The chairman of the financial institutions panel of the House Financial Services Committee said his newly reintroduced bill has a considerable chance of passing with Republicans in control of both chambers of Congress and the White House.

Advisors predicted that more banks will do deals and those transactions will be larger in 2025 amid expectations for lighter regulatory scrutiny.

Banks seeking to offload CRE assets are finding a receptive marketplace while regulators have managed to keep the situation in balance, observers say.

New regulatory changes have created the potential to enable smaller institutions to compete more effectively with their larger peers — if they're willing to seize the opportunity.

The bank said it would acquire Bank of Idaho for $245.4 million in stock. It marked the 12th bank deal for Glacier over the past decade.

Mutual Federal Bancorp nixed its planned acquisition of Pulaski Savings Bank. It did not disclose a reason for the deal termination.

Clearfield-based CNB Financial's planned acquisition of ESSA Bancorp in Stroudsburg would create an $8 billion-asset company with 49 branches and nearly $5 billion of deposits in the Keystone State.

The Bethesda, Maryland-based company called its success in luring a team from Capital One as its most "newsworthy" move to date executing a strategy aimed at diversifying its lending operation.

Heightened expectations for increased economic activity could boost loan demand after a soft 2024.

Reading Cooperative's combination with Wakefield Cooperative, the third deal involving Boston-area banks announced in the past month, would create a $1.2 billion community bank.

Florida-based Amerant Bancorp recently restructured its securities portfolio after selling its Houston branches.

Arrow Financial in Glens Falls kept busy in December, consolidating its two subsidiary banks, expanding its board and restructuring its securities portfolio.

Lenders across the country promoted from within to fill top executive roles, including First International Bank & Trust in Watford City, North Dakota.

The Stamford, Connecticut-based bank hired Steven Sugarman to be its president. The former bank CEO, who now heads one of the country's largest mission-based lenders, will help drive an effort to close a capital gap.

The Honolulu-based utility sold a 90.1% stake in American Savings Bank. The deal valued the lender at $450 million.

The trend of credit unions buying banks is a lightning rod for controversy in the banking industry. Despite this, such mergers are increasingly common.

Banks are taking hits in the stock market as they use 2024 to restructure balance sheets and inflation slightly increased in November.

Community banking highlights in 2024 included strong deposit growth at a Los Angeles-based digital-only bank, continued regulatory scrutiny of banking-as-a-service arrangements, along with a transformational deal in the Old Dominion.

A record 22 credit unions announced plans to acquire banks in 2024, though the year ended on a discordant note as regulatory concerns appear to have derailed a planned CU-bank deal in Georgia.