The first year of Otting's tenure as the New York lender's CEO brought substantial change, but the job isn't done. His goal: to build a powerhouse, profitable regional bank.

Regulators should approve the deal because post-merger, the servicing market remains fragmented and the mortgage origination business is even more dispersed.

Time and again, seemingly successful bank mergers have been rocked by revelations of poor anti-money-laundering compliance. Assessing the AML risk of a potential merger partner is extremely tricky.

The proposed sale of Territorial Bancorp faced competing offers that delayed its closing by several months. But Hope ultimately won shareholder and regulatory approvals.

Lawmakers have a short window of time in which they can use the Congressional Review Act to nullify the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's misguided rule striking medical debt from credit reports.

"I can't just go fishing in the ocean," said Grasshopper Bank CEO Michael Butler, referring to his bank's ability to gather deposits. "JPMorgan Chase is out there with a yacht, and I'm driving a small speedboat."

The deal was highly vetted with regulators following the publicly traded company's failure to obtain approval in a past agreement, an executive said.

The $381 million deal for Alabama-based Southern States Bancshares would give FB entree to the sprawling Atlanta market. CEO Christopher Holmes said the bank would likely focus on nearby suburban communities initially.

The deal, expected to close by the end of 2025, will place Mr. Cooper CEO Jay Bray as president and CEO of Rocket Mortgage.

The Mississippi lender said regulators have signed off sooner than expected on its $103.6 million acquisition of First Chatham Bank. The bank's CEO and deal advisers said the speedy approval bodes well for future M&A.