A rush of bank M&A is welcome news to activist investors, who typically make money when banks make improvements and sell to bigger institutions. Here is a look at six firms that have stood out in recent years for pressuring management teams and boards to enhance value for shareholders.

Activist investors thrive when the banking industry is in consolidation mode. Last year, overall M&A started to gain momentum, and several deals involved banks that had been pressured by large, vocal shareholders. The following is a list of deals where sellers had their hands forced by dissident investors.

United Guaranty's spinoff from American International Group will result in changes to its capital structure that could shake up the competitive landscape in the private mortgage insurance market.

It took several weeks, but deposit prices are inching up at a number of banks. Still, most increases will likely be minor until the Fed enacts more rate increases.

Pinnacle Financial Partners in Nashville, Tenn., has agreed to buy Avenue Financial Holdings in Nashville.

Randolph Bancorp in Stoughton, Mass., plans to convert from a mutual thrift to a stock-owned bank. The $386 million-asset company will hold an initial public offering as part of its conversion, it said Tuesday.

The Oregon company is disinclined to pursue acquisitions or buy back stock anytime soon, though it still would consider opening offices in new markets if the numbers work out.

The company knew it would soon expand outside of Michigan, but management thought it might buy a $2 billion-asset bank based in Indiana. Talmer Bancorp was much bigger than that and it instead offered opportunity in Ohio.

By selling its community banking products to Fiserv, ACI has signaled it is no longer interested is no longer interested in that space. Fiserv, meanwhile, is beefing up its small-institution offerings.

The former president of a Texas community bank was sentenced to two years in federal prison for manipulating the bank's books and embezzling money to pay her daughter's sorority dues.

Unless banks devote the same amount of investment as standalone incubators, the innovation labs launched by financial institutions will be a short-term fad.

C.K. Hong used his resignation letter to issue a scathing rebuke of the Los Angeles company's $1 billion acquisition, while claiming that he had been on a "dysfunctional board … characterized by factionalism and a lack of transparency." BBCN strongly disagreed, claiming that Hong was upset that plans were already in place to remove him from the board.

Bank consolidation is gaining traction in several Midwestern states, including Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. Here are some of the more notable deals announced in the last year.

First Citizens BancShares in Raleigh, N.C., said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter profit fell 32.1% from a year earlier, to $42.7 million.

Umpqua Holdings in Portland, Ore., posted stronger quarterly earnings because of an increase in mortgage banking fees and lower costs.

Centrue Financial in Ottawa, Ill., has agreed to sell three branches in Illinois.

BOK Financial in Oklahoma plans to further increase its reserves to cover loan losses amid the energy slump, emphasize health care and other non-energy sectors, and expand in markets like Kansas City that are less reliant on oil.

The company no longer feels the need to sell loans since it has a deal in hand to confidently cross a key regulatory threshold. Still, management said it likes the revenue opportunities from occasionally selling off originations.

The combination of falling stock prices, higher-risk strategies and signs of worsening credit quality does not bode well for the industry's road ahead.

The $9 billion-asset company said in a press release Monday that it will incur about $5 million in additional expenses during the first half of this year to cover the cost of closing the offices.