Henry Strouts’ Post

European FS deal values were down in 2023 but volumes were remarkably strong. 2024 has started well and the outlook for M&A is improving for the rest of the year #EYFinancialServices #MergersandAcquisitions

In 2024, the M&A landscape in the banking sector is tipped to be shaped by several ongoing themes and trends: a) divestment and rationalization strategies, b) quest for scale by businesses that need it, c) demand for technology-based capabilities d) deals driven by regulatory push will be key drivers. Lessons for #srilankanbanks Read #EY publication for more.

While 2023 saw FS deal volumes hold up due to continued strategic acquisitions and execution of PE roll-up strategies, the aggregate FS deal value in EMEIA was its lowest for five years. We do though see strong drivers for M&A to start picking up again across the Banking & Capital Markets, Insurance and Wealth & Asset Management sectors. Please take a look at this latest publication to find out more. #EYFinancialServices #MergersandAcquisitions

Read EY’s European Financial Services M&A Trends report for 2024. 📑 Our team has identified key trends we expect in dealmaking this year across banking and capital markets, insurance, and wealth and asset management. Find out how acquisitions will likely be used to help companies grow and compete, and so deliver returns for investors. 👇   #EYFinancialServices #MergersAndAcquisitions

After several quarters of lower M&A volumes in the European Financial Services, 2024 could represent a turning point for M&A activity. Market landscape in the banking sector will be shaped by several ongoing trends with divestments, rationalization strategies and a quest for scale that will continue to be major drivers of deals. Find out more on our latest European FS M&A Report! #EYFinancialServices #MergersandAcquisitions

#EY's 2024 European Financial Services M&A trends report predicts key acquisition themes such as the quest for scale through domestic consolidation, enhancing core competencies through acquisitions, and growing fee-based income. It also underscores the importance of acquiring digital capabilities, portfolio rationalisation, and the influence of ESG and regulatory agendas on M&A, along with the continued impact of private equity strategies, particularly in the FinTech and payments segments. #EYFinancialServices #MergersandAcquisitions

European financial services witnessed a 25.9% YoY drop in M&A transactions in 2023, down from $46.3bn in 2022 to $34.3bn in 2023. This decline was mainly attributed to sluggish macro environment, US regional bank crisis, and a 54.7% YoY reduction in insurance sector deals. Sectors like Banking & Capital Markets and Wealth & Asset Management also witnessed a 10.1% and 4.6% dip respectively in 2023. Yet, the outlook for 2024 holds promise. With gradual improvement in macroeconomic conditions coupled with growing technological prowess and burgeoning alternate asset classes, M&A activity within the financial sector is projected to rebound. Anticipated benefits from increased scale and anticipated synergies are expected to further bolster M&A movements in 2024. To find out more insights, do give a read to our recent European Financial Services M&A trends report for 2024. Benoit Gérard, Tom Groom, Henry Strouts, Riccardo Ferri, Karl Meekings, Nilabh Kumar, Saket Chitlangia, Sachin Sharma, Mohit Maheshwari, Jyoti Bachwani, Ankit Srivastava 

It feels like M&A activity in FS is picking up, with more assets coming to market or processes in preparation. But have a look at EY's latest report to read about relevant M&A trends for 2024. In Payments, we certainly see a few areas with more activity than others, i.e. cross-border payments, software-integrated payments and banks reorganizing their payments assets and partnerships. #EYFinancialServices #MergersandAcquisitions

What does 2024 hold for Financial Services M&A? Interesting EY insights into the latest financial services M&A trends. My thoughts: While 2023 saw a decline in total deal values, the volume of transactions has maintained. This is perhaps reflective of recent trends focused on consolidation in financial services. There are strong themes emerging as we enter 2024, in particular: 1) Continued focus in the Insurance Sector on Broker Consolidation and renewed interest Life Insurance (which I am most excited about!). 2) The Banking world experienced consolidation of major household names in 2023, will there be further consolidation / partnership by the major banks in search of enhancing their capabilities or entering wider markets? 3) With some major transactions (particularly in the UK) in the last 12 months, will the use of technology to drive efficiencies or product expansion to drive growth be a major WAM theme in 2024? #EYFinancialServices #MergersandAcquisitions

I am excited to share that the FS strategy and transactions team has recently released our 2024 M&A report! We outline some of the key trends we have seen in the past year and what we expect to see throughout the rest of the year. Whilst it corroborates some of the broader trends we have seen in PE dealmaking recently where the cost of funding, valuation gap, and geopolitical instability have impacted the total value of deals, overall deal volume remains high and we expect value will continue to recover over the year. The report highlights the key deals we have seen across the Banking, Insurance, and Wealth sectors and the respective trends in each. Looking forward, we expect Private Equity to continue to be a key driver of M&A activity with Wealth remaining a hot area for investment.