This year saw the impact of Donald Trump's return to the White House, the first rate cut from the Federal Reserve in roughly four years and more.

Looking back at the year, this is how they impacted the financial services industry.

JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, U.S. Bank and Citi had more than $1 billion in combined first-mortgage loans as of Sept. 30.

The watchdog accuses Rocket Homes and The Mitchell Group brokerage of initiating a plan to generate origination business for Rocket Mortgage.

The two companies continue to tick items off their year-end to-do list, which analysts hope will tee up the merger for finalization in early 2025. Regulatory approval remains a major question.

Hanscom Federal Credit Union in Massachusetts said it would acquire Peoples Bancorp and its insurance agency. It marked the 21st deal of the year involving a credit union buying a bank.

BNY announced expanded employee benefits and a boost in its minimum wage for all U.S.-based employees; Synovus has added former FIS executive Greg Montana to its executive board; National Bank Holdings sold off a fifth of its securities portfolio; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

The Pennsylvania-based buyer said it would pick up nearly $350 million of assets and a commercial-focused loan portfolio as part of the $54.6 million deal.

The Federal Reserve and OCC approved the company's plan to buy Independent Bank Group in Texas, putting the deal on track to close early next year as expected. In an atmosphere of M&A delays for banks, the deal is on a relatively smooth path.

Companies are dropping sustainability-linked loans as they face a tougher regulatory environment.