The nation's largest bank, which acquired the remains of San Francisco-based First Republic following its failure this spring, has completed its plans to close 21 offices this year. But the consolidation effort is likely to continue.

Banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. sold $8.64 billion of debt to fund the partial leveraged buyout of Worldpay Inc., boosting the size of the offering in a sign of growing investor demand for LBO debt.

The parent companies of Cape Cod 5 and Fidelity Bank have agreed to combine under a multibank holding company called Mutual Bancorp. The bank units would keep their current names and operate independently but pool resources to improve efficiency.

Eighteen banks announced agreements to sell themselves last month. It was the most active month for bank deals since July 2022.

Boston-based Eastern Bankshares says its premium on the sale of Eastern Insurance Group will help fund the acquisition of Cambridge Trust and build a wealth management powerhouse. But some analysts point out more revenue is being sacrificed than gained.

The combination would create a company with $27 billion of total assets, $18 billion of loans and $22.6 billion of deposits.

Instead, the Canadian bank will try to ramp up its current strategy, which includes growth in commercial lending and technology upgrades, as well as streamline management. 

It's a challenge Japan's largest lender must overcome as it focuses on growing its corporate banking presence in the US, said Fumitaka Nakahama, the firm's head of global corporate and investment banking. 

The top three fintech SPAC mergers have a combined announced deal value of more than $2.6 billion as of the end of June 2023.

Amid concerns that the combination of the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions and the Credit Union National Association could amplify the voices of only the biggest institutions, the heads of smaller ones see two clear advantages: cost and consistency.