Global Markets Show Resilience Mid-Year with M&A Boom and Lending Surge: Key Finance Stories from the World Economic Forum
Published August 7, 2025 | Updated August 7, 2025
As we reach the midpoint of 2025, financial markets worldwide are exhibiting a surprising robustness despite ongoing economic and geopolitical uncertainties. The World Economic Forum’s latest roundup of finance news highlights major developments across mergers and acquisitions (M&A), securities lending, banking regulation, tax reforms, and more—offering a comprehensive snapshot of the current financial landscape.
M&A Boom and Lending Surge Signal Market Resilience
The global M&A landscape is flourishing, with total deal value surging to an impressive $2.6 trillion year-to-date, marking the busiest period since 2021. This 28% increase in deal value comes despite a 16% drop in the number of deals, highlighting a focus on fewer but larger deals. The United States continues to dominate the scene, accounting for over half of global M&A activity.
Notably, the Asia Pacific region has doubled its deal-making volume compared to last year, outpacing the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) areas. Key drivers behind this M&A momentum include corporate ambitions, a wave of AI-related transactions, and a revival of large-scale US megadeals.
Parallel to the M&A surge, global securities lending revenues rose sharply by 53% year-over-year in July, reaching $1.57 billion. This surge, led by activity in US and Asian equity markets, underscores strong liquidity and investor risk appetite even amid challenges like trade tensions and inflationary pressures.
These trends resonate with recent analyses from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank (ECB), which acknowledge ongoing financial volatility and geopolitical risks but also highlight the solid performance of key credit markets and non-bank financial intermediaries.
White House to Crack Down on Political ‘Debanking’
In response to claims from former US President Donald Trump and his supporters alleging unfair account closures by major banks—practices they refer to as "debanking"—the White House is preparing an executive order aimed at curbing political discrimination by financial institutions.
According to reports from Reuters, this order would direct federal regulators to investigate and potentially penalize banks that discriminate against clients based on political affiliations, leveraging existing consumer protection, fair lending, and antitrust laws.
The banking sector, however, maintains that account closures are driven by mandated risk-management protocols, such as anti-money laundering measures, rather than political bias. Critics of the proposed crackdown warn it risks politicizing banking supervision.
Interestingly, this potential regulatory tightening runs counter to broader deregulatory moves within the digital assets space. The administration has actively sought to position the US as the “crypto capital of the world,” exemplified by the recent passage of the GENIUS Act—landmark legislation providing regulatory clarity for stablecoins. Federal banking agencies have also eased supervisory requirements, including removing the need for pre-approval of certain crypto-related bank activities.
Additional Finance News Highlights
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Accounting Firms and AI Adoption: Hywel Ball, former UK head at EY, highlighted the challenges large accounting firms face in adopting AI technologies due to their massive scale, suggesting that more nimble, smaller firms may gain an edge.
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European Pharma Shares Fall: The STOXX Healthcare index dropped 2% after President Trump renewed plans to impose tariffs on imported drugs, stirring fears of companies relocating production back to the US.
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South Korea Market Slump: The KOSPI index fell 3.9% amid investor concerns over new tax proposals, despite significant capital inflows earlier in July. Uncertainty around reform progress and persistent “Korea discount” remain headwinds.
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UK Director Exodus Post-Tax Reform: Analysis reveals that 3,790 company directors have left the UK following the abolition of favorable tax treatment for non-domiciled residents, up from 2,712 the previous year. The United Arab Emirates has emerged as the preferred destination.
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UK Construction Shrinks: July saw the steepest contraction in UK construction activity since 2020, with the S&P Global PMI dropping to 44.3, signaling a sustained slowdown in housebuilding.
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Rising Natural Disaster Costs: Swiss Re estimates insured losses from natural disasters hit $80 billion in the first half of 2025—almost double the 10-year average—largely due to Californian wildfires and US storms. Losses may top $150 billion as hurricane season advances.
Further Reading from the World Economic Forum
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Climate Shocks and Agricultural Volatility: Experts Aurora Matteini and Derek Baraldi discuss how the financial sector can help transform global food systems to address climate-induced risks using sustainable finance solutions.
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US Crypto Legislation and Stablecoins: Sandra Waliczek and Harry Yeung explore the implications of the GENIUS Act, the first major US law focused on regulating stablecoins, and what it means for the digital currency industry.
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The Global Retirement Savings Gap: Yie-Hsin Hung, CEO of State Street Investment Management, discusses the looming $400 trillion retirement savings shortfall and why multifaceted strategies will be essential in tackling this unprecedented challenge.
For more insights on these topics, readers can visit the World Economic Forum’s Centre for Financial and Monetary Systems.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the World Economic Forum. Articles published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License.
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