The Arkansas-based company spent nearly four years on the M&A sidelines, grappling with asset quality issues and litigation tied to its 2022 acquisition of Texas-based Happy State Bank. Now it's signed a letter of intent to buy an unnamed bank.

Nicolet Bankshares has agreed to buy MidWestOne Financial in an $864 million, all-stock deal. The acquisition will move the Wisconsin-based buyer into Iowa and the Twin Cities, while also allowing it to vault past a key regulatory threshold.

Needham and Provident banks received all regulatory approvals and merge date; JPMorganChase hired veteran tech dealmaker Kevin Brunner from Bank of America; RBC Capital Markets will expand its presence in the equity derivatives market with two senior hires from UBS; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

Boston-based Eastern Bankshares is focused on organic growth, but it would "evaluate the opportunity" for M&A if a deal presents itself, its CEO said Friday. The comments came four days after an activist investor criticized the bank's recent M&A transactions.

Farmers National Banc Corp. in Ohio plans to acquire in-state rival Middlefield Banc Corp. in a deal that will deepen the buyer's footprint in Columbus.

An apparent increase in large-scale borrower fraud and the hot environment for bank mergers were the key themes as banks discussed their third-quarter results.

U.K. regulators approved the acquisition, which is part of Global Payments' plan to scale its point of sale restructuring.

The McClean, Virginia-based bank said Tuesday that credit quality remained strong in the third quarter, and that it has approved a plan to buy back $16 billion of common stock. It's temporarily tapping the brakes on loan growth as it digests the Discover acquisition.

The parent company of Heartland Bank and Trust plans to acquire a smaller bank based in Carlinville, Illinois. The acquisition would give the buyer added heft in Central Illinois, as well as the Chicago and St. Louis metro areas.

The Boston-based bank is the second bank in three months to face pressure to sell by the activist investor group HoldCo Asset Management.

Strong loan and deposit growth led to a double-digit increase in revenues and an even bigger jump in profits at the Columbus, Ohio-based regional bank.

Flagstar shareholders approved a plan to merge its holding company into the bank; Huntington tapped a new chief auditor, along with two new business leaders; First Foundation hired a new chief credit officer; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

Approximately three years after the one-time non-depository bought Roscoe (Texas) State Bank, Cornerstone Capital Bancorp agreed to purchase Peoples Bancorp.

The Cincinnati, Ohio-based bank delivered third-quarter earnings that mostly met expectations, even as it took a $200 million blow to credit.

The Buffalo-based bank said Thursday that the paring of its CRE loan book, which has nearly halved in volume over the last three years, may be near its inflection point.

The Canadian bank plans to sell the branches, which are mostly in the Midwest and Great Plains, to First Citizens Bank in North Carolina. At the same time, it plans to build 150 branches over the next five years in markets with longer-term growth prospects.

Amid a surge in bank mergers, Citizens CEO Bruce Van Saun said the Providence, Rhode Island-based bank is largely focused on organic growth. "It would have to be a pretty high bar for us to go down that path," he said.

CEO Bill Demchak said there seemed to be "some confusion," after PNC's stock fell some 4% on Wednesday.

Aiyengar discusses the dynamics of today's market and the challenges and opportunities of her role.

Comerica Bank in Dallas has been around since before the Civil War. But the banking crisis of 2023 tamped down on its access to low-cost funding, and the problem persisted until it finally decided to sell itself.