The acquisition would give Avadian, which is based in Birmingham, two more locations in its home state and increase its assets to approximately $1.2 billion.

One of the largest M&A agreements of the year occurs as policymakers are locked in a fight over whether to toughen scrutiny of big-bank mergers and acquisitions.

The year's biggest storylines included an M&A revival, a reexamination of overdraft fees, a changing of the guard in Washington and the rise of new technologies. Here's a look back.

The central bank also signed off on Webster Financial’s acquisition of Sterling Bancorp and WSFS Financial’s purchase of Bryn Mawr Bank Corp. The moves come amid a political fight over the bank merger approval process.

Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter praised Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra “for his leadership" on bank merger issues. Chopra and two other Democratic board members at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. are locked in a battle with Chair Jelena McWilliams over the agency’s own merger policy.

The Alabama bank is buying Clearsight Advisors to add to its booming capital markets division.

The Canadian lender has held initial talks about an acquisition of BNP Paribas’s Bank of the West unit, according to people familiar with the matter. Bank of the West had a book value of about $13.7 billion on Sept. 30, according to FDIC data.

The Louisiana-based Home has agreed to pay $66.6 million for the $445 million-asset bank.

The Providence, Rhode Island, company has agreed to buy DH Capital, a capital markets advisory firm specializing in the tech and communication sectors. It already has bought a valuation consulting firm and has three acquisitions pending.

Dane County Credit Union and Heartland Credit Union, both in Madison, have long collaborated on local initiatives.

First Commonwealth Federal Credit Union will gain its first locations in the Garden State by combining with Baker Federal Credit Union.

An investor who holds nearly 10% of Pacific Enterprise Bancorp shares urged others to oppose BayCom Corp’s $53 million acquisition offer, arguing that the price was too low. Despite this, a majority of both banks' shareholders voted in favor of the deal.

A clash among FDIC board members has intensified a debate about whether regulators should take a tougher look at large M&A deals. House Financial Services Chair Maxine Waters added to the frenzy by calling for a moratorium on approving big acquisitions.

The acquisition of MoffettNathanson is the latest in a string of moves by Silicon Valley Bank’s parent company to extend the reach of its investment banking arm into the tech sector.

The Atlanta bank said the deal will accelerate its small-business and commercial and industrial lending while expanding its presence in point-of-sale financing.

A new survey of industry executives finds substantial interest in cryptocurrencies and mergers but anxiety about competition from large technology companies.

Driver Management says CEO Vernon Hill’s aggressive deposit-gathering strategy is not paying off for shareholders and wants the company to merge with a bank that would deploy the deposits into higher-yielding loans.

Facing a lawsuit from a disgruntled investor, the Arkansas company has released additional information about how it arrived at the $919 million price it’s paying for Happy Bancshares.

The combined institution would have more than $280 million of assets and serve close to 20,000 members.

The $85 million acquisition of Metro Phoenix Bank would more than double Alerus Financial’s loans and deposits in the nation’s fifth-largest city.