Arrow Financial in Glens Falls kept busy in December, consolidating its two subsidiary banks, expanding its board and restructuring its securities portfolio.

Lenders across the country promoted from within to fill top executive roles, including First International Bank & Trust in Watford City, North Dakota.

The Stamford, Connecticut-based bank hired Steven Sugarman to be its president. The former bank CEO, who now heads one of the country's largest mission-based lenders, will help drive an effort to close a capital gap.

The Honolulu-based utility sold a 90.1% stake in American Savings Bank. The deal valued the lender at $450 million.

The trend of credit unions buying banks is a lightning rod for controversy in the banking industry. Despite this, such mergers are increasingly common.

Banks are taking hits in the stock market as they use 2024 to restructure balance sheets and inflation slightly increased in November.

Community banking highlights in 2024 included strong deposit growth at a Los Angeles-based digital-only bank, continued regulatory scrutiny of banking-as-a-service arrangements, along with a transformational deal in the Old Dominion.

A record 22 credit unions announced plans to acquire banks in 2024, though the year ended on a discordant note as regulatory concerns appear to have derailed a planned CU-bank deal in Georgia.

Bankers expected big changes for community banks, digital assets and regulation. Were they correct?

The Seattle-based company's deal with Bank of America comes five weeks after the termination of its planned sale to FirstSun Capital Bancorp in Denver.

Transactions grew larger and more frequent this year. As a result, aggregate value more than tripled from 2023 and topped $15 billion.

On her way out the door, SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman issues licenses to four more nondepository lenders.

Hanscom Federal Credit Union in Massachusetts said it would acquire Peoples Bancorp and its insurance agency. It marked the 21st deal of the year involving a credit union buying a bank.

With default levels drifting higher, some program participants are calling on the incoming Trump team to rethink the Small Business Administration's approach to underwriting.

While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau seeks to cap overdraft fees, banks and credit unions are fighting the effort. Nuances that don't fit either side's narrative can get lost in the rhetoric.

The Louisiana-based bank reduced its dividend to a penny, the second reduction it has made this year as it tries to bring down expenses and generate more capital.

The Pennsylvania-based buyer said it would pick up nearly $350 million of assets and a commercial-focused loan portfolio as part of the $54.6 million deal.

The Federal Reserve and OCC approved the company's plan to buy Independent Bank Group in Texas, putting the deal on track to close early next year as expected. In an atmosphere of M&A delays for banks, the deal is on a relatively smooth path.

This year, American Banker reporters dove deep into topics such as gambling addiction, Citigroup's rebuild, the Small Business Administration, fraud and monetary policy for its feature articles. Check out the most consequential articles of the year.

When combined, the top five states have roughly 23.9 million households classified as unbanked according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.