Financial Institutions

Energy and
Natural Resources

Insurance

We advised BNP Paribas Personal Finance, a provider.... Read more

We advised BNP Paribas Personal Finance, a provider of consumer lending services, on its sale of 80% of the shares of Cetelem Mexico, a leader in the Mexican automotive financing market, to Grupo Financiero Inbursa.

The transaction will support Cetelem Mexico’s local development and strengthen Grupo Financiero Inbursa’s partnerships with car manufacturers and dealers.

Lawyers in our Mexico City office led the transaction, with support from our Paris office and our antitrust, banking, employment, private equity, and tax practices.

We advised Cambridge Bancorp, the parent company.... Read more

We advised Cambridge Bancorp, the parent company of Cambridge Trust Company, on its US$528 million merger with Eastern Bankshares, Inc., the stock holding company for Eastern Bank, and the simultaneous sale of the assets of Eastern Insurance Group, LLC to Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services, LLC.

The transaction was the second largest U.S. bank merger of 2023 and creates a US$27 billion combined franchise.

Lawyers in our Washington, D.C. office led the transaction, with support from our bank regulatory, employee benefits, and tax practices.

We advised Equifax, a multinational consumer credit.... Read more

We advised Equifax, a multinational consumer credit reporting agency, on its US$640 million acquisition of Boa Vista Serviços, the second largest credit bureau in Brazil.

The acquisition expands Equifax’s capabilities in the Brazilian market and offers Boa Vista Serviços access to Equifax’s global capabilities and technology.

Lawyers in our Silicon Valley and New York offices led the transaction, with support from our San Francisco, São Paulo, and Washington, D.C. offices and our capital markets, intellectual property, and tax practices.

We advised Post Office Limited, a retail post office.... Read more

We advised Post Office Limited, a retail post office company, on the restructuring of its financial services joint venture with the Bank of Ireland UK plc.

Bank of Ireland will focus on offering savings products through the Post Office’s UK network, which gives the Post Office flexibility to work with other financial services providers to bring new products and services to market.

Lawyers in our London office led the transaction, with support from our Dublin and Paris offices and our antitrust, financial services, privacy and cybersecurity, and strategic operations, agreements, and regulation practices.

Sector performance

2023 was a turbulent year for M&A in the financial institutions sector. At the beginning of the year, macro-economic challenges, particularly inflationary pressures and the consequential rapid rises in interest rates across the globe, resulted in reduced M&A activity in the sector and some high-profile bank failures.

The end of the year saw a more favorable environment for M&A activity as dealmakers focused on strategic opportunities in specific core areas, including ESG, digital transformation, and supply chain optimization. Smaller financial institutions continued to consolidate to overcome lack of scale.

Hogan Lovells activities

Our Financial Institutions team released its annual FIS Horizons publication, providing insight into key regulatory developments, including digital transformation; diversity, equity, & inclusion (DEI); and ESG.

We launched our Distressed Banks Task Force to help clients navigate financial risks in the wake of recent bank failures. We further developed our Digital Assets and Blockchain practice by publishing our Digital Trust Whitepaper. We also enhanced our Sustainable Finance and Investment practice by delivering tools, products, and solutions required to help clients overcome challenges and leverage opportunities in this growing sector.