The banks selling off non-core assets drove much of an almost $1 billion increase in private equity firms’ purchases of financial businesses in Europe last year. They reached their highest annual total since records started 20 years ago.

European financials buyouts in 2014 were worth $12.98 billion, a slight rise from $12.07 billion in 2013 but strongly up from $3.9 billion in 2012, according to Dealogic, whose records started in 1995.