Surging interest rates, recession threats and weaker stock valuations bogged down merger-and-acquisition activity last year. The 98 announced deals fell short of even 2020, when the pandemic briefly brought the economy to a standstill.

Hudson Valley Credit Union, which has $6.9 billion of assets, is buying Catskill Hudson Bancorp, which has $593 million of assets — more than any bank acquired by a credit union last year.

As the CEO of First Union Bank, Crutchfield struck more than 80 deals, riding the consolidation wave of the 1980s and 1990s. When he retired, First Union was the sixth largest bank in the country.

Southern Bancorp in Little Rock, Arkansas, plans to put $250 million in equity capital it received from the Treasury Department to good use making mortgages and acquiring banks.

After announcing a deal to buy the entirety of SunSouth Bank in Dothan last year, All In now plans to take over another bank's branches in Brewton, Clayton, Eufaula, Geneva and Louisville.

Banks' sales of insurance agencies for eye-popping multiples emerged as one 2023's notable trends. Though the bandwagon shows no sign of slowing, several prominent community banks appear to be holding on to their insurance operations.

Credit unions have announced 11 deals for banks so far in 2023, five short of 2022's total.

After a year marred by the biggest US bank failures since the 2008 financial crisis, the nation's largest lender is on familiar footing — scooping up a rival, reeling in its clients and minting record profits along the way.

Overall merger-and-acquisition activity proved modest across the banking sector, but several prominent deals were reached. Read on for details of the year's biggest transactions.

The deadline for a $28 million deal between Bancorp 34 and CBOA Financial was pushed later into 2024 after Bancorp 34, the buyer, announced it would restate third-quarter results to reflect a significant loss tied to a worsening commercial real estate credit.

Banks large and small are selling some or all of their insurance subsidiaries, enticed by the high prices they're being offered. Here's a rundown of the deals that were struck in 2023.

Provident Financial in Iselin initially anticipated completing its deal for Oak Ridge-based Lakeland Bancorp in the second quarter. Now as it waits for regulatory approval, Provident says the process will stretch into spring 2024.

Led by veteran banker Stephen Gordon, Genesis Bank in Newport Beach, California, plans to use the funds pledged by private equity firms and other investors to roll up community banks in the Western U.S.

The Connecticut bank agreed to pay $350 million to acquire Ametros Financial, a custodian and administrator of medical funds from insurance claim settlements. Some analysts see the deal as a signal that Webster does not plan to sell its health savings account business, which has been the subject of recent speculation.

Atlanta-based Global Payments has been working with an adviser to study the feasibility of a deal for Shift4 Payments, according to the people. 

In the coming year, banks, fintechs and credit unions will be watching the elections and working out how to incorporate AI into their businesses.

The acquisition would deepen Orrstown's presence in its home state and Maryland. In recent years, Codorus Valley Bancorp had faced pressure from an activist investor to consider selling.

The combination of OnPath Federal Credit Union and Louisiana Federal Credit Union is the biggest credit union merger in the state's history.

Proposed capital rules aimed at bigger institutions will force regional and larger community banks to consider ways to grow or seek an exit strategy, bankers and analysts predict.

Equity, based in Wichita, Kansas, has agreed to buy the parent company of the Bank of Kirksville. The combined company would have $5.4 billion of assets and 74 branches, including 23 in Missouri.