Financial institutions M&A: Sector trends - September 2024
Financial institutions M&A: Sector trends
We highlight the key UK & European M&A trends in H2 2023 and H1 2024, and provide our insights into the outlook for M&A moving forward.
Introduction
In the 12th edition of our report, we bring you the key deal highlights and M&A trends across UK/Europe in the past 12 months which have shaped the financial services landscape. Focusing on the following verticals:
Key highlights include:
Banks: Europe’s banks restructure, consolidate and partner their way into the digital future.
Fintech: Tepid UK & European private capital markets spur unicorns into inorganic opportunities.
Asset/Wealth Management: Europe’s barbell becomes more pronounced—larger asset/wealth managers swallow smaller competitors at pace.
Payments: Equity and debt cheques from financial sponsors fuel growth, with investment committee appetite across the full spectrum from Seed through to late-stage/pre-IPO. The payments sector bucks the trend on IPOs.
Brokers/Corporate Finance: Mid-market investment banks consolidate at the fastest rate yet—reshaping the City skyline.
Consumer Finance: Inflexion point arrives for UK & European consumer lending. The strong will survive as BNPL and POS finance become the norm for e-commerce.
Specialty Finance/Marketplace Lending: Consolidation fever grips non-bank lenders and banks alike—SME lending, revenue-based finance and PropFinance at its core.
European financial services M&A trends
Europe’s banks restructure, consolidate and partner their way into the digital future
Equity and debt cheques from financial sponsors fuel growth, with investment committee appetite across the full spectrum from Seed through to late- stage / pre-IPO. The payments sector bucks the trend on IPOs.
Mid-market investment banks consolidate at the fastest rate yet— Panmure Gordon & Liberum, Redburn (Europe) & Atlantic Equities and Cenkos Securities & FinnCap Group mergers reshape the City skyline.
Arrival of long-awaited mammoth consolidation deals: Italy’s UniCredit and Spain’s BBVA sound the charge.
“Challenger” bank M&A catches fire: The UK grabs headlines with Coventry Building Society’s and Nationwide Building Society’s respective acquisitions of The Co‑operative Bank and Virgin Money.
Governments play a pivotal role in European bank M&A: State coffers play significant roles in >10 mega deals in under 12 months.
We are more bullish on bank M&A than we have been in the last 5 years. As lower NIM environment looms, UK and European lenders which had shelved transformational deals will need to act quickly, albeit carefully.
Hyder Jumabhoy
Current market
Steady uptick—pan-European mergers and mega domestic consolidations take shape.
We are seeing
Banks restructure in time for tougher net interest margin environments ahead:
Achieving optimal corporate and licencing footprints in key geographical markets (e.g., LHV Pank’s launch of LHV Bank)
Recognising freedom needed for business lines to grow (e.g., Commerzbank’s demerger of Yellowfin Asset Management)
Optimising regulatory capital structures (e.g., Revolut’s share capital reorganisation to comply with CET1 capital requirements)
Integrating recent acquisitions (e.g., UBS’s completion of 1st phase of Credit Suisse integration)
Cost reduction through branch and headcount reductions (e.g., 9 out of 10 Latvian banks closed offices and 1 out of 8 UK banks closed branches in the past 12 months)
Governments play a pivotal role in European bank M&A:
Privatisations (e.g., Hellenic Financial Stability Fund’s disposals of 22% of National Bank of Greece, 8.9% of Alpha Bank and 1.40% of Eurobank)
Nationalisations (e.g., Ukrainian Ministry of Finance’s acquisition of Sense Bank)
Redistributions (e.g., Republic of Kazakhstan’s acquisition of 4.3% of Eurasian Development Bank)
International financial support (e.g., Norfund’s US$150 million equity subscription in Joint Stock Commercial Bank)
Knock-on M&A (e.g., EBRD’s disposal of 15% of Erste Bank Hungary)
Regional and domestic bank M&A activity:
Non-core disposals of operating subsidiaries, businesses and soured / performing loan portfolios (e.g., Société Générale’s disposals of Shine, 52.6% of Société Générale Burkina Faso, 65% of Banco Société Générale Moçambique and Société Générale Equipment Finance)
Consolidations (>35 domestic bank consolidations in the past 12 months, aside from those related to the Russia / Ukraine conflict)
“Challenger” bank M&A catches fire – hottest challenger banking trends of the last 12 months:
Eye‑catching consolidations UK tops on consolidations (e.g., Coventry Building Society’s acquisition of The Co‑operative Bank and Nationwide Building Society’s acquisition of Virgin Money)
