The Columbus, Ohio, bank has agreed to buy an investment banking and advisory firm that caters to midsize companies to "accelerate" the growth of its capital markets unit.

The Canadian banking giant established a nine-month window to finish its $13.4 billion purchase of First Horizon, which could be challenging given the tighter regulatory scrutiny of bank M&A. After November, the price tag will go up.

Robins Financial Credit Union is acquiring the $430 million-asset Persons Banking Co. The deal, announced Monday, comes less than a week after Georgia’s Own Credit Union in Atlanta said it is buying Vinings Bank in Smyrna.

The New York bank said it called off the acquisition of Amalgamated Bank of Chicago because it has been unable to obtain regulatory approval. But the seller expressed hope that the deal could still move forward.

Industry groups are adamant that regulators must make it easier for banks to merge in order to compete with nonbanks, while consumer advocates say bank mergers are too easy and hurt the consumer beyond raising the price of credit.

The $13.4 billion agreement would create a top-six bank in the U.S. by assets and give Toronto-Dominion a large presence in Tennessee and a deeper foothold in the region.

The Boston-area mutual has agreed to acquire Patriot Community Bank, a single-branch lender based in Woburn, Massachusetts.

The M&A surge promises to improve the services fintechs offer to many banks. But it's also creating a new class of full-service competitors.

The Federal Reserve and the FDIC are weighing changes to their policies for reviewing mergers and acquisitions, and that’s creating a sense of urgency among bankers to cinch deals now.

Buying BT Holdings in Texas will take the Louisiana bank close to the size where it would face increased regulatory scrutiny and a reduction in interchange revenue.

The Houston bank negotiated the agreement with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition after closing its merger with BancorpSouth. That deal created a lender with $50 billion of assets and operations in nine states.

New England Federal Credit Union, the largest financial institution headquartered in the Green Mountain State, is combining with Vermont State Employees Credit Union to create an organization with $3 billion of assets.

With its $1.1 billion deal for Technisys, the onetime student-loan refinancer adds a banking-core software arm as it pushes beyond deposits and lending.

In the year's first instance of a credit union buying a bank, Georgia’s Own Credit Union in Atlanta has agreed to acquire nearby Vinings Bank. The Peach State is home to more than 300 banks, making it ripe for such deals.

The purchase of Vinings Bank in Smyrna, Georgia, is the year's first instance of a credit union buying a bank. There were 13 such acquisitions announced last year.

The Northeastern banks had aimed to wrap up their deal by Feb. 21, but the Federal Reserve — the last of the regulatory authorities they need approval from — hasn’t signed off yet.

The Providence, Rhode Island, bank expects to finalize its purchase of 80 HSBC Bank branches on Friday and complete a systems conversion over the weekend. Its pending deal for Investors Bancorp is on track to go through early next quarter, Chief Financial Officer John Woods said.

Chief Financial Officer Emily Portney said Bank of New York Mellon would be interested in buying more custody assets if an opportunity arises and the price is right. In the meantime, it continues to eye deals for small tech companies.

The credit union plans to expand its suite of trust and estate services available to members.

The private-equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners, which agreed to pay $1.8 billion to acquire the money transmitter, is the latest in a long line of potential buyers.