The changing of the guard at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and hope among bankers for mergers and acquisitions activity are popular items this month.

The Illinois company plans to acquire neighboring Bancorp Financial in a cash-and-stock transaction that would form the second largest community bank in the Chicago area.

The Champaign, Illinois-based bank said Jeffrey Jones stepped down from his post days before it could close its acquisition of CrossFirst Bankshares. Jones' exit was not deal related, Busey said.

Community Bankshares has launched a unit that is originating Small Business Administration 7(a) loans for itself and aims to service them for other small lenders around the country.

Deal advisors said the Trump administration's tariff threats and the specter of inflation have given some bankers reason to pause on acquisition plans. Momentum could still mount, but uncertainty in Washington is a detriment early in the new year.

The $35 billion transaction has faced pushback from critics on antitrust grounds since it was announced a year ago. The vote today puts the deal one step closer to closing.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney Hood suggested Tuesday that regulators should consider raising the dollar amount for mandatory suspicious activity reporting and revising the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index to advance bank mergers.

The three-year-old Newport Beach-based institution, which secured $500 million in investor pledges to acquire peers, says more dealmaking may be in the works.

At a trial that starts this week in Manhattan, federal prosecutors will seek to prove that Charlie Javice, the founder of college financial-planning startup Frank, and chief growth officer Olivier Amar committed fraud to get JPMorgan Chase & Co. to go through with the 2021 transaction.

Provident Bank announces its new chief lending officer; the SEC's acting chairman asks a federal court to delay scheduling cases involving a rule on climate-related disclosure; the merger deadline for Capital One Financial's proposed acquisition of Discover Financial Services is extended; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

Serious delinquencies on auto loans rose to almost 3% in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to the New York Fed. Researchers blame the affordability problem on soaring car prices.

Joseph Otting, who is leading Flagstar's turnaround, said potential buyers may be interested in acquiring the regional bank once it gets past certain challenges.

The superregional in Pittsburgh said banks large enough to attract its attention have yet to put themselves on the sale block. PNC's finance chief said, "We just have to be ready if and when those windows open."

TD has been adjusting its balance sheet to comply with a cap on its U.S. retail banking assets, imposed last year as part of its money-laundering plea.

Titi Cole, a former executive at Citigroup, is now on the company's board of directors; Citizens Financial Group has formed a trust subsidiary as part of its wealth management and private bank expansion efforts; shareholders of Atlantic Union Bankshares and Sandy Spring Bancorp approved the two companies' planned merger; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

Banks are expecting increased M&A activity across the financial sector, but are concerned about acquisition by credit unions and tech integration challenges.

Cincinnati-based processor has agreed to buy a London technology firm that uses artificial intelligence to build advanced models to manage fraud risk.

Just days after UMB Financial completed its acquisition of Heartland Financial, CEO Mariner Kemper spoke about how the deal came together and the combined bank's future.

Donald Trump's second administration is widely expected to be far less skeptical of bank mergers than the Biden administration has been, but industry experts say that political opposition to big bank mergers and business considerations will still be roadblocks.

Jon Weiss, Wells Fargo's co-CEO of corporate and investment banking resigned from his position with plans to retire; A new CFPB report says military service members paid more for auto loans and add-on products; City National Bank's Kelly Coffee is leaving the bank after her 2023 demotion; and more in this week's banking news roundup.