Growth capital fund raising activity UK tops on availability of growth capital (e.g., GB Bank, Monzo, Atom Bank, Zopa, Tandem and Jamaica National Bank UK all successfully raised capital in the past 12 months)
Fintechs acquire banking licences Fintechs step-up their licensing footprint (e.g., Ageras’ acquisition of Shine, PayFix’s acquisition of BankPozitif, Nucleus’ acquisition of Curtis Bank and Rauva’s acquisition of Banco Empresas Montepio)
Scaling through acquisitions Some challengers swallow local (e.g., Chetwood Financial’s acquisition of CHL Mortgages and Vanquis’ acquisition of Snoop), while others swallow international (e.g., Papara’s acquisition of Rebellion)
Scaling through partnerships Well-known names ink partnerships (e.g., OakNorth's SMEs commercial debit cards JV with Marqeta and Klarna's ridesharing and food delivery payments JV with Uber)
Scaling back Some challengers scale back from business lines (e.g., Klarna's disposal of Hero and shutting-down of Klarna Kosma), while others scale back from geographies (e.g., N26's exit from Brazil)
New entrants Turkey makes a splash in the digital banking revolution (e.g., launch of Enpara Bank and ColendiBank)
Key drivers
Arrival of long-awaited mammoth consolidation deals:
Inked (e.g., UniCredit's acquisition of 8.9% of Alpha Services)
Eagerly anticipated (e.g., BBVA's takeover bid for Sabadell)
Diverse spectrum of investors in / buyers of banking businesses:
Competitors looking to scale (e.g., BPCE's acquisition of Societe Generale Equipment)
Consolidators scooping-up core business lines (e.g., Barclays' acquisition of Tesco Bank's business and Nordea's acquisition of Danske Bank's personal customer and private banking business)
Local non-banks expanding domestic footprints (e.g. Vista's acquisitions of 52.6% of Societe Generale Burkina Faso and 65% of Banco Societe Generale Mozambique)
Foreign non-banks expanding into banking (e.g., Ronesans' acquisition of Rabobank (Turkey) and Bestway's acquisition of United National Bank)
VC investors making well-placed bets (e.g., Hera's investment in GB Bank, Nortia's investment in MyInvestor, Infinity's investment in Atom and Silverstripe's investment in Zopa)
Pension funds searching for safe bets (e.g., Teesside Pension Fund's investment in GB Bank)
Ultra-high-net-worth / family offices doubling down on existing bets (e.g., Jaime Gilinski Bacal's participation in Metro's £925 million private placement)
PE investors deploying buy, reform & build strategies (e.g., Cerberus' acquisition of VeloBank)
SWFs making late-stage investments, chasing profit on exit (e.g., GIC's investment in Monzo)
Willing sellers and buyers of financial assets:
UTPs / NPLs (e.g., CaixaBank's disposals of €554 million of Spanish mortgage NPLs and €315 million of Spanish unsecured retail NPLs to Cerberus and KRUK, respectively)
REOs (e.g., Alpha Bank's €438 million disposal of REOs to Diamnd and Premia Properties)
Performing portfolios (e.g., Sainsbury's Bank's disposal of £479 million of performing UK mortgage loans to The Co-operative Bank)
Forward-flow arrangements (e.g., Deutsche Bank's €280 million forward flow of Italian unsecured retail debt portfolio with KRUK)
Trends to watch
Regulators adopting an interventionist approach to deal-making:
Europe: European Central Bank's communication to Eurozone lenders to speed up withdrawals from Russia
Member State: Spanish government's negative stance to BBVA's hostile takeover bid for Sabadell
US exercising extraterritorial reach: U.S. Treasury's warning to Raiffeisen on access restrictions to the U.S. financial system on account of Russian dealings
Uptick in cross-border transactions between Europe's lenders:
Consolidations to conquer markets (e.g., UniCredit's acquisition of 90% of Alpha Bank Romania)
Cross-selling of financial products (e.g., UniCredit's pension-saving products JV with Alpha Services)
Collaborations to combat rising digital economy risks (e.g., Banco Santander, BBVA and CaixaBank joint establishment of FrauDfense)
Swapping of performing loan portfolios (e.g., BNP Paribas' sale of €360 million of performing consumer loans to Erste)
Continued pressure on Europe's lenders to withdraw from the Russian Federation in the wake of the Russia I Ukraine conflict
Resurgence of activist pressures as the interest rate bull run appears to tire
Our M&A forecast
M&A activity is expected to grow, with a focus on more complex cross-border tie-ups.
Challenger banks across the UK and Western Europe are more mature and are likely to come under considerable pressure to deliver exits and/or transformational transactions for financial sponsors who have remained patient over the last 5 years.
