First National has agreed to buy Touchstone Bankshares. The combined company would have more than $500 million each of deposits and loans.

The FDIC's newly unveiled policy statement on bank mergers could add strain to an already bleak outlook for mergers in the banking industry, particularly for larger banks.

Harborstone Credit Union in suburban Lakewood, Washington, plans to buy Savi Financial. That's seven deals in less than three months this year; the highest full-year total was 16 in 2022.

The blockbuster merger is now in the hands of banking agencies and the Department of Justice, which will have to evaluate its impact on competition.

The FDIC proposed a new policy to intensify scrutiny on U.S. bank mergers Thursday that emphasizes the resulting institutions' financial stability and ability to serve its community's needs.

Bank mergers and acquisitions have slowed in recent years amid recession fears and other economic uncertainties. But bank consolidation is a century-old trend that's expected to rev up again as early as this year due to higher costs, tougher regulation and fierce competition.

If former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin follows through with a purchase of the controversial social media app, it will be the second high-profile deal he will have marshaled this year after leading a $1 billion equity investment in the troubled New York Community Bancorp.

Bank M&A activity has been in the doldrums in recent years, but a number of CEOs are predicting an increase in bank consolidation in 2024.

Sound Credit Union said it would acquire Washington Business Bank in a cash deal slated to close in the fourth quarter.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp declined to detail the savings it expects from the downsizing, though one analyst estimated it could shave $3 million from the company's annual noninterest expenses.

The calling off of the TD-First Horizon deal drew the most headlines, but 14 agreements involving the purchase of a bank were canceled last year.

In this month's roundup of top banking news: The potential impact of Capital One's purchase of Discover, Citi's use of generative AI for its developers, the downfall of Heartland Tri-State Bank and more.

Rep. Maxine Waters, ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, led the letter, spurred by the recent merger announcement between Capital One and Discover, which the letter said would enable the merged company "to influence multiple points of the marketplace."

The top five bank M&A deals had a combined target asset volume of more than $480 billion

Bharat Masrani has spent a decade as the Canadian bank's top executive and is pushing 70. But as the bank undergoes a U.S. Justice Department probe, it's unclear when he'll step down or who's next in line.

The lawmakers, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said the deal would further anti-consumer bank consolidation, but also criticized the OCC's proposed changes to the merger process, asking that they be strengthened.

BMO Financial Group doubled its mainframe capacity, prepared a cloud staging platform and used chaos engineering to ensure its Bank of the West integration went smoothly.

The two companies in the largest bank merger since the 2008 financial crisis released details of their agreement. It leaves the door open for Discover to field better offers, though the payments company would pay a break-up fee of 4% if it accepts one.

In the wake of the largest U.S. bank deal in more than 15 years, industry executives offered mixed views about the prospects for more big acquisitions. They also spoke about the deal's impact on competition in the credit card business.

The credit card lender's blockbuster acquisition of Discover is not guaranteed to get across the finish line. But co-founder and CEO Richard Fairbank appears to see the rewards that would come from controlling a payments network as outweighing the potential downside.