Industry groups are adamant that regulators must make it easier for banks to merge in order to compete with nonbanks, while consumer advocates say bank mergers are too easy and hurt the consumer beyond raising the price of credit.

The $13.4 billion agreement would create a top-six bank in the U.S. by assets and give Toronto-Dominion a large presence in Tennessee and a deeper foothold in the region.

The Boston-area mutual has agreed to acquire Patriot Community Bank, a single-branch lender based in Woburn, Massachusetts.

The M&A surge promises to improve the services fintechs offer to many banks. But it's also creating a new class of full-service competitors.

The Federal Reserve and the FDIC are weighing changes to their policies for reviewing mergers and acquisitions, and that’s creating a sense of urgency among bankers to cinch deals now.

Buying BT Holdings in Texas will take the Louisiana bank close to the size where it would face increased regulatory scrutiny and a reduction in interchange revenue.

The Houston bank negotiated the agreement with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition after closing its merger with BancorpSouth. That deal created a lender with $50 billion of assets and operations in nine states.

New England Federal Credit Union, the largest financial institution headquartered in the Green Mountain State, is combining with Vermont State Employees Credit Union to create an organization with $3 billion of assets.

With its $1.1 billion deal for Technisys, the onetime student-loan refinancer adds a banking-core software arm as it pushes beyond deposits and lending.

In the year's first instance of a credit union buying a bank, Georgia’s Own Credit Union in Atlanta has agreed to acquire nearby Vinings Bank. The Peach State is home to more than 300 banks, making it ripe for such deals.