Banks – Publicly reported deals & situations
Restructurings
Deal highlight:
White & Case advised LHV Pank, Estonia's 3rd largest bank, on the implementation of its post-Brexit UK establishment project, including the licensing of its UK subsidiary, LHV Bank, and the transfer of certain assets and liabilities from the LHV Pank (London branch) to LHV Bank by way of a banking business transfer scheme under Part VII of the UK Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
Market commentary:
Latvia witnessed the most substantial reduction in number of bank offices, with almost 9 out of 10 bank offices closing. By contrast, Ireland was the only EU country in which the number of bank offices stayed roughly stable (Finextra-February 2024).
The Bank of England is looking at contentious plans to force more international banks to set up subsidiaries in the UK, in place of branches (Financial Times-July 2023).
Nationwide's longstanding commitment to the high street means it now has the largest number of UK branches (Finextra-October 2023).
More than 1 in 8 UK bank branches that were open in Q1 2023 will have closed by December 2023 (Financial Times-September 2023).
Lloyds Bank: UK, Closure of 109 UK branches (June 2024)
Halifax: UK, Closure of 87 UK branches (June 2024)
Bank of Scotland: UK,Closure of 41 UK branches (June 2024)
NatWest: Poland, Closure of financial crime unit (April 2024)
NatWest: UK, Closure of 70 UK branches (April 2024)
UBS: Switzerland, Closure of 85 Swiss branches (March 2024)
Barclays: UK, Closure of 90 UK branches (February 2024)
Danske Bank: UK, Closure of 4 UK branches (February 2024)
TSB Bank: UK, Closure of 36 UK branches (February 2024)
Deutsche Bank: Germany, Closure of 250 Postbank branches (October 2023)
Santander: UK, Closure of 6 UK branches (September 2024)
Lloyds Bank: UK, Closure of 86 UK branches (July 2023)
Halifax: UK, Closure of 53 UK branches (July 2023)
Bank of Scotland: UK, Closure of 16 UK branches (July 2023)
Capital recalibrations
Deal highlight:
White & Case advised the bondholders on the restructuring and recapitalisation of Metro Bank, which involved an inter-conditional £325 million capital raise, comprising £150 million of new equity and £175 million of new MREL notes, and a refinancing package in respect of £600 million of its outstanding debt securities.
Market commentary:
3 of Europe's 70 biggest banks would be forced to raise capital in a doomsday scenario. (Financial Times-July 2023)
Injections:
Metro Bank: UK, Successful £925 million private placement to Spaldy Investments (October 2023)
Invest Bank: UAE, Successful US$13.4 billion rights issue (August 2023)
Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait: Kuwait, Successful US$162.7 million rights issue (August 2023)
Trade and Development Bank: Burundi, Successful US$300 million equity funding from institutional investors (July 2023)
Returns:
ING: Netherlands, Launch of new €2.5 billion share buyback programme (May 2024)
UBS: Switzerland, Launch of new US$2 billion share buyback programme (April 2024)
UniCredit: Italy, Launch of €3.1 billion share buyback process (April 2024)
Eurobank: Greece, Successful €93.7 million share buyback (October 2023)
Government-supported transactions
Deal highlight:
White & Case advised UniCredit, one of Europe's top 10 largest banks, on its acquisition of the 8.9% stake in Alpha Services and Holdings, the holding company of Greece's Alpha Bank, held by the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund.
Market commentary:
White & Case advised Lesha Bank, Qatar's first independent Shari'a-compliant bank, on its acquisition of Bereke Bank (the former Kazakh subsidiary of Russian Sberbank) from Kazakh state enterprise, National Management Holding Baiterek.
Privatisations:
National Management Holding Baiterek: Kazakhstan, Disposal of Bereke Bank (April 2024)
Bank Guarantee Fund: Poland, Disposal of VeloBank (March 2024)
Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze: Italy, Disposal of 12.5% of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (March 2024)
Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze: Italy, Disposal of 25% of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (November 2023)
Hellenic Financial Stability Fund: Greece, Disposal of 22% of National Bank of Greece (November 2023)
Hellenic Financial Stability Fund: Greece, Disposal of 8.9% of Alpha Bank (November 2023)
Ireland Department of Finance: Ireland, Disposal of 5% of AIB Group (November 2023)
Hellenic Financial Stability Fund: Greece, Disposal of 1.40% of Eurobank (October 2023)
NL Financial Investments (Dutch state investment fund): Netherlands, Disposal of equity interest in ABN AMRO (September 2023)
Nationalisations:
Ukrainian Ministry of Finance: Ukraine, Acquisition of Sense Bank (July 2023)
Redistributions:
Republic of Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan Acquisition of 4.3% of Eurasian Development Bank (July 2023)
Equity subscriptions:
Norfund (Norwegian state investment fund): Vietnam, Subscription for US$150 million of shares in Southeast Asia Joint Stock Commercial Bank (July 2023)
Knock-on M&A:
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development: Hungary, Disposal of 15% of Erste Bank Hungary (November 2023)
Non-core asset disposals
Deal highlight:
White & Case advised Absa Bank (Mauritius) on the acquisition of HSBC's Mauritius wealth and personal & business banking businesses.
