2009 about the impact of global financial crisis on the firm’s financing.  About two third of CFOs say that the crisis had a strong and very strong impact on their firms (financing, product market). Survey evidence show that the desire for financial flexibility is the primary driver for the firm’s capital structure policy.

You may consult the questionnaire used for this survey here.

Why European firms go public?

Professors Franck Bancel and Usha Mittoo survey CFOs of firms from 12 European countries on costs and benefits of going public and criteria for selecting an exchange for listing. The CFOs rank the enhanced financial flexibility arising primarily from the ability to finance the firm’s growth opportunities as the most important benefit of going public. The CFOs also value the increase in firm value through enhanced investor recognition, and external monitoring of the firm by outsiders as important benefits. The research evidence suggests that going public decision of European firms is a complex decision that is driven by several considerations rather than one primary motivation. It also suggests that European IPO firms seek different benefits of going public than their US peers.

You may consult the questionnaire used for this survey here.

Why European firms list in the USA? A critical approach
The financial literature identifies several reasons that can explain why companies list on a foreign stock exchange: access to new financial resources, better visibility and notoriety, etc. Franck Bancel presents the motivations and characteristics of European companies that have chosen to list in the USA. He shows that the massive wave of US listings during the nineties is probably finished. The institutional context of a US listing has largely changed (adoption of the Sarbanes-Oxley law, etc.) and has significantly increased listing costs.

Publications