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

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.

2024 brought important issues front and center for bankers, ranging from the rise of artificial intelligence to the fall of banking-as-a-service.

These banks are expected to draw regulatory scrutiny in the coming year. 

Richard "Dick" Parsons, the former Citigroup chairman who died Thursday, is credited with helping the New York megabank survive the financial crisis. Earlier in his career, he led Dime Savings Bank out of the savings-and-loan crisis.

The Seattle-based company's deal with Bank of America comes five weeks after the termination of its planned sale to FirstSun Capital Bancorp in Denver.

In a collaboration with Coinbase and Flexa, Regal theaters now accept on-chain U.S. digital currency payments for movie tickets and concessions; the Bank of Nova Scotia has completed its second investment in KeyCorp; Fiserv entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Canadian-based payments fintech Payfare; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

Transactions grew larger and more frequent this year. As a result, aggregate value more than tripled from 2023 and topped $15 billion.

The executive dubbed "Captain Emergency" stabilized ailing companies such as AOL Time Warner and Dime Savings Bank before being named chairman of Citigroup in 2009.