Non-Russia/Ukraine conflict related:
Aareal Bank: SaaS, Disposal of equity stake in Aareon (June 2024)
Societe Generale: France, Disposal of Shine (June 2024)
Credit Suisse: Switzerland, Disposal of 62% of Credit Suisse Investment Partners (June 2024)
Banca Popolare di Puglia e Basilicata: Italy, Disposal of 14 Italian bank branches (May 2024)
BCC Banca Iccrea: Italy, Disposal of 51% of BCC Assicurazioni (April 2024)
Societe Generale: France, Disposal of Societe Generale Equipment Finance (March 2024)
HSBC: Armenia, Disposal of HSBC Bank Armenia (February 2024)
HSBC: France, Disposal of French retail banking business (January 2024)
Anadi Bank: Austria, Disposal of branch network and SME business (December 2023)
Burgan Bank: Turkey, Disposal of 52% of Burgan Bank-Turkey (December 2023)
Societe Generale: Burkina Faso, Disposal of 52.6% of Societe Generale Burkina Faso to Vista Group (December 2023)
Societe Generale: Mozambique Disposal of 65% of Banco Societe Generale Mozambique (December 2023)
HSBC Bank: Mauritius, Disposal of HSBC Bank Mauritius' wealth and personal & business banking businesses (November 2023)
Bank Hapoalim: Turkey, Disposal of BankPozitif (September 2023)
BNP Paribas: Belgium, Disposal of 11.8% of Royal Park Investments (July 2023)
Danske Bank: Norway, Disposal of personal customer and private banking business (July 2023)
Standard Chartered: Cameroon, Disposal of Standard Chartered Bank Cameroon (July 2023)
Standard Chartered: Angola, Disposal of Standard Chartered Bank Angola (July 2023)
Standard Chartered: Gambia, Disposal of Standard Chartered Bank Gambia (July 2023)
Standard Chartered: Sierra Leone, Disposal of Standard Chartered Bank Sierra Leone (July 2023)
Standard Chartered: Tanzania, Disposal of consumer, private and business banking business (July 2023)
Trust Bank: Russia, Disposal of 90.01% of Tochka (July 2023)
Saxo Bank: Denmark, Disposal of Saxo Fintech (June 2023)
Russia/Ukraine conflict related:
HSBC: Russia, Disposal of Russian business (May 2024)
Mobile TeleSystems: Russia, Disposal of 13.2% stake in MTS Bank (April 2024)
Alexander Mechetin: Russia, Disposal of 87.5% of Royal Credit Bank (April 2024)
Ikano Group: Russia, Disposal of 51% of Ikano Bank (March 2024)
Financial asset management-disposals and outsourcings
Deal highlight:
White & Case advised Alpha Bank, the largest of Greece's 4 systemic banks by market capitalisation, on its disposal by way of competitive auction of a portfolio of real estate assets to an investor consortium comprising Diamnd and Premia Properties.
Market commentary:
Italy's mounting pile of debt poses an ongoing hazard to the country and its financial system, especially if the economy underperforms. (Bloomberg-April 2024)
European Banking Authority mandated by the EU directive on credit servicers and credit purchasers to develop new standardised and mandatory data templates to be used by credit institutions for the provision of information to credit purchasers when selling NPLs. (SmithNovak-October 2023)
Primary market NPL / UTP disposals:
Iccrea: Italy, Disposal of €300 million of retail NPLs and UTPs (February 2024)
BNP Paribas Personal Finance: France, Disposal of €120 million of NPLs to KRUK / InvestCapital (December 2023)
CaixaBank: Spain, Disposal of €554 million of mortgage NPLs to Cerberus (December 2023)
Santander: Spain, Disposal of €520 million of real estate NPLs to Fortress (December 2023)
Caixa Geral de Depósitos: Portugal, Disposal of €72 million of real estate NPLs to Whitestar / Arrow Global (December 2023)
Caixa Geral de Depositos: Portugal, Disposal of €81 million of unsecured retail NPLs to EOS (December 2023)
BNP Paribas: Italy, Disposal of €70 million of unsecured retail NPLs to KRUK (November 2023)
Alpha Bank: Greece, Disposal of €1.5 billion of unsecured retail NPLs to Hoist Finance (October 2023)
