Mercantile Bank Corp. in Grand Rapids achieved a 20% increase in deposits in 2024, an amount that was ample enough to fund robust loan growth and scale back reliance on costlier wholesale funding.

Frontwave Credit Union said it would acquire Community Valley Bank in a deal that would expand its footprint in San Diego and nearby counties. It comes on the heels of a record year for CU-bank combinations.

The Cleveland-based parent company of KeyBank is forecasting net interest income growth of about 20% for 2025, even as it predicts that average loan balances will decline by low-to mid-single digits year-over- year.

The Indiana-based company grew fourth-quarter loans and profits in part because of an acquisition in Nashville, and it expects to bulk up further with a deal in Minnesota's Twin Cities that was among the largest announced in 2024.

The Chicago-based bank, which failed Friday in the first bank failure of 2025, caused a $28.5 million hit to the Deposit Insurance Fund. The FDIC was appointed receiver and Millennium Bank will assume all deposits.

President Trump has promised to reduce banking regulations, a form of indirect tax or "bank tariff," that will help the banking industry. But, he also plans to impose new tariffs on imports that may adversely impact agricultural and manufacturing industries and thus their banks.

The super-regional bank plans to invest in talent, technology and certain locations in 2025, while keeping its expenses in check, to achieve the promise of the merger that created it, CEO Bill Rogers said.

A midweek rally followed robust bottom-line results from JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and several other large banks. But further interest rate cuts may be needed to sustain momentum.

The chairman of the financial institutions panel of the House Financial Services Committee said his newly reintroduced bill has a considerable chance of passing with Republicans in control of both chambers of Congress and the White House.

Jane Fraser, CEO of Citigroup, told analysts she's not going to sacrifice growth-related investments for short-term gains. "You shouldn't want me to do that," she said.

Advisors predicted that more banks will do deals and those transactions will be larger in 2025 amid expectations for lighter regulatory scrutiny.

The largest U.S. bank by assets has elevated Jennifer Piepszak to chief operating officer, in preparation for Daniel Pinto's retirement in 2026. But Piepszak is not interested in being CEO, the company said.

Banks seeking to offload CRE assets are finding a receptive marketplace while regulators have managed to keep the situation in balance, observers say.

The bank didn't give some existing customers the higher rates it was offering new customers, the agency alleged. The bank said it would fight the suit, which comes just days before the Trump administration takes over the regulator.

The top five banks and thrifts had combined assets of more than $13 trillion as of Sept. 30.

New regulatory changes have created the potential to enable smaller institutions to compete more effectively with their larger peers — if they're willing to seize the opportunity.

The bank said it would acquire Bank of Idaho for $245.4 million in stock. It marked the 12th bank deal for Glacier over the past decade.

Mutual Federal Bancorp nixed its planned acquisition of Pulaski Savings Bank. It did not disclose a reason for the deal termination.

The Federal Reserve Board on Friday approved UMB Financial's pending $2 billion acquisition of Heartland Financial.