All the kerfuffle over Anshu Jain’s departure from Deutsche Bank has distracted attention from a more subtle power shift on the fringes of Europe. From Portugal to Turkey, Chinese groups have quietly been buying up second and third-tier financial services companies.
In the latest illustration, conglomerate Fosun and insurer Anbang seem to be favourites to take over Portugal’s third-biggest lender, Novo Banco. What next? Could the flurry of deals be a precursor to a big bank takeover? Could Deutsche itself — if incoming boss John Cryan fails to revive Germany’s top lender — be at risk?
So far, there are only hints of broader ambitions. Most of China’s big lenders — such as China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of China — have been absent from any dealmaking.