Donald Trump, Taylor Swift and the CEOs of the biggest banks: We checked back to see if our predictions were correct about whether these bankers, regulators and payments execs made an impact on the industry this year.

While the term "financial supermarket" may have gone out of fashion, firms still see opportunity to boost profits and keep clients loyal by blurring the lines between banking and wealth management.

Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services recommended approval of Fifth Third's $10.9 billion proposed acquisition of Comerica.

Ida Liu, who resigned from Citi earlier this year, will join HSBC on Jan. 5 as the CEO of the private bank. Liu will be tasked with accelerating the growth of the private bank "at a defining moment for wealth," she said in a LinkedIn post.

Once its second deal in less than three years closes midway through 2026, the Alexandria-based company will operate more than 100 branches and hold $11 billion in assets.

Mercantile's pending acquisition of Eastern Michigan is approved by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago; the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and Rise Economy announce a $2.5 billion addendum to Columbia Bank's community benefits agreement following its acquisition of Pacific Premier Bank; the Federal Reserve Board and CFPB raise the thresholds for certain credit and lease transactions; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

Here are the 10 stories our readers paid the most attention to in a year of political, economic and technological change.

The Dallas bank turned down another offer because it thought it could get a higher price from Fifth Third, and also could ink an agreement faster, according to Comerica's latest regulatory filing.

The merger with Heritage Financial joins two commercially focused banks, creating a $21.7 billion-asset institution with a presence in all of the Golden State's major markets.

Daryl Byrd, who led Iberiabank until it was acquired by First Horizon, has assembled an investor group to acquire MC Bancshares and its subsidiary, MC Bank & Trust Co. in Morgan City, Louisiana. Byrd will become CEO.

The regulator signed off on the transaction just two months after the banks applied to merge.

These are the executives, regulators, investors, disruptors and firebrands who will have the biggest impact on bankers in the coming year.

HoldCo Asset Management says that shareholders should reject Fifth Third's proposed acquisition of Comerica during a Jan. 6 vote due to what it calls an "unacceptable" negotiation process and the possible upside from another deal.

Rohit Chopra is named senior advisor to the Democratic Attorneys General Association's working group on consumer protection and affordability; Flagstar Bank adds additional wealth-planning capabilities to its private banking division; Chime promotes three members of its executive leadership team; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

Enova International, a nonbank lender in Chicago, plans to gain scale by taking over Grasshopper Bank's national bank charter. The deal already faces skepticism from critics of Enova's high-cost lending model.

The largest bank deal to be announced in 2025 is still on track to close in the first quarter of next year, Fifth Third CEO Tim Spence said. His comments came amid opposition to various aspects of the deal, as well as how it came together and the timeline for closing the transaction.

Charlie Scharf has a mostly optimistic take on Wells' consumer banking prospects entering 2026. But he's more downbeat about the company's once-dominant residential mortgage business.

KeyCorp CEO Chris Gorman said Tuesday that the bank has doubled its buyback plans for the fourth quarter and laid out a new long-term profitability target. The comments came a few days after HoldCo Asset Management issued a scathing report about the bank's performance.

New rules means sellers and servicers will need to have plans demonstrating proper oversight of their artificial intelligence and machine learning practices.

The all-stock acquisition of Mountain Commerce Bancorp in Knoxville marks the Arkansas-based company's first M&A foray since 2022.