In the fourth quarter, UMB Financial's earnings outpaced Wall Street's estimates — but the bank it's acquiring, Heartland Financial, fell short of them.

The Reno, Nevada-based buyer said it would pay $64.6 million in cash and stock for Cornerstone Community Bancorp, and it expects to close the transaction in the second half of the year.

John Asbury, who is CEO of Atlantic Union Bankshares, said credit unions that compete head-to-head with for-profit banks should lose their tax-exempt status. He also called for bank regulation based on complexity rather than size.

Asheville, North Carolina-based HomeTrust Bancshares is pulling back from the region, selling its two Knoxville branches for an undisclosed sum. Apex will assume the branches' deposits, valued at an estimated $42 million.

The acquisition adds mortgage warehouse lending to Minnesota's Stearns Bank, the latest to offer the service during a multiyear period that has seen several new entrants and exits.

The Virginia-based bank said the Federal Reserve signed off on its acquisition of Sandy Spring Bancorp in Maryland. The transaction was the third-largest bank deal announced in 2024. It could be finalized as soon as April.

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 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 Columbus, Ohio-based bank's profit more than doubled in the fourth quarter from a year ago, with solid growth in loans and deposits.

The bank is "very optimistic" that Trump will appoint financial regulators who are "more balanced" than current agency heads, CFO Daryl Bible said.

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

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 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.

The Florida bank is jumping on the strategy for general corporate purposes and a potential sale of its underwater bond portfolio.

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.

Clearfield-based CNB Financial's planned acquisition of ESSA Bancorp in Stroudsburg would create an $8 billion-asset company with 49 branches and nearly $5 billion of deposits in the Keystone State.

The angry reaction of Bench's customers to its sudden closing was one thing that made it an attractive acquisition target, Employer.com executives say.

Reading Cooperative's combination with Wakefield Cooperative, the third deal involving Boston-area banks announced in the past month, would create a $1.2 billion community bank.