Southeast Asia’s financial services merger and acquisition (M&A) deal volume remained stable in the first half despite lower deal value, EY said on last Thursday.
The firm said in its latest EY financial services M&A analysis that with the number of publicly disclosed deals in the region unchanged at 31 year-on-year. Total disclosed deal value fell to $936 million in the first half from $1.6 billion a year ago.
Banking and capital market deal volume in the region declined to 14 from 20 while deal value dropped to $669 million from $1.1 billion.
Insurance deal volume increased from eight to nine in the first half of 2026, while deal value fell from $478 million to $123 million.
Wealth and asset management deal volume also rose to eight from three while deal value increased significantly to $145 million from $800,000.
The number of non-SEA firms acquiring SEA targets decreased to five in the first half from seven in the previous year. Conversely, total publicly disclosed deal value increased to $410 million from $344 million.
“The stability in deal activity across Southeast Asia’s financial services sector reflected a
market that remains engaged despite economic and geopolitical volatility,
“While disclosed deal value moderated in the first half of 2026, M&A activity continued to concentrate in smaller- and mid-sized transactions,” said Stuart Last, EY-Parthenon Partner, Financial Services, Ernst & Young Solutions LLP.
According to him, this suggests that investors are pursuing opportunities with a clear, strategic rationale, pointing to a continued disciplined approach to dealmaking.
“That said, we anticipate a pickup in larger transactions in the second half of 2026 as financing conditions improve and more scaled assets come to market,” he added.
According to him, the sub-sector trends in the first half reflect shifting areas of investor focus within Southeast Asia’s financial services landscape.
While deal activity in banking dropped, he noted the insurance and wealth and asset management sub sectors recorded growth in deal volumes.
The sharp increase in wealth and asset management deal value points to growing investor interest in platforms and capabilities that can capitalize on the region’s expanding affluent population and rising demand for wealth solutions, he added.
“At the same time, the increase in disclosed deal value from non-Southeast Asian acquirers
suggests that international investors continue to see attractive opportunities in Southeast Asia, despite current macroeconomic conditions,” he said.
Following a decade-high peak last year, the number of announced or completed M&A transactions in the global financial services sector continued to rise further in the first half of this year, with a 3 percent year-on-year increase in reported deals over the same time period.
Banks, insurers and asset managers across the world’s major financial services markets publicly disclosed 1,137 deals in the first half, compared with 1,101 deals a year ago.
However, total disclosed value for global financial services deals declined to $134.5 billion in the first half from $191.3 billion a year ago, with 25 megadeals announced above $1 billion in value, representing 80 percent of total deal value.
This compares to 37 deals above $1 billion in the first half of 2025 and 55 deals in the second half of 2025.
Over the first half of 2026, the ten biggest deals globally accounted for 58 percent of total value ($78.7 billion).
Expanding this view to the top 20, these deals accounted for 75 percent of total value ($100.5 billion).
This is largely consistent with the first half of 2025, where the ten biggest deals accounted for 58 percent of total value ($111.3 billion), and the 20 biggest deals accounted for 72 percent of total value ($138.3 billion).
“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 the first half this year across the world’s major markets is down on 2025 levels, as significantly fewer transactions completed over the $1 billion mark,” said Omar Ali, EY Global Financial Services Leader.
However, despite market challenges, he said confidence is stabilizing 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,” he added.
Across Asian and Oceanian markets, M&A activity declined in the first half 2026, with a 14 percent half year-on-year decrease in the number of publicly disclosed deals, totaling 147 deals compared to 170 in the first half of 2025.
The total disclosed deal value decreased modestly, falling to $15.8 billion in the first half of 2026 from $17.8 billion in the first half of 2025.
Banking and capital markets deal volume in the region decreased to 77 from 87, and deal value increased to $11.3 billion from $6.4 billion.
Insurance deal volume in the region fell to 31 from from 41 and deal value also declined to $2.1 billion from $5 billion.
Wealth and asset management deal volume in the region decreased to 39 from 42, while deal value significantly declined to $2.4 billion from $6.5 billion.
The number of non-Asian and Oceanian firms acquiring Asian and Oceanian targets increased to 28 from 23, and the total disclosed deal value also increased to $1.9 billion from $1.6 billion.
The number of Asian and Oceanian firms acquiring targets from other markets remained flat at 14 in both the first half of 2025 and 2026, while total disclosed deal value decreased significantly from $11.8 billion in the first half of 2025 to $1.1 billion in the first half of 2026.
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