VITTORIO BOSCIA Full professor in Banking and Finance, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy ALESSANDRO CARRETTA Full Professor in Financial markets and institutions and Director of Ph.D Program in Banking and Finance, University of Rome, Italy PAOLA SCHWIZER Full Professor of Banking, University of Parma and Professor at SDA Business School, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy SIMONA COSMA, Lecturer in Banking and Finance, University of Salento (Italy). MATTEO COTUGNO, Post Doctoral Fellow in Banking and Finance, University of Bologna, Italy ROBERTO DI SALVO, Deputy General Manager, Federcasse - Credito Cooperativo, Italy. FRANCO FIORDELISI, Professor in Banking and Finance, University of Rome III, Italy. CLAUDIO GIANNOTI, Associate Professor of Banking, University LUM Jean Monnet of Casamassima, Bari, Italy VALERIA STEFANELLI, Post Doctoral Fellow in Banking and Finance, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy and Visiting Research Fellow, University of Wales, Bangor, UK.