Some policymakers have been calling for a temporary halt to large bank deals while the criteria for approvals are reevaluated. Yet Congress was clear about its intention to stop regulators from holding up bank mergers, argues the head of a trade group for large financial services companies.

Bank of America hired Benjamin Saunders from JPMorgan Chase for its financial institutions investment banking business.

Democrats largely left the financial sector alone last year. But they are attempting to resurrect a bank tax-reporting plan to help pay for President Biden’s social policy package while keeping a close eye on cryptocurrency and how regulators review mergers.

The combination of Community 1st Credit Union in Ottumwa and HomeTown Credit Union in Shenandoah will bring together more than 68,000 members and 21 branches. The merged entity will have over $980 million of assets.

Pomona Postal Federal Credit Union, which the National Credit Union Administration placed into conservatorship in November, has merged with the Credit Union of Southern California.

Industry fears that regulators were souring on bank mergers have eased somewhat after the Federal Reserve finally signed off on WSFS Financial’s acquisition of Bryn Mawr Bank and several other deals that had been awaiting the green light.

The buyer, Union Bank of the Philippines, will pay about $904 million for Citi's local credit card, unsecured lending, deposit, brokerage and investment businesses.

McDonald’s agreed to sell Dynamic Yield, an artificial intelligence startup acquired under its former CEO in 2019 for more than $300 million, to Mastercard.

Darryl White has made no secret of the Canadian company’s intentions to expand its U.S. presence, and the deal for San Francisco-based Bank of the West would give it a foothold in the nation’s largest and richest state.

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.