BCC Iccrea: Italy, Disposal of €570 million of NPLs and UTPs to consortium of (unnamed) investors (August 2023)
CaixaBank: Spain, Disposal of €315 million of unsecured retail NPLs to KRUK (July 2023)
BBVA: Spain, Disposal of €427 million of NPLs to InvestCapital (July 2023)
Sociedad de Gestion de Activos Procedentes de la Reestructuracion Bancaria: Spain, Disposal of €3 billion of SME NPLs to Axactor (July 2023)
UniCredit & BPER Banca: Italy, Disposal of €295 million of UTPs to Back2Bonis (July 2023)
Outsourcing debt servicing:
Banca Capasso: Italy, Disposal of €2.2 billion of NPLs to Credit Factor (50/50 JV between Banca Capasso and Europa Factor) (July 2023)
Acquiring debt servicing capability I capacity:
SpareBank 1 Gruppen: Norway, Acquisition of 68.6% of Kredinor (April 2024)
Primary market acquisitions -financial sponsors:
Fortress: Spain, Acquisition of €520 million of real estate NPLs from Santander (December 2023)
Cerberus: Spain, Acquisition of €554 million of mortgage NPLs from CaixaBank (December 2023)
KRUK I InvestCapital: France, Acquisition of €120 million of NPLs from BNP Paribas Personal Finance (December 2023)
Whitestar I Arrow Global: Portugal, Acquisition of €72 million of real estate NPLs from Caixa Geral de Depositos (December 2023)
EOS: Portugal, Acquisition of €81 million of unsecured retail NPLs from Caixa Geral de Depositos (December 2023)
KRUK: Italy, Acquisition of €70 million of unsecured retail NPLs from BNP Paribas (November 2023)
Hoist Finance: Greece, Acquisition of €1.5 billion of unsecured retail NPLs from Alpha Bank (October 2023)
Credit Factor: Italy, Acquisition of €2.2 billion of NPLs from Banca Capasso (July 2023)
KRUK: Spain, Acquisition of €315 million of retail unsecured NPLs from CaixaBank (July 2023)
InvestCapital I KRUK: Spain, Acquisition of €427 million of NPLs from BBVA (July 2023)
Axactor: Spain, Acquisition of €3 billion of SME NPLs from Sociedad de Gestion de Activos Procedentes de la Reestructuracion Bancaria (July 2023)
Back2Bonis I Prelios Credit Servicing: Italy, Acquisition of €295 million of UTPs from UniCredit and BPER Banca (July 2023)
Primary market acquisitions -credit managers:
Kryalos: Italy, Acquisition of €65 million of real estate and SME UTPs (September 2023)
REO sellers:
Alpha Bank: Greece, Disposal of REOs to Diamnd and Premia Properties (February 2023)
REO buyers:
Diamnd and Premia Properties: Greece, Acquisition of REOs from Alpha Bank (February 2024)
Performing loan sellers:
Barclays: United States, Disposal of US$1.1 billion of US credit card debt to Blackstone (February 2024)
Deutsche Bank: Italy, Disposal of €280 million forward flow unsecured retail debt portfolio to KRUK (December 2023)
Sainsbury's Bank: UK, Disposal of £479 million of performing mortgage loans to The Co-operative Bank (August 2023)
BNP Paribas Personal Finance I Hello Bank!: Czech Republic, Disposal of €360 million of performing consumer loans to Erste Group Bank (July 2023)
Performing loan buyers:
Blackstone: United States, Acquisition of US$1.1 billion of US credit card debt from Barclays (February 2024)
KRUK: Italy, Acquisition of €212 million unsecured Italian retail debt portfolio on forward flow basis (February 2024)
KRUK: Italy, Acquisition of €280 million forward flow unsecured retail debt portfolio from Deutsche Bank (December 2023)
The Co-operative Bank: UK, Acquisition of £479 million of performing mortgage loans from Sainsbury's Bank (August 2023)
Erste Group Bank I Ceska sporitelna: Czech Republic, Acquisition of €360 million of performing consumer loans from BNP Paribas (July 2023)
Market consolidation
Deal highlight:
White & Case advised ABN AMRO Bank on its acquisition of Hauck Aufhauser Lampe Privatbank, a leading German private bank.
White & Case advised UniCredit, one of Europe's top 10 largest banks, on the acquisition of 90% of Alpha Bank's Romanian subsidiary, Alpha Bank Romania.
