The European financial services industry announced a 3% year-on-year fall in M&A deals in 2023, with 641 deals across the region, compared to 661 deals in 2022, according to the latest EY financial services M&A analysis. The total disclosed deal value also fell; from €50.0bn in 2022 to €34.7bn in 2023, representing the lowest annual value recorded since 2013. Iulia Bratu, Partner, Head of Lead Advisory, EY Romania: “M&A activity in the Romanian Financial Services sector saw a strong year in 2023, recording 14 transactions, with disclosed-value deals accounting for 10.2% of the total market, at USD 490m. This represented a doubling of the transaction number and 210% increase in deal values and was a particularly positive performance from an historical perspective, supported by landmark transactions in the banking segment such as the sales of Alpha Bank and First Bank’s Romanian operations (USD 319m and USD 138m, respectively). Financial Services M&A within the local market is likely to continue its positive dynamics in 2024, with another milestone transaction such as Banca Transilvania’s acquisition of Hungarian lender OTP’s Romanian operations expected to be announced in the first part of the year.” Sector-specific M&A activity across Europe’s financial markets • The number of European insurance deals rose from 223 in 2022 to 240 in 2023, but the total publicly disclosed deal value halved year-on-year, falling from €18.8bn in 2022 to €9.4bn in 2023. • The number of deals in the European wealth and asset management industry in 2023 was on par with the 206 in 2022. However, again, the total publicly disclosed deal value decreased year-on-year; from €6.6bn in 2022 to €4.9bn in 2023. • In the European banking sector, there were 195 deals in 2023, down from 232 in 2022, with the total publicly disclosed deal value also decreasing year-on-year from €24.6bn to €20.4bn. The number of non-European firms acquiring European targets was down from 96 in 2022 to 81 in 2023, and the total disclosed deal value fell from €18.5bn in 2022 to €17.1bn year-on-year. European firms acquiring targets from other markets fell from 62 in 2022 to 47 in 2023, with total disclosed deal value decreasing from €7.0bn to €2.9bn year-on-year.
Different Beauty, a recently opened exhibition of works by Czech photographer David Těšínský, offers a glimpse into everyday life in the war-torn region of Donbas in 2017. The photos were taken within the span of only a few days, as Těšínský traveled to eastern Ukraine to document the lives of women impacted by war. In […]
Different Beauty, a recently opened exhibition of works by Czech photographer David Těšínský, offers a glimpse into everyday life in the war-torn region of Donbas in 2017. The photos were taken within the span of only a few days, as Těšínský traveled to eastern Ukraine to document the lives of women impacted by war. In […]
Roughly 70% of Romanians are “very” or “moderately” concerned about how AI accesses and uses their data, according to the latest survey conducted by RoCoach in partnership with Novel Research between May and June 2025. Distrust in automated decision-making and the demand for regulation are becoming more pronounced, as Romania rolls out major digitalization projects […]
The Armenian Street Festival returns for a 9th edition between August 1 and 3, 2025, in the “Dimitrie Brândză” Botanical Garden in Bucharest. The festival brings into focus the living heritage of the Armenian community in Romania and the diaspora. According to the organizers, this year’s edition aims to strengthen the Bucharest–Chișinău–Yerevan cultural axis, articulated […]
The Romanian mergers and acquisitions market registered a total of 122 announced transactions in the first half of 2025, with a value exceeding EUR 2.7 billion, marking a slight increase of 6% in volume and 4% in value compared to the same period last year, according to an analysis by George Ureche, partner at PwC Romania. […]
Arrivals recorded in tourist accommodation structures in Romania, including apartments and rental rooms, in the first five months totaled 4.49 million people, up 0.8% compared to the same period in 2024, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics. Of the total number of arrivals during this period, Romanian tourists accounted for 80.8% and […]
