European bank M&A tracker: Monte dei Paschi-Mediobanca deal powers Q1 activity

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA's pending acquisition of the remaining stake it does not already own in Mediobanca Banca di Credito Finanziario SpA emerged as the largest bank M&A deal in Europe during the first quarter.

The transaction, valued at €1.92 billion, came as Monte dei Paschi laid out plans to integrate the two Italian banks. The merger will result in the delisting of Mediobanca, which will be spun off into a subsidiary focused on corporate and investment banking and private banking. The deal is expected to generate about €700 million in annual pretax run-rate synergies.

Monte dei Paschi reached an 86.3% take-up for its voluntary tender offer for Mediobanca in September 2025.

The deal accounted for more than half of the aggregate European bank transaction value in the first quarter, which came in at €2.76 billion, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. It was the weakest period by value in the last six quarters. The 38 transactions represented a four-year low for volume.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG's (RBI) €591 million deal to acquire Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA's Romanian operations was the second-largest transaction in the period.

The deal is expected to solidify Raiffeisen Bank SA's position in Romania, a market the Austrian lender perceives as highly attractive due to its structural potential for growth and position within the EU, an RBI spokesperson told Market Intelligence.

Other big deals

The data in this analysis covers European target companies with core activities in traditional banking activities. It does not capture NatWest Group PLC's €3.11 billion deal to acquire wealth manager Evelyn Partners Group Ltd., which is the seventh-largest acquisition by a UK bank since 2008 and comes as banks seek to boost fee income and reduce reliance on net interest income.

Another notable bank deal not captured in the data was Banco Santander SA's €10.36 billion acquisition of Webster Financial Corp., a US-based lender. That deal, which would be the Spanish bank's largest over the past 15 years, is expected to enhance the profitability of its US operations, with the combined entity anticipated to deliver a return on equity of up to 18% by 2028.

"Being one of the most profitable banks in our core geographies is a key target for Santander, and the Webster acquisition gets us there," Santander Chair Ana Botín said in a Feb. 4 deal presentation.

It was the third major deal announced by Santander since 2025, following the acquisition of UK-based TSB Banking Group PLC from Banco de Sabadell SA and the sales of a 49% stake in Santander Bank Polska SA and a 50% stake in Santander Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych SA to Erste Group Bank AG.

– View the deal profile page for the RBI-BBVA Romania transaction.  – Read more about NatWest's acquisition of Evelyn Partners. – Set up alerts for EMEA Data Dispatches.