The $186 million deal, announced in November 2021, was originally expected to close in the first half of this year. "The environment for M&A is just more challenging," an OceanFirst executive says.

Changpeng "CZ" Zhao walked away from his bailout for Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX.com almost as quickly as he offered a rescue.

U.S. financial regulators are investigating whether the beleaguered crypto exchange FTX.com properly handled customer funds, as well as its relationship with other parts of Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto empire, according to people familiar with the matter.

Citigroup said it agreed to buy Deutsche Bank's Mexican bank license amid plans to set up a local unit as the New York-based lender exits retail operations in the country.

More than half of bank corporate development professionals surveyed by McKinsey predicted that the next 18 to 24 months will offer better opportunities to create value through acquisitions than the past two years have. Economic uncertainty may provide opportunities for buyers to make deals at discounted prices.

USAlliance Federal Credit Union in Rye, New York, has agreed to merge with Marriott Employees' Federal Credit Union in Bethesda, Maryland, to create a nearly $3 billion-asset organization.

The Dallas company says it could repurchase as much as 8% of its common stock and still have the wherewithal to pursue an acquisition — all in an effort to strengthen its value in the eyes of investors.

The Pacific Northwest bank has agreed to divest 10 branches as a condition of the Department of Justice's green light of its merger with Umpqua Holdings. The deal still needs the blessing of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The acquisition, which was originally expected to close at the end of last year, ultimately took more than 18 months to receive regulatory approval. It is now expected to close on Dec. 1.

The North Carolina bank has made 11 insurance-related acquisitions in the last three years, and a top executive forecasts more buying chances as brokerage consolidation continues.

Six years after buying a bank, the New York company plans to sell its banking unit to a group of investors. The decision to refocus on its core businesses comes 18 months after Thasunda Brown Duckett took the reins as CEO.

Wings Financial Credit Union in Apple Valley, Minnesota, has agreed to buy Settlers Bank in DeForest, Wisconsin. It's the third bank acquisition deal Wings has announced, one of which fell through.

Binance Holdings founder and CEO Zhao "CZ" Changpeng, who last month said the crypto exchange may spend more than $1 billion on deals this year, is considering targets including banks as the boundary between the digital-asset industry and traditional finance blurs.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has approved New York Community Bancorp's proposed acquisition of Flagstar Bancorp, the companies announced Friday. The banks are extending the deal deadline to Dec. 31 as they continue to seek the green light from the Federal Reserve.

Republic Bancorp said it would pay $51 million in cash for CBank and its subsidiary Commercial Industrial Finance.

Eighteen months after the $2.6 billion deal was announced — and five days before the Oct. 31 deadline — New York Community is still waiting for regulatory approval to buy the Michigan bank. On their joint earnings call, the companies wouldn't say where the deal stands.

The green light from the central bank is the latest in a series of approvals of billion-dollar bank mergers. However, the Columbia-Umpqua deal is still waiting on a thumbs-up from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The all-stock acquisition of Limestone Bancorp in Louisville would give the buyer an additional $1.5 billion of assets and 20 branches in the Bluegrass State.

The addition of investment bank Capstone Partners and the wider geographic footprint that resulted from the acquisition of TCF Financial helped drive a 58% increase in net income during the third quarter.

U.S. Bank's new M&A closing date, and new rewards card, and more in banking news this week.