Jim Dobbs

Robert Fehlman, who has worked with the bank since 1988, will succeed George Makris Jr. at the start of 2023.

Dicier credit conditions, recession fears and tougher regulatory scrutiny combined to weaken merger activity in 2022. A push for scale is bound to resume when interest rates level off — at least among smaller banks, analysts say.

The banks advertised the transaction as a merger of equals, but Shore shareholders would own 60% of the company.

The acquisition of Malvern Bancorp in Pennsylvania would provide added heft in suburban Philadelphia markets. It is easily First Bank's largest-ever M&A deal.

The institution's Impressia Bank will be dedicated to the professional and financial advancement of women business owners and entrepreneurs.

The West Virginia-based Summit would gain 10 branches in Maryland and Delaware through its $54 million agreement to buy PSB Holding Corp.

William Demchak, the Pittsburgh bank's CEO, is leery of acquiring banks amid elevated regulatory scrutiny. KeyCorp Chief Executive Chris Gorman has similar concerns, citing economic uncertainty in addition to the long waits for approval.

The bank looked within its own ranks to find its next chief credit officer and to fill the newly created chief banking officer position. It continues a search for its next finance chief following a spate of departures.

Byline Bancorp in Chicago said it would buy Inland Bancorp in a cash-and-stock transaction that would create an $8.5 billion-asset bank.

"The way we are living is not sustainable; we have to change," said Dominic Ng, who shared the major issues he plans to address with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's Business Advisory Council in 2023.

The Boston bank is engaged in a three-year endeavor to finance $5 billion to meet the credit needs of underserved communities. "This has to be in your DNA because you cannot fake it," CEO Nitin Mhatre said.

Long-tenured CEO Matthew Wagner intends to retire from the company's top job early in 2023, not at the end of that year as initially planned. Paul Taylor, PacWest's president, will succeed him.

The bank said Monday that its interim president and CFO had resigned. This followed the departure of its previous president earlier in November.

The bank has agreed to pay $113 million for the $500 million-asset Surrey Bancorp, which specializes in credit for small to midsize commercial clients as well as government-guaranteed loans.

The bank postponed its quarterly earnings report and warned of a $27.5 million loss tied to troubles in its digital- asset mining loan portfolio.

Farmers and the bankers who lend to them are increasingly concerned that rising costs will hasten a recession and hamper credit quality in 2023.

Highly acquisitive banks that pack on assets without sacrificing employee morale pepper American Banker's annual Best Banks to Work For rankings.

The Seattle bank's all-stock deal for Luther Burbank Corp. is expected to close as soon as the second quarter of 2023.

Savanna-Thomson State Bank in Illinois has agreed to buy Fidelity Bank in Iowa and says it expects to complete the acquisition early next year.

The $186 million deal, announced in November 2021, was originally expected to close in the first half of this year. "The environment for M&A is just more challenging," an OceanFirst executive says.