Jim Dobbs

American Heritage Federal Credit Union in Philadelphia plans to acquire three branches and $105 million of deposits from Linkbancorp. The deal is part of a growing number of transactions involving credit unions buying whole banks or portions of their branch networks.

Bank stocks are up this year as interest rates have leveled off and there are hopes that pressure on lenders' profits could moderate.

In talks with OCC officials, "it became obvious that we would not gain near-term approval given their recent experience with multifamily and CRE positions," FirstSun CEO Neal Arnold says. The companies announced other revisions to their deal, too.

Texas Dow Employees Credit Union has agreed to acquire Sabine State Bank and Trust in Louisiana to raise its profile in the oil-and-gas industry. The deal coincides with record levels of U.S. drilling this year.

Consolidation has slowed since the pandemic, but UMB's agreement to buy Heartland Financial — the largest deal in three years — is one of several merger announcements in the past two weeks. Talks among other potential buyers and sellers are said to be picking up.

The Wisconsin banking company forecasted loan growth of 4% to 6% for the full year, driven by an expansion into new commercial and consumer credit lines as well as enduring economic strength in the Midwest.

Brendon Falconer, finance chief of the Indiana company since 2019, faces felony child molestation charges. But CEO James Ryan says management is focused on the CapStar integration and organic growth.

As recently as a few months ago, many observers predicted a surge of bank mergers this year. But longtime obstacles to dealmaking are still there and have been joined by new ones.

The Alabama regional lender says it expects expenses to taper off this year and anticipates challenged loans will gradually rise to historically average levels.

Charge-offs and nonperforming loans rose at the Georgia bank in the first quarter. But it blamed the problem on one large client and said the matter has been resolved.

The Pittsburgh-based regional bank also emphasized expense control for the first quarter and throughout 2024 as it manages credit quality vulnerabilities and higher charge-offs, particularly among office loans.

Should the all-stock transaction close as planned later this year, Wintrust Financial in the Chicago area would gain about $2.7 billion of assets.

Launched last July, FedNow had enrolled more than 600 participants by mid-March, according to government officials. That marked a 100% increase from the start of the year, with more banks and credit unions viewing fast payments capabilities as essential. Fraud concerns linger, however.

A solid majority of decision-makers at these companies expect to expand their workforces again this year, a Citizens Financial survey found. Loan losses are normally low in eras of economic expansion.

Based on the pace of deals through late March, the banking industry is on track for the most branch sales since 2021. Buyer interest has mounted alongside the need to acquire deposits, following hits to funding bases last year.

With high deposit and borrowing costs persisting amid the Federal Reserve's campaign against inflation, lenders face stress on their net interest margins and the potential of troubled loans ticking up.

Houston-based Prosperity Bancshares said it closed its purchase of Lone Star State Bancshares about a year later than initially planned.

Last year, the Raleigh, N.C.-based Integrated called off a deal to sell itself to MVB Financial after bank stocks took a hit in the aftermath of the regional bank failures. Capital hopes to expand its government-guaranteed lending with the transaction.

First National has agreed to buy Touchstone Bankshares. The combined company would have more than $500 million each of deposits and loans.

Lower commodity prices and decreases in government assistance are expected to push farm income lower this year and raise credit risk for banks.