Davis Polk partner and Financial Institutions practice co-head Margaret Tahyar appeared on Bloomberg TV’s “Deals” to discuss M&A trends within financial services.

Margaret noted that certain sectors will continue to see more consolidation, using regional banks as a prime example. The industrial logic for consolidation has strengthened, particularly given the need for scale to support AI and technology investment. “The key challenge to getting deals done is that there are more buyers than sellers.” 

When asked if the door is wide open to any type of deal of any scale in the U.S., Margaret stated, “[Yes], and also in the subsectors of the financial sector – because you’re talking about payments, crypto, stablecoins – there is just an enormous amount of innovation going on, so it’s not just regional banks. On the regional banks’ side, what is also driving [activity] is succession planning and talent planning, in addition to technology and AI.”

Speaking about whether mega deals are active within the big banks, Margaret added, “There are fewer mega deals and more specialty fill-ins, whether it’s a line of business, a capability or technology. If you look at the pattern of deals that have been done by the bulge brackets over the last several years, that’s what you see.”

When asked about cross-border deal activity and how regulators may react, she shared, “I do think that there are foreign banks that are interested in re-entering the U.S. market. and I think regulators are going to look at each foreign bank’s history and its fundamentals,” she added.

“The Investment Committee – M&A Within Financial Services,” Bloomberg’s “Deals” (starting at the 19:00 mark) (July 15, 2026)

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