The banking landscape is being reshuffled: what it means for recruitment and HR
In the space of just a few weeks, Ethias, Belfius, UniCredit, Intesa Sanpaolo and Monte dei Paschi have all made headlines, around the same recurring themes: mergers, takeovers and privatisations. Belfius is playing an active part in this too. While the Belgian state sells off part of its stake, the bank-insurer has just acquired the French insurtech Leocare.
What looks at first glance like a story for bankers and investors actually touches the heart of our profession: attracting, guiding and retaining commercial and advisory talent within banking, finance and insurance.
At Axis Group, a specialist in recruiting commercial, advisory and customer-focused professionals within banking, finance and insurance, we closely monitor these developments. Through our banking recruitment team, we see that every announcement of a merger or acquisition almost immediately raises questions among candidates and clients alike: what does this mean for my job, my team and my career?
A sector in motion: from Milan to Brussels
Italy is currently setting the pace. Last year, UniCredit made a bid of more than €10 billion for Banco BPM and built up a stake in Germany's Commerzbank. In turn, Intesa Sanpaolo launched a €36 billion offer for Monte dei Paschi, which responded with a €34 billion counterbid targeting both Banco BPM and insurer Banca Generali.
Should both transactions succeed, they would create a new banking giant with an estimated market capitalization of approximately €70 billion, instantly becoming Italy's third-largest bank. At the same time, Generali has attracted interest from both UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo. Through its nearly one-third stake in Banco BPM, Crédit Agricole has also become directly involved in this Italian banking battle.
Belgium is moving in the same direction. The federal government is preparing the partial privatization of Belfius, with 20% of the shares expected to be transferred into private hands by the end of 2026, representing approximately €2 billion. Potential buyers ranging from Rabobank and ING to investment funds and wealthy Belgian families submitted their bids at the beginning of July.
In parallel, discussions surrounding a potential merger between Belfius and insurer Ethias continue to resurface, although the government has temporarily put this option on hold until the privatization process has been completed.
Belfius is also looking beyond Belgium's borders
Interestingly, Belfius is not merely playing the role of a potential acquisition target. While the Belgian State is selling part of its stake, the bancassurer took its first step beyond Belgium in June 2026 with the acquisition of French insurtech company Leocare, a provider of digital and mobile insurance products.
The transaction forms part of Belfius' growth strategy, "Unlock 2030", through which Belfius CEO Olivier Onclin has clearly committed to international expansion, starting with the French insurance market, the second-largest in Europe. For Belfius, this is far more than a one-off initiative. Olivier Onclin has since confirmed that international growth takes priority over potential domestic operations such as a merger with Ethias, and that the acquisition of Leocare represents only the first step in the development of an International Desk, designed to expand Belfius' activities from Belgium into neighbouring countries.
This insurance growth strategy is being led by Belfius Insurance, under the leadership of CEO Frédéric Van der Schueren. It illustrates how consolidation in the sector is not solely about defending market positions or becoming an acquisition target. Some players, such as Belfius, are leveraging the same market dynamics to accelerate growth and diversify their activities beyond a mature and highly competitive domestic market.
Why are banks and insurers consolidating today?
A similar logic runs behind each of these deals. Digitalisation, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and tightening regulation all demand investment that weighs increasingly heavily on any single national player. Scale is meant to spread that cost. Public finances play a role too: in Belgium, the sale of the Belfius stake is expected to help fund the budget and defence spending, while the European Central Bank has long been encouraging cross-border bank mergers to make the European sector more competitive against US and Asian rivals.
At the same time, observers warn that a saturated home market, such as Belgium's banking and insurance market, won't quickly deliver extra revenue. Profit then has to come mainly from cost cutting, which in practice can mean reshuffled branch networks, roles and teams.
What does this mean for HR and recruitment in banking, finance and insurance?
For anyone working in our sector, none of this is a distant story. A merger or privatisation inevitably brings uncertainty: about job security, about the future of a branch network, about which culture will end up dominating. It's exactly in these periods that we, at Axis Group , see good employees start paying closer attention to the job market, even when they aren't actively looking.
At the same time, every round of consolidation also creates new roles: integration projects, digital transformation, compliance and risk, data and cybersecurity. Employers now seeking backing from Belgian investors or foreign partners need, more than ever during this transition, stable and motivated commercial and advisory people who can keep clients' trust intact.
Axis Group's role in a consolidating banking sector
Axis Group is a specialist recruitment firm for banking, finance and insurance in Belgium and Luxembourg. It's precisely in this changing environment that the role of a specialist recruitment partner matters even more. At Axis, our Career Advisors support candidates throughout their entire careers. That gives us a strong sense of which corporate culture someone thrives in and which environment lets them keep developing. That insight counts for even more when the culture itself is shifting, for instance because of a merger or takeover.
Because we know the players, their strategy and their people inside out, we can help employers fill key roles quickly and with precision, and help candidates make an informed choice in a sector where the deck is being reshuffled. In this way we support banks, insurers and financial service providers not only in filling commercial and advisory vacancies, but also in building the teams that can carry them through this transition.
Sometimes a transition like this also calls for extra capacity that a company would rather not add to its permanent headcount straight away. Through Axis Projects, we bring in consultants for temporary support, for example on integration projects after a merger or acquisition, during a systems or process migration, at busy periods in compliance and risk, or to bridge a key role until it's permanently filled. That way, organisations keep their service levels and client trust intact at exactly the moment they're going through change themselves.
What do banks and insurers expect from talent today?
The wave of consolidation in banking and insurance will undoubtedly keep gathering pace over the coming months. For commercial and advisory profiles, this comes down to one thing above all: adaptability. Someone who can handle change, new systems and sometimes a new employer, while still holding onto clients' trust, is exactly the profile the sector is looking for.
That trust isn't built through a reorganisation chart, but through people. That's why, at Axis Group, as a specialist in recruitment for banking, finance and insurance, we keep supporting organisations in this sector every day in finding, guiding and developing the commercial and advisory talent that a consolidating market needs today.