Market commentary:
UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron's support for consolidation in Europe's fragmented banking sector. (Financial Times-May 2024)
Banco BPM will not take part in the consolidation of the Italian banking sector for at least 18 to 24 months. (Mergermarket-May 2024)
Cross-border mergers between banks in Europe should be as easy as mergers within a single European country, according to ECB policymaker Francois Villeroy. (Reuters-May 2024)
The UK's banking sector is expected to see consolidation driven by financial and digitalisation pressures. (Mergermarket-March 2024)
Regional I domestic consolidation:
NatWest Group: UK, Acquisition of Sainsbury's Bank's retail banking assets and liabilities (June 2024)
UniCredit: Romania, Acquisition of 90% of Alpha Bank Romania (July 2024)
ABN AMRO: Germany, Acquisition of Hauck Aufhauser Lampe Privatbank (May 2024)
Sydbank: Denmark; Acquisition of Coop Bank (May 2024)
Banca Desio: Italy, Acquisition of Banca Popolare di Puglia e Basilicata's 14 Italian bank branches (May 2024)
Banca di Credito Cooperativo di Roma: Italy, Acquisition of Cassa dellAgro Pontino (May 2024)
Bulgarian-American Credit Bank: Bulgaria, Acquisition of 99.94% of Tokuda Bank (April 2024)
Access Bank: Kenya, Acquisition of National Bank of Kenya (March 2024)
Al Salam Bank: Algeria, Acquisition of 66.7% of Al Salam Bank Algeria (March 2024)
Raiffeisenverband Salzburg: Austria, Acquisition of 98% of Raiffeisenbank Flachgau Mitte (March 2024)
Berliner Volksbank: Germany, Acquisition of Allgemeine Beamten Bank (February 2024)
Al Salam Bank: Bahrain, Acquisition of KFH Bahrain (February 2024)
Ardshinbank: Armenia, Acquisition of HSBC Bank Armenia (February 2024)
Access Bank: Uganda, Acquisition of 80% of Finance Trust Bank (January 2024)
Signet Bank: Latvia, Acquisition of LPB Bank (December 2023)
Abanca: Portugal, Acquisition of Banco BIC Portugues (November 2023)
UniCredit: Greece, Acquisition of 9% of Alpha Bank (November 2023)
Absa Bank: Mauritius, Acquisition of HSBC Bank Mauritius' wealth and personal & business banking businesses (November 2023)
Intesa Sanpaolo: Romania, Acquisition of First Bank Romania (October 2023)
Eurobank: Cyprus, Acquisition of 26.1% of Hellenic Bank (September 2023)
Access Bank: Cameroon, Acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank Cameroon (July 2023)
Access Bank: Angola, Acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank Angola (July 2023)
Access Bank: Gambia, Acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank Gambia (July 2023)
Access Bank: Sierra Leone Acquisition of Standard (July 2023)
ViViBanca: Italy, Acquisition of Banca Popolare del Mediterraneo (July 2023)
Expobank: Russia, Acquisition of HSBC's Russian business (May 2024)
Sovcombank: Russia, Acquisition of Home Credit & Finance Bank (February 2024)
Regulator interventionism in deal-making
European Central Bank: Communication to Eurozone lenders with operations in Russia to speed up withdrawal plans (May 2024)
US Treasury: Warning to Raiffeisen Bank International that its access to US financial system could be restricted because of Russian dealings (April 2024)
Spanish Government: Negative reaction to BBVA's announced hostile takeover of Banco Sabadell as threat to stability of Spanish financial system (April 2024)
Strategic M&A - mostly home-market landgrabs
Bank AlJazira: Saudi Arabia, Acquisition of 705% stake in AlJazira Takaful (May 2024)
BNP Paribas Cardif: France, Acquisition of Neuflize Vie (May 2024)
ViviBanca: Italy, Acquisition of Ifiver (April 2024)
TBC Bank Group: Ukraine, Acquisition of Fondy (April 2024)
BNP Paribas: Belgium, Acquisition of 8.19% of Ageas (April 2024)
BPCE: France, Acquisition of Societe Generale Equipment Finance (March 2024)
Banca Transilvania: Romania, Acquisition of BRD Pensii (February 2024)
Barclays: UK, Acquisition of Tesco Finance's business (February 2024)
BAWAG: Netherlands, Acquisition of Knab (February 2024)
Credit Agricole CentreFrance: France, Acquisition of minority equity interest in UI Investissement (January 2024)
Credit Commercial de France: France, Acquisition of HSBC's French retail banking business (January 2024)
Bank Burgenland: Austria, Acquisition of Anadi Bank's branch network and SME business (December 2023)
Erste Group Bank Hungary Acquisition of 15% of Erste Bank: Hungary, (November 2023)
Nordea Bank: Norway, Acquisition of Danske Bank's personal customer and private banking business (July 2023)
Access Bank: Tanzania, Acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank Tanzania's consumer, private and business banking business (July 2023)
Domestic: Banco Santander, BBVA and CaixaBank: Spain, Establishment of financial crime JV, FrauDfense (July 2023)
Fintech investment
Please refer to our 'Fintech' sub-Report in this series.
