Wealth and asset manager dealmaking climbs in H1 2026, even as mega-deals dry up

Wealth and asset management dealmaking in the North America picked up pace in the first half of 2026, with 213 transactions completed compared with 177 a year earlier, even though the combined value of those deals slipped from $8.3 billion to $6.0 billion.

The figures come from EY's latest financial services M&A analysis, which tracks announced and completed transactions across banking, insurance and wealth and asset management globally.

Across the US and Canada more broadly, M&A activity was up 8% half year-on-year, with 546 deals recorded against 504 in H1 2025. Total disclosed value fell sharply though from $91.8 billion to $48.5 billion, a drop EY attributes mainly to a collapse in large-cap activity, which fell from 19 deals above the billion-dollar mark in H1 2025 to just eight this year.

North American banking and capital markets deals rose from 123 to 146, while their combined value halved, from $62.6billion to $30.1 billion. Insurance deal count fell from 204 to 187, with value down from $20.9 billion to $12.3 billion.

Cross-border interest in the region also grew. Non-US and Canadian acquirers completed 30 deals for domestic targets, up from 23 a year ago, and the value of those deals more than tripled, from $4.8billion to $15.9billion.

Global backdrop

Worldwide, banks, insurers and asset managers disclosed 1,137 deals in H1 2026, a 3% increase on the 1,101 recorded in H1 2025.

Total disclosed value nonetheless fell from $191.3 billion to $134.5 billion, with just 25 megadeals worth more than $1 billion announced globally, down from 37 in H1 2025 and 55 in the second half of last year. Those 25 megadeals still accounted for 80% of total deal value.

The ten largest global transactions made up 58% of total value at $78.7 billion, broadly matching the concentration seen in H1 2025.

Omar Ali, EY Global Financial Services Leader, said the market has settled into a new normal of managing through instability, but that the effect on pricing is real:

"Financial services firms have now adapted to operating in heightened uncertainty as standard, incorporating volatility into business-as-usual. But unpredictability has an impact, and is intensified by slower global economic growth, rising inflation and ongoing supply shocks. As such, despite the number of transactions rising, deal value in H1 this year across the world's major markets is down on 2025 levels, as significantly fewer transactions completed over the $1b mark."

Ali added that appetite for larger, transformative deals is expected to return in the back half of the year:

"However, despite market challenges, confidence is stabilising and boards are eager to accelerate the delivery of their strategic plans. As we look to the second half of 2026, we expect a pickup in dealmaking, as banks, insurers and asset managers increasingly look to M&A to achieve competitive growth and transformation."

Andre Veissid, EY-Parthenon Global Financial Services Industry Leader, pointed to strength beneath the headline numbers:

"Global financial services M&A is even more resilient than the headline H1 numbers suggest. Over the last six months, mid-market and small-cap dealmaking was robust - supported by sustained private equity activity and the pipeline into the second half of 2026 is strong. The decline in total deal value is concentrated at the top end of the market, where fewer megadeals came through, masking solid underlying momentum."

Veissid also flagged a narrowing window for US dealmakers specifically:

"Looking to the second half of this year, structural and market dynamics point to a more constructive environment. Deal rationale has shifted from cost to growth, and while geopolitical tensions remain, the market has shown it can absorb the uncertainty. But the window of opportunity, particularly in the US, where the current regulatory backdrop is increasingly pro-growth and enabling - is likely temporary, and firms looking at M&A for strategic transformation would be well placed to act in the near-term."

Europe and Asia

European M&A activity rose 7% half year-on-year to 375 deals, though value fell from $74.9 billion to $63.9 billion. Within that, wealth and asset management was the standout, with deals climbing from 108 to 134 and value jumping from $2.6 billion to $31.1 billion, largely on the back of a single $13.4 billion transaction.

Asia and Oceania moved in the opposite direction, with deal volume down 14% to 147 transactions and value slipping from $17.8 billion to $15.8 billion.