First Citizens BancShares said its $2.2 billion acquisition of CIT Group, closed in the first quarter after months of regulatory delays, is finally coming together.

The two companies, which have not received government approval to complete their now year-old pending deal, postponed the deadline to Oct. 31 and have decided to make the combined entity a national bank.

LincolnWay Community Bank in Illinois has agreed to be sold to CoVantage in Wisconsin, adding to a trend of bank-credit union deals that has drawn backlash from many small-bank executives.

The Mississippi-based First says the deal would allow it to acquire key talent, bolster its presence in northwest Florida and expand into the Tampa area.

M&T Bank in Buffalo, New York, named Peter D’Arcy head of commercial banking after completing its acquisition of People’s United Financial earlier this month. D’Arcy will take over from Gino Martocci, who is retiring.

Health care, home improvement, cannabis, gaming and college students are among the areas banks are targeting with the help of innovative tools.

First Horizon Advisors resolved a supervisory investigation involving a former rep after its parent firm announced it’s being purchased for $13.4 billion.

Noah Bank is considering proposals from an investor group and a New Jersey-based peer.

Earnings and total loans fell in the first quarter at M&T, but the Buffalo, New York, bank offered a rosier forecast for the rest of 2022. The outlook anticipates a shot in the arm from the recent acquisition of People's United Financial.

Bruce Van Saun, the Rhode Island bank’s CEO, previewed a branch-light strategy in new markets like South Florida and Washington, D.C. Citizens recently closed acquisitions of Investors Bancorp and much of HSBC’s U.S. retail banking business.

Regulators in a half dozen states have now thrown at least temporary roadblocks in front of credit unions’ effort to buy community banks.

Robinhood Markets agreed to acquire Ziglu, a London-based crypto and payments company, ending the U.S. brokerage’s long pause on international expansion.

Cleveland-based Ancora Holdings Group is picking up where it left off in 2019, calling for the sale of Middlefield Bancorp in northeast Ohio. Only this time Ancora says it's willing to initiate a proxy contest if management stands in the way of a possible transaction.

Citigroup has begun the sales process for its consumer, small-business and middle-market banking divisions in Mexico, though an initial public offering remains on the table.

Both credit unions are based in Jacksonville. VyStar is also in the process of buying Heritage Southeast Bank in Jonesboro, Georgia.

Metaverse aversion, car chargers at Chase branches and more in banking news this week.

Two U.K. fintech companies are exploring sale options after sanctions on their Russian billionaire backers have left them struggling to find funding.

The two San Francisco-based companies are seeking to provide a one-click cryptocurrency checkout system to simplify digital shopping.

In a letter obtained by American Banker, the Senate Banking Committee chair called on the Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to reform their bank merger review processes.

JPMorgan Chase is planning to use its recently acquired stake in the Greek payments firm Viva Wallet to support lending to small businesses across Europe, an ambition that would introduce a rare cohesion to the Continent’s fragmented banking markets.