Wide investor universe
Deal highlight:
White & Case advised National Bank of Pakistan, one of Pakistan's largest state-owned banks, on the sale of its 45% stake in United National Bank, a joint venture between National Bank of Pakistan and United Bank, to Bestway Group.
White & Case advised Ronesans Holding, a leading Turkish construction, real estate, health, energy and industrial conglomerate, on its acquisition of Rabobank (Turkey).
Local non-bank:
Vista Group: Burkina Faso, Acquisition of 52.6% of Societe Generale Burkina Faso (December 2023)
Vista Group: Mozambique, Acquisition of 65% of Banco Societe Generale Mozambique (December 2023)
Oman International Development and Investment Company: Oman, Acquisition of 5.87% of Bank Muscat (November 2023)
Unipol: Italy, Acquisition of 10.2% of Banca Popolare di Sondrio (September 2023)
Nucleus Financial: UK, Acquisition of Curtis Bank (September 2023)
Governments:
Belgian Treasury: Belgium, Acquisition of 5.8% of Royal Park Investments (July 2023)
Foreign non-bank:
Ronesans Holding: Turkey, Acquisition of Rabobank (Turkey) (July 2024)
Bestway Group: Pakistan, Acquisition of United National Bank (July 2024)
Mandatum: Denmark, Acquisition of 19.8% of Saxo Bank (May 2024)
Ingka Investments: Sweden, Acquisition of remaining 51% of Ikano Bank (March 2024)
Ultra high-net-worth / family offices / private investment groups:
Sheikha Amal Suhail Bahwan: UK, Acquisition of equity stake in Monument Bank (May 2024)
Jaime Gilinski Bacal / Spaldy Investments: UK, Participation in £925 million private placement by Metro Bank (October 2023)
Vladimir Potanin: Russia, Acquisition of 90.01% of Tochka (July 2023)
Pension funds:
Teesside Pension Fund: UK, Participation in £85 million funding round in GB Bank (May 2024)
Private equity:
Atlantic BidCo: Germany, Acquisition of remaining stake in Aareal Bank (May 2024)
Cerberus Capital Management: Poland, Acquisition of VeloBank (March 2024)
Venture capital:
Hera Holdings: UK, Participation in £85 million funding round in GB Bank (May 2024)
Capital G and Hedosophia: UK, Participation in US$190 million funding round in Monzo (May 2024)
CapitalG, Hongshan Capital, Google Ventures, Tencent and Passion Capital: UK, Participation in US$430 million funding round in Monzo (March 2024)
Nortia Capital: Spain, Participation in €45 million Series C funding round in Mylnvestor (January 2024)
Infinity Investment Partners and Toscafund: UK, Participation in £100 million funding round in Atom Bank (November 2023)
Silverstripe: UK, Participation in £75 million (internal) funding round in Zopa (September 2023)
Pollen Street Capital: Netherlands, Participation in €44.5 million funding round in Bunq (July 2023)
Quilam Capital: UK, Participation in £20 million funding round in Tandem (July 2023)
Bank VC:
Citi Ventures: Turkey, Participation in US$65 million funding round in Colendi (May 2024)
SWFs:
GIC: UK, Participation in US$190 million funding round in Monzo (May 2024)
Al Rawabi / Kuwait Projects Company (Holding): Turkey, Acquisition of 52% of Burgan Bank-Turkey (December 2023)
Dubai Investments: UK, Participation in £40.6 million Series B funding round in Monument Bank (November 2023)
White & Case advised Novator Partners on its £80 million secondary sale of shares in British digital banking unicorn, Monzo Bank.
White & Case advised Jamaica National Bank on the strategic re-financing of its UK subsidiary, Jamaica National Bank UK, by Step One Finance.
