When BNP Paribas, Europe’s largest bank, decided to divest its Bank of the West retail and commercial banking business in the United States, it turned to its long-time counsel at Sullivan & Cromwell. The lawyers in our Financial Services Group advised the bank as it negotiated a $16.3 billion sale of the business to BMO Financial Group in the largest bank M&A deal announced in 2021.
S&C led all law firm advisers on announced bank M&A deals, measured by value, in 2021. We advised on deals totaling more than $52 billion, which represented two-thirds of the bank M&A deals announced last year.
The BNP Paribas deal marks the latest instance of S&C helping an international banking giant redefine its presence in the United States. This year we also advised Japan’s largest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, as it reached an $8 billion deal to sell its U.S. regional bank franchise to U.S. Bancorp. In last year’s largest U.S. bank deal, we advised Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in the sale of its U.S. subsidiary to PNC for $11.5 billion. We also advised HSBC in its exit from its U.S. domestic mass market retail banking business through two sales.
S&C stands at the forefront of bank M&A. Our premier banking practice has the versatility and depth of knowledge to advise a wide variety of financial institutions—from some of the world’s biggest to innovative startups—on their most crucial matters spanning regulatory, transactions, litigation and enforcement actions.
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