Acquiring the $386 million-asset Pacific West Bancorp extends a strengthening bull market for bank M&A.

At an investor day in London, Banco Santander executives laid out the Spanish company's new financial goals, including a goal to improve a key profitability metric in the U.S. The pending acquisition of Webster Financial in Connecticut is part of the strategy to achieve higher returns, they said.

There's speculation about a potential deal, which could boost Stripe's merchant appeal and accelerate its agentic commerce strategy. But payment experts also say Stripe could face a bidding war that includes AI companies.

Stripe, which is closely held and is among the industry's most valuable companies, has expressed preliminary interest in a potential acquisition of the digital payments pioneer or its assets.

The investors agreed to buy 499 million shares of Citi's Mexican retail unit for around $2.5 billion. The sale was at a small premium to the initial stake the megabank sold to Mexican billionaire Fernando Chico Pardo last year. 

The platforms, where bets are placed on everything from U.K. soccer teams to the price of bitcoin, are getting traction from investors and attention from regulators.

Lenders with between $10 billion and $100 billion of assets grew their core deposits by more than 8% last year, or more than double the industry-wide average. Merger activity was largely responsible for the outsized growth.

An ugly legal dispute between two San Diego credit unions offers a warning about what can go wrong when careful relationship-building doesn't precede a marriage.

TIAA's asset management arm will have $2.5 trillion of assets after the combination with a storied U.K. firm.

The activist investor HoldCo Asset Management said Monday that it doesn't plan to pursue proxy battles this spring at either Key or Eastern. It had been agitating publicly over the banks' M&A strategies.

To address a budget deficit, the state of Washington has begun taxing credit unions that buy banks. Critics say there's just one problem: The tax will deter any such acquisitions from happening.

Prosperity Bancshares finalizes the second of three acquisitions it's announced since July; Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation appoints a new chief information security officer for its American operations; Huntington Bancshares, Third Coast Bancshares and Heritage Financial completed acquisitions; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

Unlike some of its expansion-minded regional bank peers, Montana-based First Interstate is reconfiguring its business model to be smaller and more focused on relationship banking. The blueprint is the work of CEO Jim Reuter, who joined the bank 15 months ago.

The Spanish banking giant is accelerating its U.S. growth plans with the pending acquisition of Webster Financial in Connecticut. The combined entity will be the second-largest foreign-owned bank operating in the country.

The Spanish banking giant, which has been trying to grow its U.S. business, plans to acquire the Connecticut-based parent company of Webster Bank.

Acquiring the $5.8 billion Northfield Bancorp would give Columbia a presence in both Brooklyn and Staten Island. The deal provides a window into the impact of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani's plan to freeze rents on the city's multifamily real estate market.

While stablecoins aren't widely used for merchant payments, blockchain tech firms such as BVNK and Polygon Labs are seeking opportunities to add speed to slow-moving international transfers.

The combination of the banks is the latest in a trend of deals closing on speedier timelines, and signals the industry's hunt for scale.

U.S. Bancorp shuffles management as COO Souheil Badran announces his retirement; Stock Yards Bancorp agrees to buy Field & Main Bancorp; Citi's wealth business hires Mercer's Olaolu Aganga for a newly created role; and more in this week's banking news roundup.