Bank M&A activity has been in the doldrums in recent years, but a number of CEOs are predicting an increase in bank consolidation in 2024.

Sound Credit Union said it would acquire Washington Business Bank in a cash deal slated to close in the fourth quarter.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp declined to detail the savings it expects from the downsizing, though one analyst estimated it could shave $3 million from the company's annual noninterest expenses.

The calling off of the TD-First Horizon deal drew the most headlines, but 14 agreements involving the purchase of a bank were canceled last year.

In this month's roundup of top banking news: The potential impact of Capital One's purchase of Discover, Citi's use of generative AI for its developers, the downfall of Heartland Tri-State Bank and more.

Rep. Maxine Waters, ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, led the letter, spurred by the recent merger announcement between Capital One and Discover, which the letter said would enable the merged company "to influence multiple points of the marketplace."

The top five bank M&A deals had a combined target asset volume of more than $480 billion

Bharat Masrani has spent a decade as the Canadian bank's top executive and is pushing 70. But as the bank undergoes a U.S. Justice Department probe, it's unclear when he'll step down or who's next in line.

The lawmakers, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said the deal would further anti-consumer bank consolidation, but also criticized the OCC's proposed changes to the merger process, asking that they be strengthened.

BMO Financial Group doubled its mainframe capacity, prepared a cloud staging platform and used chaos engineering to ensure its Bank of the West integration went smoothly.

The two companies in the largest bank merger since the 2008 financial crisis released details of their agreement. It leaves the door open for Discover to field better offers, though the payments company would pay a break-up fee of 4% if it accepts one.

In the wake of the largest U.S. bank deal in more than 15 years, industry executives offered mixed views about the prospects for more big acquisitions. They also spoke about the deal's impact on competition in the credit card business.

The credit card lender's blockbuster acquisition of Discover is not guaranteed to get across the finish line. But co-founder and CEO Richard Fairbank appears to see the rewards that would come from controlling a payments network as outweighing the potential downside.

Some analysts said that the Capital One-Discover deal would undercut the reasoning behind the Credit Card Competition Act — authored by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. — which aims to spur competition for Visa and Mastercard.

In implementing Section 1033, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is leaving out auto loans, one of the largest sources of consumer debt.

The combined company could streamline card payments in a manner similar to American Express' "three party network" — while also doing more with artificial intelligence and other technologies.

The blockbuster merger proposal will be reviewed at a time when the Biden administration is expressing skepticism about consolidation. Its analysis will have to account for markets dominated by both big banks and the likes of Visa and Mastercard.

The Charlotte, North Carolina, company has agreed to sell its remaining 80% stake in its insurance brokerage unit to raise billions of dollars in cash and extra capital. The "wild card" is how Truist will deploy them, one analyst says.

The recently announced merger of Capital One and Discover would create a credit card behemoth, but would also create a credible challenger to the Visa-Mastercard duopoly. Regulators will have to choose between having both or neither.

Capital One Financial's proposed acquisition of Discover Financial Services would create a credit card behemoth with its own payments network. The deal is likely to draw tough regulatory scrutiny, though analysts say there are many compelling strategic reasons for the combination.