Market commentary:
Virgin Money/Nationwide tie-up could provide competition boost at margins, but won't disrupt sticky UK retail banking. (Mergermarket-April 2024)
Deposits at the UK's 4 biggest banks have fallen by close to £80 billion year on year. NatWest, Lloyds, HSBC and Barclays experienced total outflows of £78 billion in the 12 months to June 2023. (Financial Times-August 2023)
Bank of London has emerged as the UK's fastest-growing challenger bank, amassing £300 million in client deposits since April 2023. (Finextra-August 2023)
“Challenger” banks raise growth capital:
Colendi: Turkey, Successful US$65 million funding round led by Citi Ventures, Migros Ticaret, Sepil Ventures, Re-Pie Asset Management, Finberg and Hedef Holding (May 2024)
GB Bank: UK, Successful £85 million funding round led by Hera Holdings and Teesside Pension Fund (May 2024)
Monzo: UK, Successful US$190 million funding round led by Capital G, Hedosophia and GIC (May 2024)
Lunar: Denmark, Successful €24.1 million funding round (May 2024)
Bunq: Netherlands, Successful US$31 million follow-your-money funding round from existing investors (April 2024)
Lunar: Denmark, Successful €24.1 million funding round (May 2024)
Bunq: Netherlands, Successful US$31 million follow-your-money funding round from existing investors (April 2024)
Monzo: UK, Successful US$430 million funding round led by CapitalG, Hongshan Capital, Google Ventures, Tencent and Passion Capital (March 2024)
Kuda: Tanzania, Ghana and Uganda Successful US$20 million funding round from (undisclosed) investors (subsequently aborted) (January 2024)
Mylnvestor: Spain, Successful €45 million Series C funding round led by Nortia Capital (January 2024)
Sygnum Bank: Switzerland, Successful US$40 million financing round led by Azimut (January 2024)
Monument Bank: UK, Successful £40.6 million Series B funding round led by Dubai Investments (November 2023)
Atom Bank: UK, Successful £100 million funding round led by Toscafund, BBVA and Infinity Investment Partners (November 2023)
Zopa: UK, Successful £75 million (internal) funding round led by Silverstripe (September 2023)
Bunq: Netherlands, Successful €44.5 million funding round led by Pollen Street Capital (July 2023)
Tandem: UK, Successful £20 million debt funding round led by Quilam Capital (July 2023)
New entrants
Kuwait Finance House: Kuwait, Launch of Shari'a-compliant digital bank Tam (November 2023)
Saldo Bank: Finland, Launch in Finland (October 2023)
Digital-Q-FS, Efinans & QNB Finans: Turkey, Launch of Enpara Bank (August 2023)
Colendi: Turkey, Launch of ColendiBank (August 2023)
Fintechs acquire banking licences:
Step One Finance: UK, Strategic re-financing of Jamaica National Bank UK (June 2024)
Ageras: France, Acquisition of Shine (June 2024)
Alta Pay: Austria, Acquisition of 36.46% of Addiko Bank May 2024 (subsequently aborted)
PayFix: Turkey, Acquisition of BankPozitif (September 2023)
Rauva: Portugal, Acquisition of Banco Empresas Montepio (September 2023)
SKB Kontur: Russia, Acquisition of 99.75% of Bank Ekaterinburg (July 2023)
ION: Italy, Acquisition of 32% of Cassa di Risparmio di Volterra (July 2023)
“Challengers” scale through acquisitions:
Chetwood Financial: Mortgage lending, Acquisition of CHL Mortgages for Intermediaries (May 2024)
Carbon: SME lending, Acquisition of Vella Finance (February 2024)
MyInvestor: Online mortgage management, Acquisition of Helloteca (January 2024)
Vanquis Banking Group: Digital savings Acquisition of Snoop (July 2023)
Papara: Banking Acquisition of Rebellion (July 2023)
“Challengers” scale through consolidations:
Coventry Building Society: UK, Acquisition of The Co-operative Bank (May 2024)
Nationwide Building Society: UK, Acquisition of Virgin Money (March 2024)
Klarna: Payments, Ridesharing and food delivery payments JV with Uber Technologies (April 2024)
Exits: N26, Exit from Brazilian banking market (November 2023)
Banks face differing external pressures
Market commentary:
EU banks have a payment holiday in 2024 after contributions over the last 8 years to the European rescue fund reached its €78 billion target. (Reuters-February2024)
Storm clouds are brewing over European banking stocks as the boost from higher interest rates fades and recession risks rise. (Reuters-October 2023)
Regulatory action step-up:
UK Financial Conduct Authority: UK, £6.2 million in penalties levied on HSBC for failures relating to fair treatment of customers in arrears or experiencing financial difficulty (May 2024)
BaFin: Germany, Fines of €9.2 million levied on N26 for AML failures (May 2024)
UK Financial Conduct Authority: UK, £27.8 million of penalties levied on Citigroup for failures relating to wholesale conduct in the investment bank sector (May 2024)
UK Bank of England: UK, £57 million of penalties levied on HSBC for failures relating to FSCS protection (January 2024)
UK Bank of England: UK, £87 million of penalties levied on Credit Suisse for risk management failures relating to Archegos (July 2023)
Activists:
Appaloosa: Switzerland, Pressure on UBS / Credit Suisse relating to Credit Suisse’s alleged misleading of investors about its financial health ahead of ATI write-down (April 2024)
Cevian Capital: Switzerland, Acquisition of 1.3% of UBS (December 2023)
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This article is prepared for the general information of interested persons. It is not, and does not attempt to be, comprehensive in nature. Due to the general nature of its content, it should not be regarded as legal advice.
