The first half of 2009 saw extremely low levels of European financial services M&A activity. However, as we move towards and into 2010, an increase in deal activity is on the cards.

“'Steady as she goes' has been the ethos throughout the 2009 financial services deal market to date. However, a restructuring-led wave of deal activity will gather momentum across the European financial services landscape as we move into 2010. We anticipate that financial institutions will continue to identify, evaluate and sell their non-core businesses”, said Radu Stoicoviciu (photo), Partner, Advisory Services, PricewaterhouseCoopers Romania.

According to the latest ‘European Financial Services M&A Insights’ report from PwC, just €32bn-worth of deals was announced during the first half of 2009, compared with €178 billion in 2008 alone. Government involvement has cooled significantly throughout 2009 and if government activity were excluded, the figures would be just €19 billion for the first half of 2009 compared with €70 billion for all of 2008.

"The post crisis restructuring in European financial services could bring an increase in the number of private equity backed deals in the sector. An increasing number of firms have expressed interest in the sector - both in the intermediary and services area as well as in the businesses that take underwriting risk," Radu Stoicoviciu concluded.